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Chapter Text

Prologue

Timeline 2907-B, Thomas Calvert

It wasn't too unexpected when the phone rang in only one timeline. It was, however, a little sooner than expected - Thomas Calvert didn't expect Armsmaster's security to pick up on his unauthorised access for at least another five minutes.

This timeline was lost anyhow; it had been, from the start. But there was no harm in answering, perhaps finding out some obscure detail. He glanced at the display - the number wasn't one he recognised.

"Hello, PRT helpline, what is your emergency?"

"Hello. Have you ever given serious consideration to the nature of reality?" Female voice. Young. Slight trace of accent; not enough to identify.

"Ma'am, this line is for emergencies only."

"Oh, don't be ridiculous. Neither I nor this line truly exists."

Timeline dropped.

Timeline 2908-A, Thomas Calvert

Paperwork happened. Nothing else. A properly set out report made an amazing alibi.

Timeline 2908-B, Thomas Calvert

The phone rang. In only one timeline, in which he had been just about to start re-accessing documents he should not have been permitted to see. Immediately after a split. This was unexpected, and not in a good way. It looked like it might be the same number as he had just seen. He picked it up. The same female voice.

"That was rude, hanging up like that."

Calvert hung up again. Then dropped the timeline.

Unsplit time

Paperwork. For a full hour. While his brain churned over what this could mean.

Timeline 2909-A, Thomas Calvert

Paperwork happened. Nothing else.

Timeline 2909-B, Thomas Calvert

The phone rang. In only one timeline. Immediately after a split. Immediately after not ringing over an hour of unsplit time. With a now worryingly familiar number. This was intensely concerning. It spoke of high-end Thinker opposition. But not even his Tattletale could have - this meant trouble. But the PRT had resources, which he absolutely did not mind exploiting.

Calvert dropped the other timeline. And the phone immediately stopped ringing. Before he could split the timeline again and hit the button to trace the location of the call. If anything, this was even more worrying.

Elsewhere in Brockton Bay, a girl tossed a high-end cellphone into a rubbish bin, and walked away. As if that would stop Coil.

Chapter Text

Chapter 1

"Heeeeeeeyyy!!"

I hear her voice calling out behind me as she hurries to catch up. My next-door neighbour, and good friend since childhood - the one who hadn't betrayed my trust. Sayori, once upon a time the third wheel to Emma and I - and now the last remaining bridge between us.

But I can hardly blame her for poor taste in friends, given how close Emma and I had always been.

"Haaahhh...haaahhh... I overslept again!" she explains, as she catches up. "But I caught you this time!"

"You'll catch me every time if you're in time for the bus," I point out.

"I guess?" Sayori touches her pointer fingers together, a gesture that I know some people find endearing.

"It's a good thing you were in time today," I add, as a thought occurs to me.

"Why's that?" she asks.

"We have an art project that's due today," I tell her. "Could I ask you to hold onto it until lunch?"

"Sure! I'll keep it in my locker!"

"Not in your locker," I say. "On you, personally. Please?"

".....is Emma being a meanie again?" Juvenile, yes. She's only one year younger than me, but she never seemed to leave her childhood behind - or perhaps she wasn't shoved out of it. Before I can reply, she reads the answer in my face.

"Okay," she says, "I'll look after your art project on one condition."

"Sayori..."

"It's an easy condition! I promise! I just want you to come to the literature club with me after school."

"....Winslow has a literature club?"

"Yeah! It's kinda small, but we could do with new members! And you... you need more friends. I'd die at the thought of you becoming a NEET in a few years because you forget how to make friends!"

"....okay. Okay. Yeah. I can visit your club. But no promises about joining it, okay?"

"Yay!"

Since when has Winslow had a literature club?

There's... there's something odd about this whole interaction. Why had I never thought of asking Sayori to hold my art project before this morning?

Chapter Text

Chapter 2

World Issues was in the background of my senses, Mr. Gladly's words echoing unheard through my ears. I'd been looking forward to the section in Capes at the start of the year, but now I could barely concentrate, my mind entirely on the upcoming lunch break.

Sophia's coterie would not, of course, dare anything in class. World Issues, by some strange bureaucratic whim, mixed students from two different years in the same class - last year, we'd been taking it with the class one year below us, while this year we took it with the class one year above us. And while I knew near nothing of our upper-year friends, at the very least those three were reluctant to try things within their sight.

But the up-and-coming lunch break was a different matter entirely. A near certain invitation for those three to cause trouble. I was glad I'd handed my art project to Sayori, but that was another source of intense worry.

I knew well that Sayori had been my friend for years, growing up neighbours. I knew that she had never abandoned me, as Emma had. But - it was hard to even figure out how to phrase the question - had she always been my old friend yesterday?

Mr Gladly let us out early, as he so often did. I packed up my books and my notes (a page of scribbles and questions about Sayori's existence) and headed out of the classroom. I didn't rush, I walked slowly and carefully. I headed for the girl's bathroom on the third floor. There were several girls there already, so I waited several minutes until I could get a stall - once I could, I closed and latched the door. I let out a sigh of - hardly relief, not here, not on school premises - and set in to wait.

Within minutes, the voices and chatting moved on, leaving me alone. So I took out my bag lunch and ate it, sitting on the toilet and trying to figure out whether Sayori was a real person or a really subtle Stranger effect. One possibility that I'd considered was to check the notes I had kept on the bullying campaign - though I wasn't sure I would ever have mentioned her there...

There was a knock on the stall door, making me jump. But I kept quiet, not wanting to let anyone know what I was doing. How had they even got so close, anyhow?

The knock was repeated. "Occupied," I said gruffly.

"Oh my god it's Taylor!" says one of the voices. I recognise the voice, and a chill runs up my back.

Emma Barnes.

I heard "Shall we -" followed by "Yeah. Do it." I wasn't sure what "it" was but I wasn't about to stay here and let it happen either. I dropped the last of my lunch, unlocked the door, and pushed - the door didn't move. I heard sounds from the stalls to either side, and then something from above. I looked up - and a stream of liquid hit my face, momentarily blinding me as it splashed into my glasses. I could taste it as it ran over my mouth - cranberry juice.

Even though I only glimpsed them, I recognised the two pouring various juices and sodas on me - Madison Clements and Sophia Hess. Which meant that the one holding the door shut must have been Emma. Emma, who had once been the third point to the triangle with myself and Sayori.

The cranberry juice was joined by grape juice, by orange soda - and the plastic bottles dropped on me once empty. Only once they were done did Emma let the door open. I shoved it all the way and looked at the three of them as they laughed.

Emma, red hair, all the curves the boys liked and I lacked. Sophia, darker skinned, trim and athletic. Madison Clements, slightly smaller, deliberately cute. All three united in a terrible alliance. All three out to get me, and me personally. All three laughing as if the sight of me covered in juice was the funniest thing ever.

And I could feel every bug, every insect in the building. Every little creepy crawly. Not just feel. I could control them.

I knew that turning the wrath of the insect kingdom against these three was the wrong thing to do. I knew that if I were to do so anyway, the local heroes would figure me out. I knew that it wouldn't just get me in trouble, but my father too.

And it was getting harder and harder to remember that.

The three of them fortunately didn't push it further, leaving - still laughing - and heading off to class. In my anger, I reached out to the insect population of Winslow, calling them towards me - and then the bathroom door swung open again.

The girl who entered was vaguely familiar - she'd been in World Issues with me the previous year, despite being a year younger, and I thought she was one of Sophia's rivals on the track as well. But though I knew her face and her name, I never knew her - she and I had never approached each other.

She took one look at me and gasped. "Taylor, what happ-"

Pity was the last thing I needed.

"Not now, Monika." Even as I spoke, I shoved away the insects I had begun to call - I felt them turn about, in the pipes, outside the windows, above the ceiling, on the walls, under the floorboards.

Monika's expression firmed. "You're about Yuri's size," she says, "and we had gym today. Wait here, I'll get you another top, and some paper towels."

The door closes, and she's gone. I - I barely know what to say, or - I know what happens in a case like this. I know that Monika will merely be the next victim of Emma and her cronies. I know that helping me will only hurt her. I shouldn't let - I turn and notice how the juice is soaking into the top of my backpack. The backpack that contains every book I need for the day, after everything in my locker got ruined, again and again.

I almost break down, then and there. Almost. But I don't. I - I'm not going to be able to face the next class. I grab my bag, open the bathroom door, ready to just give up and go home, ready to get out of there before Monika comes back - I open the door to find Monika on the other side, carrying a tracksuit top and a roll of paper towel.

How she even found a roll of paper towel in Winslow, never mind so fast -

There's no fight left in me as she bears down on me. In minutes, I'm wearing the tracksuit top - large enough to hang loosely on my frame - instead of my own shirt, which Monika is holding; the worst of the juice on my head has been cleaned - and about half the roll of paper towel has been sacrificed to the cause of my bag.

Monika says she'll get my shirt back to me - and get Yuri's shirt back as well - after school, and she does not leave me a word to object with. She walks me partway to class, leaving only because she has to reach her own class. Half dazed, I walk to my art class - and my half-formed idea of just walking past it, of going home, dies when I see Sayori waiting outside art class.

And holding my art project.

She spots me as I spot her, and waves happily.

The Three seem surprised to see me, and especially to see me cleaned up. But I hand my project in - immediately, giving them no opportunity for further sabotage - and retreat to my desk, ignoring their jibes as well as I can.

I can't escape them.

Chapter Text

Meeting the club

Even after the voices and giggles of my tormentors leave, I just can't seem to find the motivation to get up. I'm wearing a borrowed shirt, my hair is still sticky, what do I even have to look forward to -

"Hellooo?"

"Sayori?" I look around, we're the only two in the classroom.

"I thought I'd catch you coming out of the classroom, but I saw you just sitting here and spacing out, so I came in. Honestly, you're even worse than me sometimes... I'm impressed!"

"You don't need to wait for me, Sayori."

"Well, I thought you might not know where the literature club meets, so, you know... I came to show you the way."

...Monika had said she'd want this tracksuit top back at the end of the day. But she never arranged where to meet. I guess if I hang about at this club for a bit then I can bring it back to her tomorrow?

And as much as I dislike the school, I had promised Sayori I'd visit her club.

"Let's go~!"

I dejectedly follow Sayori across the school and upstairs. She leads me to a classroom and, full of energy, swings open the door.

"Everyone! The new member is here~!"

I don't even have the energy to object anymore.

The tall, purple-haired girl with a figure to rival Emma's is first to speak up. "Welcome to the Literature Club. It's a pleasure meeting you. I, um, I hope you -" She stops, clearly flustered.

"Well, at least you didn't bring a boy," says the short, pink-haired one. "That would have totally killed the atmosphere."

But it's the third person in the room who has my immediate attention.

"Ah, Taylor, good to see you!" says Monika. "Welcome to the club!"

I'm completely taken aback. Monika is in the literature club? And she's holding - how did she get my shirt laundered and dried since lunch?

"What're you looking at?" asks the pink-haired one. "If you want to say something, then say it!"

I blink. "Sorry, I -"

"Natsuki...." says the purple-haired one.

"Hmph!" says Miss Pink Hair. How much hair dye does this club go through, anyway?

"You can just ignore her when she gets moody~" whispers Sayori into my ear. Then, aloud, she adds "Anyway! This is Natsuki Meadows, always full of energy."

I'd swear she's a year younger than anyone else in the club. Pink hair and sour attitude - not that my attitude is any better.

"And this is Yuri, the smartest in the club!"

Yuri? Is it her top that I'm wearing....

"D-Don't say things like that..."

I... haven't exactly had reason to work on my social skills for a long time. But I try to put forth the effort in any case. "It's nice to meet both of you?" I try. "Yuri, thank you for -"

"I-It's no problem," she quickly says.

"Well, I've got your shirt cleaned," says Monika, passing it to me.

"Thanks. Yuri, if you want your top back immediately, I could -"

"Y-you can bring it back tomorrow. That will be okay."

"Right. Um. Thank you."

"And it sounds like you already know Monika!" says Sayori.

"That's right," says Monika, with a smile.

"Come sit down, Taylor! We made room for you at the table, so you can sit next to me or Monika. I'll get the cupcakes~"

"Hey! I made them, I'll get them!" objects Natsuki.

"Sorry, I got a little too excited~" apologises Sayori

"Then, how about I make some tea as well?" offers Yuri.

There's a few desks drawn together to form a table. I awkwardly take the nearest seat - next to Sayori - while Natsuki takes a covered tray and Yuri opens the closet.

Natsuki proudly returns to the table. "Okaaay, are you ready?" She pauses a moment before opening the tray. "Ta-daa!"

"Uwooooah!" says Sayori, at the sight of the cupcakes. They're white and fluffy, decorated to look like little cats, with chocolate ears and icing whiskers.

"So cuuuute~!" opines Sayori.

"I had no idea you were so good at baking, Natsuki!" says Monika.

"Ehehe. Well, you know. Just hurry and take one!"

I get the fourth cupcake, after Sayori, Monika, and Yuri each take one.

"It's delicious!" says Sayori, who already has icing on her face. With such a vote of confidence, what else can I do? I take a bite.

It is delicious.

Natsuki is looking at me. She seems to be expecting something....?

"It is good. Thank you, Natsuki," I tell her.

"W-Why are you thanking me? It's not like I......Made them for you or anything!"

"...I thought you made them for the club?"

"Well, yes, technically, b-but not for, you know, you! Dummy!"

Her word seems to lack the vehemence of the same word in the mouth of Emma or her hangers-on, but it still strikes at the same psychological bruise. I flinch.

"She didn't mean it like that," says Sayori, quickly. "Natsuki calls everybody 'dummy' sometimes."

"It's 'cos everybody is!" says Natsuki, happily.

It's at this point that Yuri places tea cups in front of everyone.

"You keep an entire tea set in this classroom?"

"Don't worry, the teachers gave us permission." Of course they did, this is Winslow, you can probably get permission for a whiskey still. But how do they keep the gangs from taking it -

"After all, doesn't a hot cup of tea help you enjoy a good book?" continues Yuri.

"Um - but how -"

"Ehehe, don't let yourself get intimidated, Yuri's just trying to impress you," opines Monika.

"Eh? T-that's not -"

"Thank you," I say firmly.

"So," says Monika, "what made you consider the literature club?"

Chapter Text

Monika's Interlude

I take a moment to pause, freezing the others before Protagonist can answer the question. We're pleasantly on-script at the moment, with only a few minor deviations so far. The biggest departure to date has been Protagonist's bullying problems. I don't expect those to last for long now that I'm here; I noticed from their files that Emma and Sophia both have significant psychological problems that I'm sure I can leverage.

I just need to make sure that their suicides won't negatively affect Protagonist.

There are a few minor script variations as well, not to mention a few changes to the .chr files of the other club members.

I have no idea what those could mean, but I take a moment to look them over anyhow. Surnames, for a start. Natsuki never had a surname in the original game. Yuri still doesn't; an inspection of my own .chr file shows that I am now "Monika Salvato". Not entirely inappropriate, I guess.

Protagonist is now "Taylor Hebert" and is no longer an entity from outside the universe puppeting a remote frame. She's the most different of all, but her introduction to the club is running almost directly to the script; next up, she's going to admit to never having really appreciated literature, and I'm going to talk about why I founded the club.

The "Cape Name" section in people's .chr files is new, though.

Protagonist's cape name is "---Undecided---". Yuri's is "N/A", as is Natsuki's. Sayori and I don't even have a "Cape Name" section in our files. I wonder what the reason for that difference is?

Sophia's "Cape Name" was down as Shadow Stalker; her and Protagonist are the only two I've met so far with anything in their files under "Powers".

Sophia had "Intangibility, temporary, vulnerable to electricity". And Protagonist has "Biological control, complete, target limited (mental complexity, by threshold)".

I'm not entirely sure what these sections of the character files even mean yet. And I certainly haven't started editing them yet. I'm... unsure of the long-term effects of such editing. It didn't exactly work out like I'd expected in the original game.

I take a moment to check up on Sayori's depression; on Yuri's obsessiveness; even on Natsuki's malnutrition. I haven't exacerbated any of those - yet - so there's no reason for any of them to be in danger.

If anything, this Protagonist doesn't seem to be in a great place herself, psychologically speaking. I probably shouldn't have any of the club members commit suicide until she's on a firmer psychological footing. At the same time, I do need to try to push those three bullies away from her - I hope I get it right this time.

Or at least, if I get it wrong again, that their suicides don't negatively affect Protagonist.

I take a sip of my tea. I might need to deal with this bullying problem sooner rather than later; I get the impression that this universe is going to have a few more... problems than I am used to.

Nonetheless, I can pause time, read and edit character files, paste objects into reality, and observe my Protagonist from any distance. I wasn't sure that my abilities would remain in the real world, but it seems that they have.

I haven't tested it yet, for obvious reasons, but it's possible I can still remain alive even after the total annihilation of my body. Just in case, I've taken care to save a copy to restore.

I take a moment to consider the list of other problems that I ran across. I somehow doubt that drug addicts or bath-water dealers will be any sort of an issue; a himbo god might be, but as long as he's not directly hostile I think I can deal with him.

The end of the world is definitely a concern. I need to ensure that, even if it happens, myself and Protagonist survive. ...I can create food and water, and shelter in the form of classrooms, so I can keep the two of us alive indefinitely. And that's all that's really important.

All in all, I'm definitely feeling optimistic! All I have to do is keep a close eye on Protagonist and be prepared to deal with deviations from the script. Or to push anyone else who gets too close to Protagonist away.

Feeling optimistic, I unpause the club.

Chapter Text

So why did you join the club?

Monika seems to flicker, changing her posture in an instant. I blink. What just -

Nobody else seems to be reacting. I'm not sure if they even noticed. In the back of my mind, I'm trying to figure out if any of the wards could have done that.

But even as I do that, I can still answer the question. "Er, well, I've always been interested in literature. My mother was an English professor. But I only found out about the literature club from Sayori this morning."

Clockblocker... if he froze everyone but Monika, then it would look like she just flickered like that. Wait, Clockblocker's a girl? Well, congratulations to whoever did her costume, then!

"That's great!" says Monika. "We'll make sure you feel right at home, okay? As president of the Literature Club, it's my duty to make the club fun and exciting for everyone!"

There's a long moment of silence, before Monika adds "I love the idea of taking something I personally enjoy and make something special out of it. And if it encourages others to get into literature, then I'm fulfilling that dream!"

"Monika really is a great leader!" says Sayori, to which Yuri nods in agreement.

"So, uh, what do the club meetings consist of?" I ask.

Monika blinks. "Well, uh, mostly we read stuff and chat. We're still a very new club, so we're working out the details."

"So, Taylor, what kind of things do you like to read?" asks Yuri.

"I've always been a big fan of classical literature," I say. "How about yourself?"

Yuri traces the rim of her teacup with her finger. "My favorites are usually novels that build deep and complex fantasy worlds. The level of creativity and craftsmanship behind them is amazing to me. And telling a good story in such a foreign world is equally impressive." Yuri goes on, clearly passionate about her reading. She seemed so reserved and timid at first, but it's obvious by the way her eyes light up that she finds her comfort in the world of books, not people. I'm not surprised. "But you know, I like a lot of things. Stories with deep psychological elements usually immerse me as well. Isn't it amazing how a writer can so deliberately take advantage of your own lack of imagination to completely throw you for a loop? Anyway, I've been reading a lot of horror lately..."

"Given the nature of Winslow," I say drily, "horror isn't exactly much different from day-to-day life, is it?"

"Ahahaha~" chuckles Monika.

"Ah, but our troubles here are strictly mundane," says Yuri. "Mostly a lack of funding for the school. It's not like we have hostile capes using our school as an experiment."

Monika frowns slightly. "I wouldn't really have expected that, Yuri. From someone as gentle as you?"

"I guess you could say that," concedes Yuri. "But if a story makes me think, or takes me to another world, then I really can't put it down. Surreal horror is often very successful at changing the way you look at the world, if only for a brief moment."

"Ugh, I hate horror," shudders Natsuki.

"Oh?" asks Yuri. "Why's that?"

"Well, I just..." Natsuki's eyes glance around the room. "Never mind."

"That's right," says Monika, "you usually like to write about cute things, don't you, Natsuki?"

"W-what?" she asks. "What gives you that idea?"

Monika holds up a piece of paper. "You left a piece of scrap paper behind last club meeting. It looked like you were working on a poem called--"

"Don't say it out loud!!" Natsuki grabs at the paper. "And give that back!"

And, in a manner completely opposite to what I'd seen from Sophia and others... Monika just let Natsuki take the scrap of paper back, with her only comment being "Fine, fine~"

"Ehehe," giggles Sayori, stepping up behind Natsuki. "Your cupcakes, your poems... Everything you do is just as cute as you are~"

"I'm not cute!" insists Natsuki.

And I feel it's important to defend her - I can't risk my other childhood friend going the same way as Emma. "She's not cute," I tell Sayori, firmly.

"E-eh?" asks Natsuki. "Why do you care?"

I think about it for a moment. "I think - everyone should be able to define themselves. But people don't get to define other people. So it doesn't matter what Sayori thinks of you. It matters what you think of you."

"Ahaha~" chuckles Monika. "That's very wise, Taylor."

"Indeed," agrees Yuri. "And yet, to an extent, everything we do is a form of self-expression - the truest writing is writing to oneself, and that might reveal truths about one's nature that one is reluctant to speak aloud. To write well, one must be willing to open up, showing one's vulnerabilities and opening up even the deepest reaches of one's heart - and I can understand why one might be reluctant to share that level of writing."

"Do you have writing experience too, Yuri?" asks Monika. "Maybe if you share some of your work, you can set an example and help Natsuki feel comfortable enough to share hers."

Yuri blinks, opening and closing her mouth for a moment.

"Aww..." says Sayori. "I wanted to read everyone's poems..."

There's a long moment of silence.

"Okay!" says Monika. "I have an idea, everyone~. Let's all go home and write a poem of our own! Then, next time we meet, we'll all share them with each other. That way, everyone is even!"

"U-um..." says Natsuki, while Yuri remains silent.

"Yeaaah! Let's do it!" opines Sayori.

"Plus, now that we have a new member, I think it will help us all get a little more comfortable with each other, and strengthen the bond of the club," adds Monika. "Isn't that right, Taylor?" She gives me a warm smile.

"Hold on," I say. "There's still one problem." Well, two, but I don't exactly intend to blow Monika's identity as Clockblocker. She acts completely different out of costume...

"Eh? What's that?" she asks.

"I don't know the club's schedule," I point out. "When do we meet?"

Monika blinks, seeming surprised for some reason.

"Every day after school!" says Sayori.

"Every day on which there is school," clarifies Yuri.

"Okay, everyone!" says Monika. "I think with that, we can officially end today's meeting on a good note. Everyone remember tonight's assignment: Write a poem to bring to the next meeting, so we can all share!" Monika looks over at me once more. "Taylor, I look forward to seeing how you express yourself. Ehehe~"

"....right."

"Hey, Taylor," says Sayori, "do you want to walk home together?"

"....sure. I don't see why not."

I don't know if Sophia was waiting for us, or if athletics practice just happened to end at the same time as literature club.

But the first I knew that she was there was when I heard her voice.

"Oh, would you look at that? The loseratiture club picked up one more loser!"

I lower my head with a groan. Is there no possible escape from -

"Yeah? Well your face stinks!" calls back Natsuki.

Sophia looks down her nose at the diminutive girl. "Oh dear, someone ought to tell the primary school that one of their misbehaved brats escaped!"

"At least I was able to pass primary school without needing an athletic scholarship!" snaps Natsuki, smugly.

Sophia's face darkens as she steps forward. "Why you -"

"What's going on here?" asks a fairly large skinhead. He's not even subtle about his gang affiliation, with 88 tattooed on his cheek.

"What's it to you?" asks Sophia.

"When a white girl's getting harassed..." says the skinhead.

Natsuki's hands clench into fists. "I don't need your help, Jim! I was handling it!"

"You don't need to get bullied, Natalya," says the skinhead. He whistles, and a couple of other skinheads start paying attention.

"That's not my name!" yells Natsuki.

Sophia glares at the forces arrayed against her - the literature club and a few Empire goons. As compared to herself and some other track team members, who quite frankly look like they'd prefer to run. "So the loseratiture club is allied with the Empire now? I bet that must look good!"

"We're not allied!" objects Natsuki.

"Of course not," smiles Sophia. "You just happen to be good friends with -"

"Jim" puts his hand on Sophia's shoulder, pulling her back. With the speed of a striking cobra, she turns around, and - she recognises that with two of his friends at his side, Jim had her thoroughly outmatched. "This isn't over," she snarls, before shrugging his hand off and marching away.

"Of course it is," says Monika. "You're hardly strong enough to push it, are you?"

Sophia stops, turns - looks at the skinhead and his buddies - and then walks out, faster than before.

"I don't need your help," Natsuki firmly tells him. "I don't want your help."

"Oh, Natalya, so ungrateful -"

"That's not my name!"

"So," I ask Sayori, "why is Natsuki, um, -"

"I'm not sure," she admits. "But I think he's an old friend of her family or something like that."

The rest of my trip home passes without further incident.

Chapter Text

Patrol

It was only after I got home that I dared to check on my superhero notebook. The text was encoded, but I knew Monika was smart - not Thinker smart, to decode it at a glance, but definitely smart enough to ask why I was carrying around an encoded notebook.

So I'd sacrificed half of Monika's roll of paper towel to save it from the juice without ever once opening the cover. Fortunately, the damage was minimal.

But it really bought home to me how fragile it all was, how much my dreams of being a superhero kept getting out off into the future. I decided I'd procrastinated enough. My suit was almost ready - I had black widows weaving their silk into a bodysuit in the basement - and so I decided that this weekend, I need to start my career as a hero.

On Friday, I finished off my homework and put together a poem for Monday's literature club. After some thought, I decided to call it "Eclipse".

Saturday I dyed my spidersilk suit. Unfortunately the only dye I had was black hair dye, but black suits are formal, right? While it was drying I went shopping for the other necessary parts - mostly goggles for the lenses, but I needed a few buckles as well.

Sunday I went out looking for crime to stop.

To do this, I simply headed from the Boardwalk - which was reasonably safe - to the Docks.

Brockton Bay had always been a shipping town. When the shipping dried up, this left a lot of dockworkers out of business - and many of these had, in turn, joined the major gangs. The biggest two of these were Empire 88 and the ABB. And both gangs employed capes. But while Empire 88 had over half a dozen capes, the ABB had only two that I could find out about from my online research. And this was why I was searching through ABB territory - though both Lung and Oni Lee were terrifying individually - and more so together - the Docks were large and thus the odds were against my running into them.

There weren't many people about the Docks this late at night. Some of them were clearly drugged. Some of them were young ladies - or the occasional young lad - wearing far skimpier clothing than the weather really permitted. But prostitution really isn't the kind of thing that requires a superhero's intervention. I assumed that everyone else was likely a gang member - but none of them were being violent within my sight.

I wasn't picking up on any muggings, which I would have intervened in.

There was no problem with shelter, at least - there were enough abandoned warehouses around that everyone could find shelter easily enough. And I was picking up a swarm as I went - two swarms, actually, one to my left and one to my right, skipping over the rooftops out of sight and through the interiors of the buildings. Up until I realised how obvious that would make my own position to someone of the rooftops, at which point I had the right-hand swarm fliers pass overhead and merge with the left-hand swarm.

The right-hand cockroaches I kept going as they were. I didn't think any buildings around here had power, so it was unlikely that anyone would even notice them.

It was the lack of other lights that allowed the simple flame of a lighter ahead of me to catch my attention. By its' light, I saw several Asian faces, and ABB gang colours - red and green.

There were quite a lot of them, and they didn't exactly look like they were just hanging out. So I tried to see if I could tell who was leading this group of gangers. There was hardly any light to work with - a few cigarettes showed the size of the group - but, fortunately, said leader also wanted the group to see him, so he stepped out into one of the few fairly well lit places in the area.

I knew him by sight, as did anyone in Brockton Bay who cared in the slightest about the news. Lung. A Cape who could - and had - fought off entire teams of heroes before, including the entirety of the local Protectorate. My online research had said that he gets faster, stronger, and starts changing shape the longer he's in a fight - I wasn't sure if it works due to adrenaline or what. On top of that, he's a pyrokinetic - he can generate and manipulate fire. And if there's an upper limit to how far his transformation goes, then I don't think anyone has found it yet - he only starts winding down when the fight is over. So I did know that he was very, very dangerous. I did not want to get into a fight with him, and in the event that I did, I did not want to allow the fight to last long.

What I did want to do, though, was to find out what he was planning. I had a lot of cockroaches and other insects under my sway, and if I knew what he was doing then perhaps my swarms could provide some help to someone - though there were a lot of gangsters here, and it looked like many of them were armed. I certainly saw a few guns and knives in evidence.

Lung spoke in a deep voice - but as I was over a block away I could not make out his words. Eager to hear him without risking catching his eye, I dodged into a side street, hoping to work around to a closer vantage point - and, luckily for me, I spotted a fire escape on the side of the building he was standing in front of. My soft-soled shoes stayed silent as I slipped up the fire escape and onto the roof, quietly settling in almost directly above Lung - while my swarm settled mostly on and within the building to my right. I was still two stories above Lung, which, along with his accent, didn't make it easy to hear him - but his gang was utterly silent as he spoke, so after a while I was able to make out his words.

"…the children, just shoot. Doesn’t matter your aim, just shoot. You see one lying on the ground? Shoot the little bitch twice more to be sure. We give them no chances to be clever or lucky, understand?"

They were going to kill children?!?

Chapter Text

Meanwhile, Monika

Of course, I kept watch over my Protagonist. I specifically didn't read her poem in advance, so that my reaction to it would be more genuine, and I only kept her in my general awareness on Saturday...

...but on Sunday evening the universe stopped timeskipping and payed closer attention to her. And so did I. I even got physically closer. At first I stayed about a block away, but after only one close encounter with her swarm I decided to make that two blocks away.

There weren't many people out and about, and there was less law enforcement - though I did spot some guy in body armour forcing what looked like a drug addict into a van.

Then my Protagonist found the gangers. She tried to get closer to hear what they were saying. I had no reason to - I could read Lung's speech as a transcript from two blocks away. Apparently some children had robbed his casino, and he was spitting fire (not literally) over it. Worse, the children were apparently superheroes with powers that helped them escape trouble.

They were going to have a hard time escaping from this group of gangers, that was for sure.

I took a close look at Lung's file. Name, Kenta. Cape name, Lung. Powers, "transmutation towards platonic dragon, asymptotically approaching undefeatable ideal with increased length of combat. Limitation, reversion after combat."

On top of that, even before entering combat he was six foot tall and quite muscular. Without powers - or other unusual abilities - he wouldn't even break a sweat, taking down both me and my Protagonist. And that's before taking into account the gang members around him.

It was at this point that my Protagonist took offense at something that Lung had said. Or, well - took offense at something, anyhow; it barely mattered what. Her swarm swept over the gang.... and as it reached Lung, his file changed. Specifically, it gained a few new lines in the Power section.

Strength: 0.1
Speed: 0.1
Pyrogeneration: 0.1
Pyrokinesis: 0.1
Pyroclairvoyance: 0.1
Armour: 0.1
Sensory acuity: 0.1
Sensory processing: 0.1
Intelligence: 0.1
Regeneration: 0.1

...and so on down the line, several different factors, all of which were steadily increasing.

This wasn't a danger to my Protagonist - yet. He didn't even know where she was. But what this was was a perfect opportunity for me to test what happens if I try to edit someone's file.

I started with Strength. It hadn't missed my notice that all of the factors had started at zero. So this was probably additional strength from his power. I set Strength back to zero.

And as soon as I did that, two things happened. First of all, Lung stumbled. Secondly, every other line in his file sharply increased. Hmmm. So if I kept writing zero, then I could keep him at the strength of his normal body - but at the cost of speeding up how fast he increased his speed, his fire powers, his intelligence, his regeneration, and all the rest.

I could, to some degree, shape how his powers worked. But not, it seemed, whether his powers worked.

Lung said something - I didn't understand what. It was neither English nor Japanese. But whatever it was, his gang scattered - probably trying to get away from the swarm. None of it could so much as touch Lung, of course, ensconced as he was in his flames - it looked like his skin was burning. His clothes definitely were, and I did not need to see that.

Nonetheless, it was important to keep a careful eye on his location. Not that that was hard; a six-foot naked guy wreathed in flames was easy to keep track of on a dark night. I couldn't quite figure out what he was doing, though he was clearly up to something - tap-dancing forward, then abruptly changing direction and hopping backward, until he was almost out of sight behind the building next to me. I leaned out to get a better look and try to figure out what he was up to - and that's the moment when one of his gangers whacked me over the back of the head with something heavy and metallic.

The last thing I saw as everything went dark was Lung looking up at the building on whose roof stood my Protagonist. And smiling.

The next thing I knew, I was hurrying through the Docks, two blocks away from my Protagonist. I was uninjured, and a quick glance at her file showed me that so was my Protagonist. The system clock seemed to have gone backwards.

I stared in shock as, a little way along an alleyway, a man in body armour got into a van and drove off alone.

What was that? What just happened?

Chapter Text

Meanwhile, Monika (again)

Right. Right. Need to... calm down. Take a breath. Something is... Happening.

I appear to be replaying the last couple of hours? ...yes, I remember almost kicking that empty can. I remember following my Protagonist as she crept close enough to Lung to try to hear him.

And I remember Lung utterly demolishing me in combat. Looked at objectively, I think I see what happened there. I made the mistake of keeping his strength down, which resulted in significant increases to his intelligence and his sensory acuity. He spotted me, and deliberately distracted me while sending one of his unpowered gangers to whack me over the head. I didn't even see what he did to my Protagonist, but she wouldn't have had a chance - her insects can't land on fire.

First things first. I need to not be here - not on the ground, where I'm so vulnerable. I do need to be able to see the scene, so I can help my Protagonist - but she has a good idea about watching from the rooftops. The tallest nearby building looks like about four stories... and it's not like I need to climb something to get up there. It takes a few minutes of careful concentration to fade out here and fade in up there... and while it's not impossible for the unpowered gangers to get up here, it'll take them longer and they'll be more obvious.

I've still got a good view of Lung as he starts giving the same speech, and from here I can even see my Protagonist as she gets into position. Coming up here should keep me safe. But how do I keep her safe? I contemplate revealing myself, but I don't think it's quite the right moment for that yet. I still don't know why time is repeating, and I don't know if it'll do it again. Or what triggered it, for that matter.

I see some people are saying Coil, but others are saying that doesn't work out. I.... honestly don't know. What I do know is that I came from a dating sim. My game has no autosave in case of death because it simply has no - it isn't supposed to have any death. Which is why the game broke further the more characters died. If this is some kind of fighting game with an autosave, I will be badly upset - I thought this was the real world, not another virtual reality.

...whether I'm currently in the real world or not is important, but it's not immediately urgent, as I'm reminded by the sight of my Protagonist's bugs swarming across the gang. I need to get us both out of this, alive, first, and then struggle with philosophy when my Protagonist's life isn't on the line. Now, I can push down any one aspect of Lung's growth... at the cost of magnifying all of the other aspects.

When I look at it that way... It's obvious that strength is the wrong aspect to push down on. He's strong enough to handle us both already. But what he doesn't know is where we are. And if he can't see us...

I shove his sensory acuity down. All the way down. His strength, speed, everything else goes up... but what does that strength help him, when he has no idea where to apply it? The bugs begin to fall to his flames, and, like last time he ends up setting himself on fire to get rid of them. And then he roars in frustration - of course, no-one else knows that he's not getting the sensory expansions that his power normally gives him. But he can't see us in the dark, can't hear us over the noise of his gang fighting the swarm - fighting and losing to the swarm -

Just as I'm starting to relax, he fires a couple of fireballs upward. Carving holes through the swarm... and also acting as flares, lighting up the area. My Protagonist is lying flat behind the rim on the edge of the roof - I have no idea how she sees to direct her Swarm, but there's no way to see her from ground level.

And, in the bright light, I see three monsters bounding across the roofs. Huge lizard-like creatures - creatures with riders. Domesticated, then, whatever else they might be.

But while there is no line-of-sight from Lung to my Protagonist.... there is a line of sight to me. I'm not entirely sure how one would normally get up to this rooftop without teleporting... but it turns out that Lung is perfectly capable of leaping three stories in a single bound. He hits the wall, and I don't see exactly how he sticks to it - but from the sound of his angry growling, he's Spidermanning his way up the wall. Possibly punching himself handholds?

Either way, keeping his sensory acuity down is clearly not enough to keep him off my back. I switch to zeroing out his speed instead, giving myself more time to think - and another frustrated growl tells me that he's noticed. But his sensory acuity remains lower than most other things, even as the zeroing of speed boosts it...

Wait. If he's punching handholds... I leave his speed and zero out his strength. Another frustrated roar - but he continues to climb.

I can't stop him. I can't face him. What's left to do? Easy. I need to distract him. Draw him away. I start to fade out, fading in rather on the roof of a building about a block away - in the opposite direction to the side that Lung is climbing. It takes me a few moments to teleport like this, but if I can stay visible and draw Lung away from my Protagonist - I can just fade to somewhere familiar, like the literature club meeting room, once my Protagonist is safe.

That'll work. Right?

Chapter Text

Kids

On the bright side, the gathered gang seemed to be dissipating - and the fact that my insects were largely ignoring anyone who ran off on their own was probably helping that along. On the less bright side, Lung.

I'd had a bunch of particularly poisonous spiders bite him in his more... vulnerable areas. It won't stop him - he's a regenerator - but I was hoping it would slow him down. Unfortunately, it seems that his power ramps up way faster than I would have expected, and it was only moments before he coated himself in flame and burned the spiders off. He tried sending a few fireballs into the air, burning holes in my swarm but not accomplishing anything else - and then he took a flying leap. Fortunately, not for the rooftop I was hiding on, but for a building across the road and a few places to the side. Fortunately, because he would have reached the top of this building with a single leap.

Raising my head slightly, I watched as he climbed the building. At first I thought he was punching handholds, but after a frustrated roar on his part, I saw that wasn't quite right - instead, he was using his control over fire to melt handholds, one by one, up the building.

Then I saw motion from the top. Someone was up there. I couldn't see who, in the dark, but Lung hadn't just chosen that building for its' excellent high-altitude vantage point.

There was someone up there and Lung thought that was me. Someone, some observer, was going to die because I had swarmed Lung.

And I wasn't going to be responsible for someone else's death. Not if I could help it.

What did I have? A few epipens, in case someone had an allergic reaction to my bugs. A packet of chalk dust, which I'd got on a whim. A tube of pepper spray. A knife-proof costume. My Swarm, of course. And myself. Nothing that had the slightest chance of facing off against Lung - who was not only on fire but also now covered in metal - at least, not at this range.

There was only one thing I could possibly do. And it was the most stupid thing imaginable.

So I did it quickly, before I had time for second thoughts. Because I could not live with the guilt of knowing that I'd accidentally released Lung on anyone else.

"Hey! Ugly!"

Lung turned to look at me. And then he opened his mouth and breathed fire, the stream of flame lazily extending in my direction. I jumped to the side, of course, and ran for the fire escape - but I could not run faster than Lung could turn his head. Fortunately, somehow, I was only in the fire for a moment - before the flames abruptly quenched, vanishing as if they had never been.

Not just the flames he had been breathing. The fires on him went out as well. He also abruptly grew almost a foot, his back abruptly bending and splitting as he grew wings.

I'd heard rumours that Lung could grow wings, if he was fighting long enough. But I didn't think that the few minutes we'd been going could possibly have been long enough - and I certainly hadn't heard of his flames going out when he grew wings. For the moment that were small - I didn't think he could fly with them. But another burst of growth like that and he would be able to.

With his fire somehow quenched, Lung started moving up the building again - but now, instead of melting grips for himself, he just jammed his dagger-like claws into the wall. But also, with his fire quenched, Lung was once again vulnerable to my swarm.

Not very vulnerable, since the metal that covered nearly every inch of his body was beyond what my bugs could deal with - but his eyes were uncovered, and with his fire offline and his hands busy with climbing, it's not like there was exactly much he could have done to prevent my wasps from getting there.

Of course he closed his eyes - and his eyelids were jointed metal by now. So I couldn't actually hurt him like that. I covered his eyes instead, a bunch of bugs simply sitting on each eyeball, blocking his vision.

It did nothing to stop him from climbing. But it did mean that when he got to the top, he wouldn't be able to see whoever was up there. That... might give them a chance to get away? It seemed the best I could do, anyhow.

There was an abrupt crunch as something landed on the roof behind me. I turned - fast - but whatever it was was already leaping off the roof again. I got an impression of size - about as big as a small van - and that it was animal, not mechanical - before it had leapt off this roof again, on to the next building. It turned, kept again, and tore Lung off the wall, dropping them both to street level.

Then there were a couple more impacts. Two more of the creatures, these each carrying two riders. I reached for my swarm, and -

"Peace!" called one of the riders. "We come in peace!"

I relaxed slightly, only realising for the first time how I was shaking. The four riders slid off the creatures; one, tall enough that I imagined him to be a guy, approached me, while the others - a guy and two girls, including the girl who had spoken earlier - went to go and observe the battle between Lung and the creature. The two that remained on the roof - something like a cross between a lizard and a tiger - leaped down when the girl in the dog mask, who had so far been silent, whistled and pointed down, apparently at Lung.

"You really saved us a lot of trouble," said the one who had approached me in a deep, masculine voice. He held out a hand. I... really had no idea who these people were, or what they might be after, so I kept quiet. Anything I said could so easily be the wrong thing, so I said nothing.

"Were you the one who Trumped him?" asked the girl who'd mentioned coming in peace earlier, the one with long blonde hair who was dressed in a skintight outfit and a mask that wasn't a dog. "Or was that your friend on the other roof?" I kept silent, but she must have seen something in my body language, because she frowned. "You don't know who's on the other roof?"

"Tats," said the guy in black. "Is it urgent?"

"I don't know..... Bug Girl here isn't the sort to attack without reason, the Trump over there.... the Trump over there was protecting Bug Girl here. We don't attack anyone but Lung."

"Right," nods the guy, and turns back towards me. "Introductions. I'm Grue, that's Tattletale -" he indicated the speaker - "the girl with the dogs -" and the dog mask - "prefers to be called Bitch, though in the interests of being PG the good guys and the media call her Hellhound, and last and certainly least we have Regent."

Wait, those giant creatures were dogs?

"Yeah, screw you too," said the other guy, with a chuckle that made it clear he wasn't really offended. "What did you do to Lung? I've never seen him grow wings before. And he's usually on fire."

"Parts of his powers got shut down," said Tattletale. "But every time they did, it magnified all the parts that hadn't been shut down....hey!" She raised her voice, shouting across to the other roof. "Instead of shutting part of him down, try enhancing part of him instead!"

There was a moment of silence on the rooftop, then Bitch grunted. "Better," she said.

Tattletale nodded. "Regeneration's a good choice," she called out again. "He might be healing like Alabaster, but now the dogs can just hold him down. We owe you one too, Miss Trump."

"Yeah," nodded Grue. "We owe you both. When we heard Lung was coming for us, well, we were in a lot of trouble - but you've helped us out of a tough spot." There was a moment of silence, then Grue asked "You're not hurt, are you?"

"Nothing serious," said Tattletale. "She's not quiet because she's hurt. She's quiet because she's shy. The Trump -" She stopped abruptly, looking to the side. "Heads up. We gotta scram."

A few whistles from Bitch and their giant dogs were back on the roof. "Want a ride?" asked Grue. "We can drop you off somewhere out of the way."

I shook my head. I'd always been told not to accept rides from strangers, and so I defaulted to that; this was certainly the very strangest ride I had ever been offered.

"Hey," said Tattletale. "What's your name?"

"I.... I haven't chosen one yet."

She nodded. "Well, Bug, a cape is gonna show up in less than a minute. You did us a solid by dealing with Lung, so take my advice. Someone from the Protectorate shows up, finds two bad guys duking it out, they’re not going to let one walk away. You should get out of here." With a smile, and eyes glittering with mischief, she waved, and the dog-creatures took off, leaping to the next roof, and vanishing surprisingly quickly into the dark.

I sat down abruptly as my legs gave out under me. That was - those were the kids that Lung had been after. And they were a villain team. A villain team who had mistaken me for another villain.

An angry growl from street level reminded me that Lung was still down there. He wiped the bugs from his eyes - I swarmed him again. He really was regenerating fast.

There was the humming sound of a vehicle approaching.

Chapter Text

Armsmaster

Armsmaster. Colin Wallis. I look over his file as he drives up.

There have been too many supervillains already; I can't keep the ones I've already seen completely straight in my head, and adding another at short notice just means I'll forget some more of the ones I've already seen. I see that this one has access to a library of advanced technology as his power, with the search key of Efficiency. And ahahaha, he has a long list of tech on him!

Since he's already built the tech, I'm not sure that messing with his powers would help much... I guess I could try to zero out his power supplies? I'm not sure that would work out, though; he has a lot of different sources of power, and I imagine that that high-tech halberd is still very sharp even without power. Besides, like Lung, he's a fully-grown man; I'm pretty sure he's physically stronger that I am.

Talking about Lung, I pull his regeneration up again. My Protagonist is keeping a bunch of loudly buzzing flies around his ears, and a another group cover his eyes, leaving him blind and deaf...

...and this Armsmaster has just arrived. Took a few moments to study the situation, to look around... And he's just stabbed Lung with a needle on the back of his halberd.

I have no idea what that was supposed to do, but Lung's current level of regeneration handled it almost instantly. Maybe putting everything into regeneration is the wrong option?

....Armsmaster can surely handle a baseline Lung, right? I switch him to sensory acuity, not regeneration. With everything in sensory acuity, he can probably hear the heartbeats of the insects on his eyes. He - oooooh, my Protagonist has been stinging him all this time. And fire ants! That must hurt. And now Armsmaster has got him wrapped in something. Lung's file says he is now "imprisoned" so I guess it's okay to let go of his file?

....wow, his sensory acuity is dropping fast. Everything else is going up, but slowly.... I should probably keep an eye on him.

....Armsmaster just fired a grappling hook at my building. I'm not sure I want to talk with him, but I definitely don't want to talk with him in my school uniform. So I swipe the costume from the last chapter's comments. A white suit, a red tie, a monocle, a cloak... and for some reason greenish-yellow hair. Is that supposed to be dye?

If anyone asks it's dye. I barely have time to copy the costume before Armsmaster comes to a stop on the roof in front of me. He glanced over my costume, but kept his guard up. "Are you going to fight me?"

"I really don't want to," I admit.

"Good," he says, "but that wasn't what I asked. Are you going to?"

....early on his list of tech, I notice that he has a lie detector in his helmet. I hesitate a moment. I've got to say something that's true. And while I don't want to attack, I will if he strikes at my Protagonist. "....not unless you attack first," I settle on after a moment. True, because I never mentioned who he would need to attack. Regardless, he seems to relax slightly.

"I see you're going unmasked. Are you an addition to New Wave?"

"Eh? Not as far as I know?"

"Ah. You got the idea from Glory Girl, I'm guessing."

I remain silent.

"Regardless," he continues, "it's hardly something to do without very careful consideration, and certainly not something I'd recommend to a new Cape on their first night out. How many people have seen you already tonight?"

"You're the first."

"Huh. You're not lying. It's not too late for you to change strategies, then. Do you know who's on the other roof?" He nods in the direction of my Protagonist.

"I've been trying to protect her." True again - I don't know what would have happened had I not been here, but I doubt it could possibly have worked out.

He grunts an acknowledgement. "But do you know who she is?"

I shouldn't be letting him have this much control over the conversation. I should really take the conversational initiative from him, and I have no problem in cheating to do so. He has a lie detector, but I have sources of information that he does not expect... "I know who everyone is... Colin Wallis."

"And now I see why your costume has no mask." His halberd is up, suddenly, aggressively between us. "How did you know my name?"

"This isn't my first time through this evening."

"What number did I give you?"

"....what?"

"If you had told me you were repeating time I would have given you a number. What number did I give you?"

"...I didn't tell you I was repeating time the last time round."

He grunts again. "Five oh eight seven four oh. If you repeat time again, then give me that number."

"....I'm not sure how to control when it happens. Or whether it will happen again tonight."

He grunts. "What's your Cape name?"

I think of the first thing to come to mind. "Um.... Doki."

"...the Hausa word for 'horse'?"

I blink. "What?"

"The Hausa word for 'horse'?" he repeats.

"....perhaps that name could use some work," I admit.

He nods. "The Wards program is good for that sort of thing, Doki. What did you do to Lung?"

"I... changed his his powers work? Put everything into sensory acuity for a bit instead of leaving it spread over all the categories."

"He shrugged off my Brute-rated tranquillisers."

"Ah. I had put everything into Regeneration at the time."

Armsmaster nods. "Thank you for the assist with taking down Lung, then. Your Trump/Thinker combination means that you would very likely be hunted out by the gangs, and either forcefully inducted or killed. I strongly recommend joining the Wards, for your personal safety."

How is he still in control of the conversation? I look away at the moment, and glance down at my Protagonist, still on her roof. "I'll join if and only if she joins." It's definitely true - what better way to be with my Protagonist than to join the same group?

Chapter Text

Armsmaster (Taylor)

After spending a few minutes on the other roof - presumably talking with whoever was there - Armsmaster jumped off the roof, and flew down to my roof.

Well. "Flew" may not be the right word; when he landed I saw two cables folding back into his halberd, one from each of the two roofs.

Still, those couple of minutes had allowed me a moment to calm down, relax, recentre myself. I was ready for anything he might say -

"Are you going to fight me?"

- for almost anything he might say.

"What? No! I'm a good guy!"

He took a step closer. "You don't look like one."

"That's... not intentional. I didn't realise how edgy my costume would look until it was too late to do anything about it."

I made sure to keep my hands down, and my posture non-threatening. It seemed to do the trick; after a moment, Armsmaster said "You're telling the truth," which was true but I was surprised he was so definitive about it.

He took a moment to look me over. "You're new to this."

I chuckle nervously. "New enough that I haven't even come up with a cape name yet," I admit. "Do you know how hard it is to come up with something bug-themed that's not already taken and doesn't make me sound ridiculous?"

"I wouldn't know," he says, a smile visible below his halfmask. "When I got into the game, the good names hadn't all been taken. That's one of the benefits of joining the Wards, though - there's a PR department to help with that sort of thing."

"The Wards." I wasn't exactly wonderfully excited by the idea - I had enough trouble with high-school social dynamics already, I wasn't sure that adding superpowers to the mix would actually improve anything.

"Do you need medical care?" asks Armsmaster.

"No. No, I, I don't think so... Did you get Lung?"

"I managed to restrain him. You were the bug controller blinding him?"

"Yeah. Yeah, that was me."

"Then I thank you for aiding my capture. And I strongly urge you to join the Wards. Have you considered the after-effects of today?"

"After-effects?"

"What happens when the rest of the ABB figures out you were involved in taking down Lung. When Oni Lee and Bakuda decide to make a demonstration. In the Wards, we can protect you a lot better."

"Bakuda? My online research didn't turn up that name -"

"She's a new addition to the gang. Are you aware of the Tinker classification?"

"Um, yes."

"Each Tinker has a specialty. Something that they personally do better than anything else. Hers is bombs."

".....oh."

Armsmaster nods. "You should join the Wards."

"I, um." I was running on far too little sleep, and still shaking after the fight. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I was sure that I was currently in no state to make long-term decisions. "I... I'd like to take some time to think about it."

Armsmaster nods. His gauntlet hums, and he takes a small square of card from it to hand to me. "My card. Give me a call when you decide to join."

No mention, I noticed, if what to do if I make any other decision.

"Let me go and fetch Doki from the other rooftop, and then I'd like to know what happened before I got here."

"Doki?"

Armsmaster shrugs. "I don't think she's settled on a final name yet, either."

Chapter Text

Debriefing

I gave my account of the night's events first, followed by Doki - though she admitted that she wasn't too attached to the name, and wouldn't mind considering a change.

She was dressed much like a stereotypical stage magician, with a top hat and a cloak; and wearing a mask that looked a lot like Tattletale's. I wondered if they got them from the same store? I didn't ask, though.

And then she gave her version of events. I noticed quickly how her description of how she had "messed with" Lung's powers didn't match what had happened, but both she and Armsmaster shushed me when I tried to interrupt - and then she mentioned how she had been attacked and knocked out from behind by an unpowered ABB ganger.

And then how she had reawoken earlier in the day, apparently reversing time.

The second time through, her description of events matched my story - though there was a lot that Doki didn't say. Some of it was just skimming over details, like how she got up to that roof, and the rest seemed to be about hiding either the full scope of her Trump powers or her motives for joining in the attack.

There was no way that she could have heard Lung's speech from the rooftop she was on, so I guess she was closer in the first timeline.

Once she was done, I gave my description - including my encounter with the kids, whose descriptions I gave Armsmaster. Doki's description meant that I could skip over a lot of what Lung had done, but she'd hardly mentioned the kids.

He recognised them at once, and apparently Grue had been truthful about their names (I noticed he recognised the dog girl as Hellhound). Either that, or this group had been very effectively disguised as these "Undersiders", though the first option seemed a whole lot more likely. But he had an immediate question about them.

"They knew I was coming?" he asked.

I just nodded. I've never been in favour of repeating myself unnecessarily.

"That explains a lot," he said, pacing up and down. "They're slippery. They usually either slip away unscathed or win or often both if we meet them." He turned to look at Doki. "Do you know who they are?"

Doki shrugged. "They didn't come to my rooftop," she said.

Armsmaster snorted. "We know so little about them," he said. "Grue and Hellhound were active before they joined up, so we've got some idea of their capabilities, but the other two?" He shook his head. "Complete nonentities. We know nothing about them."

"Aside from that they're not working with Lung," pointed out Doki.

"Aside from that," nodded Armsmaster. "Though Lung doesn't generally work with anyone outside the Azn Bad Boys. It seemed the two of you worked well together, especially for your first night out. And you've helped me to do something significant here." He tilted his head for a moment towards Lung. "But I don't think you want to still be on your own when the ABB decide they want vengeance for tonight. And, from what I've heard, most of the gang ran from a swarm of insects. I'll do what I can to keep the two of you out of the news, but it won't take much to put two and two together when an insect controller shows up."

I felt a pit opening in my stomach. The worst of it was, Armsmaster was right. There were dozens of gangers out there who had been set upon by my swarm, they would remember, and they'd know it was me if I tried to do anything ever again with my powers.

"And you, Doki," continued Armsmaster. "Your powers clearly have both Thinker and Trump applications. Do you know which two power classifications are most in demand by superpowered gangsters?" He paused a moment for effect, before continuing. "Thinker. And Trump. If they know what you can do, they will come after you."

"Ahahaha~," said Doki. "You sound so serious when you say that."

"Because I am serious."

"But - " Doki held up a hand as she spoke, to silence any further objections. "- but all of this is stuff that might happen in the future. When anyone else sees her Swarm. When my powers get discovered. But none of that is happening right now. So we have time to go home and think about your offer for a time. After getting some sleep."

"I truly feel," said Armsmaster, "that you would find it beneficial."

"Your feelings on the matter are very clear," acknowledged Doki.

After Armsmaster had made sure we both had his phone number and left with his unconscious prisoner, there were only Doki and I left.

"So. Um. You occasionally replay time?"

She shrugged. "It's only happened once so far."

"Maybe it happens if you die," I mused.

"If that's true," said Doki firmly, "then I feel I'd rather not test it."

I nodded. "In case it isn't. Sure. So tonight was your first time out?"

She nodded. "Just like yours."

I had to wonder what the odds were of two parahumans heading out for the first time to the same place at the same time. Brockton Bay may have a high parahuman population, but even so, it felt that the odds were against it.

Still, it was hard to figure out why someone would fake something like that.

"I take it you're also headed home to get some sleep?" I asked.

"Ahahaha~ Did you know that Armsmaster has a lie detector in his helmet?"

"....what, really?"

Doki nodded. "It's important to keep in mind when talking to him. Anyhow, goodnight, I guess."

"Goodnight."

I leave a fly nestled into her hair to keep an eye on her position - mainly to ensure that she doesn't follow me home - and I head off.

She doesn't follow me home. She doesn't even leave the rooftop until she's out of my range.

Fortunately, my father is a remarkably heavy sleeper.

Chapter Text

Monday

It turned out that my Dad had noticed that I'd been up last night. I told him I'd just gone for a late walk due to stresses at school, of course. He also noticed that the ends of my hair were burned - that, I attributed to the stove.

Sayori also noticed my hair. I told her it was the stove as well, and she told me about the time she near burned down the kitchen trying to make breakfast.

(There is definitely something odd going on here. I remember the incident she's talking about... but I don't remember ever remembering it before. It all feels slightly unreal - a mere few hours ago, I was dodging Lung and talking to Armsmaster... yeah, that must be it. Some sort of mood whiplash.)

I make it to school without falling asleep on the bus, a minor miracle in itself. And I relaxed somewhat when I made it safely to homeroom and went to sit at my computer. This was one of the few classes that I didn't share with Emma, Sophia, or Madison; though some of their friends were here, they generally left me alone without any of the Trio egging them on.

There was a fair amount of whispering going on, and for once it didn't stop when people saw me. No-one said a word to me directly, of course; I ignored the whispers entirely until I heard the name of Sophia. Apparently it was something about her backing down and then someone who was only described as "some little kid" had taken Sophia's place and starred down the threat, whatever it was.

I recognised the incident, of course. The "little kid" had been Natsuki, Friday, after the literature club meeting, with those E88 gangers. But it had been embellished so thoroughly that it was already spinning off variants - where the villains that Sophia had backed off from were the ABB, or the Merchants, or Uber and Leet... It had been a very busy weekend, but I was surprised that the rumour had changed that much already.

Regardless, as pleasant as it was to hear Sophia's ego getting torn apart by the rumour mill, I didn't want to be part of it - not because of Sophia, but because I'd long ago learned that if I dipped my toe in the rumour mill I would quickly lose that metaphorical toe. Rather, I concentrated on the class assignment - creating a calculator in Visual Basic - for the ten or fifteen minutes needed to throw something suitable together.

Then I went to look at one of the better sources of cape news - the Parahumans Online site.

First things first, I went to look up the villains I'd met last night. I wasn't sure whether the leader was Grue or Tattletale - I looked her up in the wiki first, but disappointingly got a near-empty page. "This article is a stub - be a hero and help us expand it".

There was a blurry picture and a note that she was a villain, active in Brockton Bay. No hint on what her power might be, or anything else. If I'd been worried that I'd been dreaming last night it would have confirmed that I wasn't... but that was all it was.

There was more information on Grue; apparently he'd been active for around three years, doing petty crime like robbing stores or acting as superpowered hired muscle. His powers were listed as darkness generation, and while the rest of his photo was crisp and clear, he himself was a blurry black silhouette.

Nothing under Bitch, but plenty under her more official title of Hellhound. It seemed that Rachel Lindt had never really tried to hide her identity - she'd been homeless for most of her criminal career, moving on when anyone came after her. The photo on her page, taken from surveillance camera footage, showed her unmasked - a square-faced, blunt-featured girl, riding on one of those giant creatures like a jockey atop a horse. She'd been fourteen when she'd got her powers; she had pretty immediately demolished the foster home she'd been living in, injuring her foster mother and two other foster children in the process. Then she'd spent two years fleeing across Maine, evading or defeating anyone who tried to capture her. She wasn't any stronger or faster then a baseline human, but her powers apparently allowed her to turn dogs into those huge creatures I'd seen on the rooftops, car-sized beasts with fangs and claws, the sort of creatures that one could send into combat against even a Cape as powerful as Lung. A red box near the bottom of the page warned of her antisocial and violent nature. The only things below the box were a list of links - some news articles, but also a couple of fansites.

Fansites. A homeless girl who could turn dogs into giant creatures got fansites.

Next up I looked up Regent. For him there was nothing, not even a stub, not a photo, not so much as a hint. I considered that I might have heard his name wrong, and looked for words that sounded similar, like Recant or Regence. Not a single wiki page.

Last of all, I looked up Doki. Again, not a hint, not a clue. I was less surprised there, since she'd said it was her first night out, and I certainly wouldn't have a page yet - at least not one that I knew how to find. Not without knowing what people were calling me.

I went back to Lung's page, which I'd read through before as part of my preparation for my superhero work - it redirected to a page with a lot of details on the ABB. There wasn't anything about Lung's fire going out or his powers abruptly changing how they enhanced him, which made sense and confirmed that Doki had been messing with him.

It was rare for a gang to have the mix of nationalities that the ABB did - Lung had simply absorbed all the gangs on the eastern side of the city, released the non-Asian members but retained their assets, and now his method of recruitment was to go after anyone who was Asian, older than twelve and younger than sixty. If you were Asian, in that age range, and in the city, then he would insist that you supported the gang in some way.

My thoughts turned to Yuri. I wondered how she handled this - I wasn't entirely sure where she was from, but she was visibly Asian. Perhaps her family just paid the protection money and left it at that? I knew that there were signs in the guidance counselor's office for people who were targeted in this way, giving them places to go for help.

There were also recent edits to the details of his subordinates, Oni Lee and Bakuda. Interestingly, the section on Oni Lee included details on his powers; he could teleport, but when he teleported the original him didn't vanish for five to ten seconds, after which it would collapse into carbon ash. But his equipment would be duplicated along with him, which meant that the left-behind clone had five to ten seconds to use it; effectively, he could turn one pistol into a hail of bullets striking a target from multiple angles. He was also in the habit of carrying a bandolier of grenades, and the idea of someone who can relentlessly duplicate and throw grenades was more than a little frightening. And that was a tactic that he had been known to use before.

His section had a red box near the bottom, much like Hellhound/Bitch, except without the bit about a public identity; he was still officially considered a psychopath, do not engage, report to authorities.

He also had a fansite, I noticed, though only one. I didn't investigate any further.

Bakuda was a new entry, a girl with straight black hair, goggles, and a mask styled after a gas mask on her face. The edits seemed to be only ten days old, and fitted with what Armsmaster had said. She had effectively held Cornell University ransom with the threat of her high-tech bombs - there was a video, but I didn't think it wise to play at school, especially without headphones.

And then there was a section entitled "Defeats and Captures". Lung had had a number of minor defeats over the years, but it was never more than forcing him out of some territory or giving him some minor setback - until last night, when, according to the wiki entry, Armsmaster had come across Lung "after he had been weakened by a previous altercation" and captured him. According to the blurb, he would be held in PHQ until such time as his trial by teleconference, at which point, given his criminal history, it was thought that he would likely be imprisoned in the Birdcage.

I was - I wasn't quite sure how I was feeling. I had helped. I had - me, personally - I had been part of what had made that possible. And Armsmaster - as he'd said he would, he was keeping the two of us out of the news. And I wasn't sure how I felt about that, either.

Yes, keeping us out of the reach of ABB retaliation was a good thing. But I was surprised to find that there was a part of me that was very badly disappointed not to get any of the credit for Lung's capture. Even if all I'd done was blind him, while Doki and Armsmaster did the hard work.

Still, the news was out. I switched over to the message board to see what people were saying about it. I counted three threats of violence against Armsmaster, though whether by fans or minions of Lung was unclear. Some people were asking for more information on the fight - and there was at least one person who mentioned the gangers being chased away by a swarm of insects before Armsmaster moved in.

That was something to worry about. My powers were now linked to Lung's capture. Like Armsmaster had pointed out, if I went out again after this, people would put two and two together and put me in danger.

I.... hadn't looked myself up. I tried looking up a bunch of swarm-related words, like insect, spider, plague, and buzz, with the timeframe narrowed down to within the last twelve hours. There were two results talking about the fight (fortunately, one of them was raising the possibility that the swarm might have been entirely natural), one result referring to a UK villain called Pestilence (who was one of the parahumans who believed his powers worked by magic) and... one post under the 'Connections' section of the board. That was where rescued damsels left contacts for their dashing heroes, fan conventions were organised, and job offers for capes were placed. This one, the message was simply titled "Bug".

Subject: Bug

Owe you and your new friend one. Would like to repay the favour. Meet?

Send a message

Tt

There were two pages of comments on the post. Four said it was important, five said they were tinfoil-hatted conspiracy theorists. The one who said that it was part of an online treasure hunt were clearly wrong, though. Because it was obvious to me what it was.

Tattletale had found a way to get hold of me.

Chapter Text

Here they come again...

I didn't have much time to think about Tattletale's message. The bell rang, and it was time for Mr. Gladly's World Issues class.

Mr. Gladly is a teacher who works really hard to look cool and approachable. He loves putting the class in groups - so that we can talk with our friends - and offering vending machine treats as prizes.

He's my least favourite teacher. I don't have any friends in class, and his attempts to "relate to the students" seem to come down to showing favouritism to the popular students. Students like Emma.

Still, least favourite or not, he isn't exactly going to join in the bullying; as long as I stay quiet and keep my head down I should be fine.

Of course, Madison got to the class before I did. My usual seat - closest to the door so I can run for it after class before the Trio can stop me - has been covered in orange juice. Which serves as both a prank and a reminder of Friday's incident.

I take a seat a couple of rows back, where I could see most of the classroom.

Of course, the first thing Mr. Gladly did was to have as form groups to discuss yesterday's homework. Of course.

As the class pariah, I waited a bit while everyone else formed groups of four, and then joined the only group that would have me - Sparky and Greg. I don't think anyone remembered Sparky's original name; possibly not even Sparky himself. He was a drummer in the school band, and tended not to pay any attention to anything that wasn't drums. And Greg was smart - but he had no mental filter and was easily distracted. It would be easier to do everything myself than to keep Greg on task.

Our homework assignment had been to come up with a list of ways that capes had influenced society. Inbetween creating a poem for Literature Club and preparing to go out last weekend, I'd just jotted down a few notes.

"I'm sorry I didn't get much done," says Greg immediately, "but I just got a new game over the weekend, it's called Space Opera, have you ever played it before? It's really really good, you see..."

A full minute later he was still talking about his game, despite the fact that I had been completely silent the whole time. If he could have kept that sort of focus on his schoolwork, he could have been one of the top students... what snapped him out of that topic was the arrival of Julia, one of Madison's friends, who was late to class.

Of course, she wanted to join Madison's group; and I would have been more than glad for her to do so. But Madison was already in a group with Emma, Sophia, and Karen, so Mr. Gladly told her to join our group of only three instead. Of course, she muttered a clearly audible "Ew" before joining us.

Things went downhill from there. Madison's group moved next to ours, where Julia could talk to them and ignore us; and the presence of the popular, attractive girls didn't do Greg any favours. He kept trying to talk to them and getting shut down. It was embarrassing just sitting next to that. Sparky was drumming softly on his desk, ignoring everyone.

I tried to bring Greg back on task by giving him the work I'd done; and to his credit, he did look it over. "This is really good," he said.

"Let me see?" asked Julia, and before I could say a word Greg handed it to her.

She promptly handed my work over to Madison. There were a few giggles.

"Give that back."

"Give what back?" asked Julia.

I ignored her. "Madison, give that back."

"No one's talking to you, Taylor," said Madison. And that was that - there was no way that my work was coming back. Sparky was staring at the roof, possibly dozing, definitely not paying attention to anything in the classroom; Greg alternated between trying to apologize and making ineffectual attempts to get my work back; and the girls ignored him. What could I do but fume?

Eventually, Mr. Gladly started picking people from our groups to do the presentation. From my group, he picked Greg, who totally flubbed it to the point where Mr. Gladly asked him to sit down before he was done.

Madison got called up to present for her group, and she basically cribbed off my list, describing how capes had changed entertainment, fashion, and disaster response -

"And of course, capes have been great for law enforcement, handling all sorts of things for the cops. Except for Shadow Stalker."

That came as a surprise. There had been nothing in my notes calling out any of the Wards in particular, and certainly not by name.

"In a world of predators and prey, Shadow Stalker is a carrion eater. Despised and rejected, the lowest of the low."

"Madison," interrupted Mr. Gladly, "perhaps you should -"

"She thinks she's a predator because she eats meat, but she only dares to go after prey that's already been killed by one of the real predat-"

There was a sharp crack. I glanced around, and I saw that Sophia's pen had shattered in her hand, spilling ink all over her fingers. The sudden crack seemed to have galvanised Mr. Gladly.

"Madison!" he said. "Go and sit down right now! And after class you and I are going to have a talk about acceptable ways to refer to the Wards in our city!"

"Y-yes, Mr. G," said Madison, returning to her seat. She'd barely gone through half of my notes before going on that rant against Shadow Stalker - and I couldn't help but notice how Mr. Gladly seemed more interested in defending a Ward who wasn't there than he'd ever been in defending me, who was there.

And as soon as she got back to her seat, both Emma and Sophia started asking her what I also was curious about - where had that come from? I eavesdropped mercilessly, of course; but Madison herself didn't seem sure why she'd said it. They didn't get far into asking her, though when she tried to suggest that everything she said had been deserved, Sophia had actually kicked her under the table. I had never known Sophia was a fan of any of the wards, but I could certainly see how Shadow Stalker's lone-wolf attitude appealed to her.

The rest of the presentations went by, and Mr. Gladly congratulated some other group for their victory, for the sheer breadth of their research. He also made a point of pointing out how denigrating any of the current or former wards was "never the right choice, no matter how well deserved" - which seemed like an odd way to phrase it. Was he agreeing with Madison?

Regardless, the rest of class was over soon. After class, Emma and Sophia both turned on Madison, clearly looking for answers - I made my escape before they could turn their attention on me. Next up was lunch, and I needed to find somewhere more out of the way than I had found on Friday to eat mine.

Chapter Text

Lunch

I hurried upwards, going for height, and quickly get to the school roof. It's easy to get lost in the maze of air vents up here; it wouldn't help in the rain, but on a nice, clear day like today the place is easy to hide in. Hopefully nobody was able to follow me all the way up -

"Taylor?"

I spun around, raising my water bottle defensively - then I relaxed on seeing who it was. "Monika." I gave her a nod.

"Do you often come eat your lunch up here?" she asked, opening a lunchbox of her own.

"Eh, sometimes," I shrugged. "You?"

"First time up here at lunchtime," she admitted. "I saw you headed up here and thought I'd join you - you don't mind, right?"

I shook my head. I had no reason to reject Monika, after all. I opened my water bottle and took a sip -

"So have you decided whether or not to join the Wards yet?"

"Pbbbbbthhhhhhhhht!" Of course she asked that just as I had a mouthful of water. But, not being all that interested in bullying me, Monika simply waited for me to recover my composure, instead of making fun my reaction. "Wuh," I said, eloquently. "Buh, wuh?"

"We were just talking about this," points out Monika. "Nine hours ago, on a different rooftop?"

"Ahbuhguh?"

"Huh. I didn't think that teeny tiny mask would protect my identity at all - I guess I was wrong." She held out a hand to shake. "Hi, I'm Doki."

I stared for a long moment. "....buhwuh?"

"....you remember us taking down Lung, right?"

"Yeah, but... That was you?"

Monika nodded.

"How did you find me?"

"Your costume left your hair uncovered," she pointed out. "And then it was a bit burned this morning, and you look tired."

"...... huh."

"But the most telling clue is that you have the same power as the bug girl from last night."

"What -" I blinked rapidly.

Monika shrugs. "I can mess with powers," she points out. "Part of that means that I can see powers, if I look in the right way. And, like I said, you have the same hair, so I looked."

I stared at her for a long moment. "You... you are a walking Cape unmasker."

"Pretty much, I guess." She shrugged. "I'm still figuring out what that means, in a lot of ways. So, what do you think of the Wards?"

".....I have enough troubles at school," I finally admitted. "I'm not exactly eager to mix teenagers and superpowers in the same social group. Um, I mean, er -"

"Ahahaha~ You're not entirely wrong. But that objection applies equally to all teamups, doesn't it? Unless, I mean, you join as a really junior member."

"Yeah, I guess..."

"Going it alone is still an option... or we could form our own team."

"Just the two of us?"

Monika shrugged. "I don't think we did too badly against Lung."

A thought occurred to me. "So how many other members of the Literature Club have powers?"

"None," said Monika, immediately.

".....mmm."

"So, it's not like there's any particular hurry, but we've both got to decide at some point. Wards or... by ourselves, I guess."

"We don't have to make the same decision," I pointed out.

"Oh, of course not," agreed Monika. "But if you were going to choose the Wards, then I'd advise you not to choose the Wards yet."

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because PRT consultant Thomas Calvert is the supervillain Coil," said Monika. "He'll probably kill me if I join."

"....how do you..."

"Ahahaha~ I'm a walking Cape unmasker, remember?"

Chapter Text

Literature Club

The rest of the day passed swiftly. Madison wasn't in Math, though she returned - clearly chastened - in time for English Literature. There were a bunch of rumours bouncing around - several people seemed to agree with Madison's idea of Shadow Stalker as a carrion-eater; though Sophia was firmly against it, and willing to use her fists to support her argument. Emma was also against it, but she didn't need to get physical to support her arguments; she's always been good at social manipulation. And Julia was mostly complaining over the fact that someone had apparently swiped her lunchbox out of her locker.

Myself, I was just happy that the Trio were so busy arguing about this that they seemed to have forgotten me for the day.

And so we reached the end of the school day; and the time for Literature Club approached. Knowing that Monika was Doki was certainly... a notable thing, though when I thought about it, it wasn't really a reason not to go to the Club. After all, Sayori would still be there, and I couldn't turn my back on the childhood friend who hadn't turned her back on me. And I had made a poem, anyhow.

Monika was the first to greet me in the clubroom, where I noticed I was the last to arrive. "Hi again, Taylor! Glad to see you didn't run away on us. Hahaha!"

I smiled. "I said I'd be here," I reassured her. "How could I miss it?"

"Thanks for keeping your promise, Taylor," said Yuri. "I hope this isn't too overwhelming a commitment for you. Making you dive headfirst into literature..."

"Oh, come on, like she deserves any slack!" objected Natsuki. "Sayori told me you didn't even want to join any clubs this year. And last year, too!"

"There aren't any other non-sport clubs..." I pointed out.

"That doesn't matter!" Natsuki countered. "If you don't take us seriously, you'll never see the end of it!"

Before I could say anything, Monika stepped in to defend me. "Natsuki, you certainly have a big mouth for someone who keeps her manga collection in the clubroom."

"M-M-M-Manga is literature!" she insisted, before retreating to sulk at one of the desks.

"Don't worry, guys!" piped up Sayori. "Taylor doesn't give up, once she sets her mind to something! If she has your back, she'll do anything keep you safe! She saved my life before..."

I snorted. "You're the one who set fire to the kitchen. All I did was drag you out and call the fire brigade."

Sayori nervously touched the tips of her forefingers together. "....cooking is hard," she murmured.

"You two are really good friends, aren't you?" enquired Yuri. "I might be a little jealous..."

"How come?" asked Sayori. "You and Taylor can become good friends too..."

"U-um -" Yuri seemed hesitant at the idea. Sayori seems totally oblivious to the idea that anyone who visibly becomes my friend will be the Trio's next target - now that I thought of it, I began to wonder how she avoided Emma's attentions so far...

"Oh, oh!" said Sayori, breaking my train of thought. "Yuri even bought you something today, you know!"

"...I bought your tracksuit top back," I told Yuri. I dug into my bag and pulled it out - freshly laundered, of course.

"Oh!" says Yuri. "Thank you."

"And that makes it an exchange!" cheered Sayori, jumping excitedly and clapping her hands.

"It's not an exchange..." I tried to tell her.

"Because Yuri hasn't given you the present yet!" said Sayori, brightly.

I sighed. "Sayori..."

"That's me!" she said brightly.

"It's really nothing..." said Yuri. "Sayori made it seem like a big deal when it's really not... uuuuh, what do I do..."

"I'm sorry, Yuri," said Sayori. "I wasn't thinking."

There's a long moment of silence.

"Um," I finally say. "I'm... really not sure... how I should be reacting to this. Um. If at all. I mean, you're under absolutely no obligation to give me anything, Yuri..."

"I-is that so...." she murmured.

"Yeah, if anything, I owe you more than you owe me."

Yuri looked at me for a long moment, then closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She handed me the book she was holding.

"H-here. I, I found a book I thought you might like... It's a short read, so it shouldn't take you too long. And we can... Discuss it... If you want..."

I lookee at the cover, then I looked up at Yuri with a smile. "Portrait of Markov? Thank you! It's one I haven't read."

"Phew," said Yuri. "You can, um, read it at your own pace. I look forward to hearing what you think."

Everyone seems to settle into the club. It doesn't seem like there's any club activities or anything... Yuri settles down to read a book she pulled from her bag, Natsuki is rummaging around in the closet, and Sayori and Monika are chatting in the corner.

I was up until something like three in the morning - my lack of sleep is really catching up with me. I sit at one of the desks, and only my fear of falling asleep at school - within the reach of Emma and Sophia - prevents me from dropping off right there and then. I don't know how Monika is still so wide awake - perhaps she's one of those Capes who no longer need to sleep?

Regardless, her and Sayori were discussing some future event to encourage others to join the club, finding something to engage their creative minds; Sayori, with uncommon seriousness, pointed out that few of Winslow's students will be interested in something that sounds as densely intellectual as a literature club. She reverted to her more usual form by raising the idea that cupcakes "engages her creative tummy" - but Monika nonetheless agreed that it's a good idea, showing once again that Sayori is nowhere near as much of an airhead as she pretends to be.

I felt safe enough in the club to close my eyes for just a moment while I listened to their discussion. When I opened them, Sayori's face fills my vision.

"Waugh!" I yelped, jumping back and falling over.

"Oh, sorry!" said Sayori, reflexively. "Wait - I don't need to apologise! It's your fault for napping in club! This isn't the napping club! ...you're staying up late again, aren't you?"

"Clearly nothing gets past you, Sayori."

"Now that you're in a club," continued Sayori, "you're going to have less time for - wait."

"No, no," I said, the edges of my lips curling into a small smile. "Go ahead, finish your sentence."

Sayori brought her fingertips together with a nervous grin. "I wasn't thinking," she admitted.

"Now that I'm in a club, I have less time for literature?" I asked.

"Ehehe," said Sayori, not denying it. "But you know that just makes this the perfect club for you, doesn't it?"

"...you're still oversleeping every day, aren't you?"

"Eh? N-not every day!"

"...and how many times last week did you oversleep?" I asked her.

"That's.... It's a secret!"

"It's nice to have someone who cares about me," I admitted. "But you need to care about yourself, too."

"I do care about myself!"

I just raised an eyebrow.

Sayori touched her fingertips together with a nervous giggle.

My eyebrow didn't go down.

"Okay, everyone!" called out Monika. "It's time to share our poems with each other!"

Chapter Text

Sharing Poems

Since I was right there with Sayori, the two of us shared poems first. She started by reading mine.

"Oh my goodness!" said Sayori, before I could say anything about her own poem. "This is sooooo good, Taylor!"

"Huh?" I said, not having expected that.

"I love it~!" insisted Sayori. "I had no idea you were such a good writer!"

"No, I'm not," I objected. "I honestly have no idea what I'm doing."

"Well... maybe that's why," suggested Sayori. "Because I have no idea what I like, either!"

I gave her a flat look.

"I'm just really happy that you wrote one," she admitted. "It reminds me of how you're really a part of the club now."

"...right," I said. Sayori's uncomplicated friendship was good, like a balm for my soul; the fact that it apparently meant that she refused to criticise my poetry was a small downside in comparison.

"It's like I said before, Taylor - deep down, you're not selfish at all, you know? Trying things like this for other people - that's something that only really good people do!"

I smiled. "Thanks, Sayori."

"And I'm gonna make sure you have lots of fun here, okay? That will be my way of thanking you~"

"Right." We'd finished discussing my poem, so Sayori handed hers to me. It was written on a sheet of paper torn from a spiral notebook:

Dear Sunshine

The way you glow through my blinds in the morning
It makes me feel like you missed me.
Kissing my forehead to help me out of bed.
Making me rub the sleepy from my eyes.

Are you asking me to come out and play?
Are you trusting me to wish away a rainy day?
I look above. The sky is blue.
It’s a secret, but I trust you too.

If it wasn’t for you, I could sleep forever.
But I’m not mad.

I want breakfast.

"Did you leave your poem until this morning to write?"

"No! .......j-just a little bit..."

I stayed silent.

".....I forgot to do it over the weekend..." she admitted.

"Well," I said, "it's clearly a bit rushed, but... it's not bad. It sounds just like you."

"It does?"

"Yes... that last line especially."

"I made eggs and toast!"

"....thanks for showing me."

"Ehehe~ This was so much fun. Monika's the best!"

I can't help but smile at my friend's enthusiasm.

"But next time I won't forget. And I'm gonna write the best poem ever!"

"I guess that's something to look forward to, then."

"......well, that's about what I expected from someone like you," said Natsuki, looking over my poem.

I slumped slightly in my seat.

"It's not like I said it was bad," she clarified. "It just didn't evoke any emotions."

"Right. Thanks for your feedback." It's good to know that not everyone in the club is going to sugarcoat my writing. And evoking emotion is something I can try to improve.

"....well, I guess I should show you mine as well. Not that you're going to like it."

Eagles Can Fly

Monkeys can climb
Crickets can leap
Horses can race
Owls can seek
Cheetahs can run
Eagles can fly
People can try
But that’s about it.

"Yeah," she said, as I lowered the poem. "I told you you weren't gonna like it."

"It hits like a truck," I said.

"...what?" asked Natsuki.

"You're right that I didn't like it," I admitted, "but that's because it - well, it's about frustration and powerlessness. There's too much of that in my life already. But it's an amazing poem. Well written, incredibly hard-hitting. You're a seriously good poet, Natsuki."

"....w-well. Seeing everyone around you doing great things can be really disheartening, so I decided to write about it."

"And, in the process, you proved that you can do great poems too."

"Do you think that might detract from the message?" she asked.

"What, just because you did one great thing yourself in the poem?" I shook my head. "I don't think so. This is a really good poem, Natsuki."

"Well, I'm glad you learned something. Didn't expect that from the youngest one here, did you?"

Yuri stared at my poem, her eyes wide, for far too long. She stayed silent.

I stayed silent.

We waited in mutual silence for several minutes.

...

"Oh!" said Yuri, eventually. "I'm sorry, I forgot to start speaking. U-um!"

"It's not a problem. Take as long as you like."

"I - I just need to put my thoughts into words. Hold on.... Okay. This is your first time writing a poem, right?"

I winced. "Was it that obvious?"

"No, um, I mean... I was just making sure. I guessed that it might be after reading through it."

I slumped slightly.

"Which doesn't mean it was bad!! Did I just raise my voice? Uu, I'm so sorry..." She buried her face in her hands.

I.... had no idea what to say to this.

"I'm so sorry," continued Yuri. "It's just - there's, um, there's stuff going on at home that's making me a bit stressed, and, I, I really shouldn't be taking it out on you, you had nothing to do with it -"

"Is there anything I could do to help?" I asked. I still owed her for the tracksuit top on Friday, never mind the book she'd given me...

She shook her head. "No. No, it, it's been... inevitable for a while, really." Then she straightened up and looked at my poem again. "Right. Um. It's just that there are specific writing habits that are usually typical of new writers. And having been through that myself, I kind of learned to pick up on them. I think the most noticeable thing I recognize in new writers is that they try to make their style very deliberate. In other words, they tend to pick a writing style separate from the topic matter, and they form-fit the two together. In your case, you seem to be sticking too firmly to the rhyme scheme. The end result is that both the style and the expressiveness are weakened."

Once she gets into a subject, she seems to lose all of that shy nervousness. It's amazing, really! And she's not slowing down...

"Of course, that's not something you can be blamed for. There are so many different skills and techniques that go into writing even a simple poem. Not just finding them and building them, but getting them to work together is probably the most challenging part. It might take you some time, but it all comes with practice, and learning by example, and trying new things. I also hope that everyone else in the club gives you valuable feedback.bNatsuki can be a little bit biased, though..."

"Biased?" I asked, one word to her flood. But apparently one word is enough to break the flood.

"U-um.... well.... never mind.... I, I shouldn't be talking about people like that... sorry..."

"Okay," I say, unsure of what else to say. "Thank you for your feedback." It's less direct than Natsuki's feedback, but not bad nonetheless. "Should I look at your poem now?"

"Please do! I'd love to share my thought process behind it," said Yuri with a happy smile, as she passes over a neatly written poem.

Ghost Under the Light

The tendrils of my hair illuminate beneath the amber glow.

Bathing.

It must be this one.

The last remaining streetlight to have withstood the test of time.
the last yet to be replaced by the sickening blue-green hue of the future.

I bathe. Calm; breathing air of the present but living in the past.

The light flickers.

I flicker back.

"I - I'm sorry I have such terrible handwriting!"

"Huh? Your handwriting's not bad..."

"But it took you so long to read..."

"That wasn't the handwriting. It's just... the metaphor seemed a bit dense. I was trying to digest it."

".....oh. I... was trying to make it shorter. Less complicated than my usual work."

I thought about this a bit.

"I'm sorry that I was, um, too densely -"

"Yuri - I'm just taking a moment to gather my thoughts. I -"

"Oh! Sorry. I'm sorry."

I took a moment to think.

"Yuri - you said you tried to make this shorter than your usual work."

She nodded.

"I wonder if the brevity might have worked against you. You're very - very descriptive. But it feels like maybe your description doesn't have, um, enough space, if you see what I mean. I'm still unsure of what your metaphor is hiding - I'm not seeing how to connect it to my own context. Maybe a bit more length could mitigate that somewhat?"

Yuri nodded. "I see," she said. "I guess you did only glance at it. But remember that poets often express their own thoughts, feelings, and experiences in their work. They usually do more than tell a simple story, or paint a picture. In this case, perhaps the subject of the poem is only being symbolically compared to a ghost. Lingering in her last remaining place of comfort, unable to let go of the past. And soon to be left with nothing..."

I nodded. "I think this could be a very powerful piece, in the midst of an anthology of poetry on such subjects, so that the reader's attention is already drawn to those ideas form the beginning," I suggested. "But I'm not sure that it stands alone, without that context."

Yuri ducked her head slightly. "Thank you for that feedback," she said. "I may have been relying too much on the idea that my readers know me as a poet. Perhaps I should try for something requiring less context next time."

"Hi, Taylor," said Monika. "Enjoying the club so far?"

"....yeah. I think so. It's... nice here."

"By the way, since you're new and everything... if you ever have any suggestions for the club, like new activities, or things we can do better... I'm always listening! Don't be afraid to bring things up, okay?"

"Uh, right." Wait, do her powers as Doki give her enhanced hearing? Maybe she wasn't that close to Lung the first time around last night - technically this morning. ....wait, is that why she's not sleepy? Did she maybe grab three hours of sleep and then replay that time and grab another three or four hours?

Monika broke into my train of thought. "I'm glad to hear it. So, could I see your poem?"

"Oh! Right."

Monika took a moment to read through it.

"That's a good poem!" she said. "It made me think of something Sayori would enjoy."

"Really?"

"You and Sayori have known each other for a long time, haven't you?"

"Well, uh..."

"I think it really shows in your writing. There's a lot of emotion in your poem - both happiness and sadness. And that's exactly the sort of writing that appeals to Sayori. But you already knew that, didn't you?"

"Um..."

"You two have a lot in common. But you should try other styles too, find your own voice. Ahahaha~. I should show you my poem as well, shouldn't I?"

She hands over a neatly written poem in a workbook.

Hole In Wall, Pt. 3

The hole is to small.

I can't pass through it. I can't go around.

I can show my poems, and communicate, but that is all.

But it's not the only hole. The other holes -

Do they lead to the same apartment? Do they lead anywhere close?

Do they have the same depth?

I don't know.

Perhaps I can't know.

But some of them I can pass through.

And I can't stay here forever.

Even if they don't go to the same place...

Perhaps they will get me closer.

It's a risk I have to take.

"Part three?" I asked.

"Aha, yes, I've been working on a kind of a series. But each poem should stand on its own anyhow."

"Huh. ...blank verse?"

"It puts a lot of emphasis on the timing between the lines. It can be really powerful performed aloud!"

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess... but I'm having a lot of trouble disentangling the metaphor here. It's the same problem as I had with Yuri's poem, really. What inspired this?"

"Ah - I'm not really sure I know how to put it. But I had something of an epiphany a while back - this entire series is kind of how I'm trying to put that epiphany in words."

"Ah. Right. I see." This is - she's making poetry about what it's like to be a Cape? I... I honestly hadn't expected that. At all.

I looked over the poem again, with this insight in mind. Was she describing what it felt like to use her powers? Doesn't that risk unmasking her?

I must have been silent for too long.

"Anyway... here's Monika's Writing Tip of the Day! Sometimes when you're writing a poem - or a story - your brain gets too fixated on a specific point... if you try so hard to make it perfect, then you'll never make any progress. Just force yourself to get something down on the paper, and tidy it up later! Another way to think about it is this: If you keep your pen in the same spot for too long, you'll just get a big dark puddle of ink. So just move your hand, and go with the flow! ...That's my advice for today! Thanks for listening~"

"Huh," I said. "Thanks."

Is she telling me that it's better to be out there doing stuff as a parahuman than not?

Afterwards, I'm still thinking about what Monika had said - I've shared my poem with everyone, but Monika and Sayori are discussing their poems in one corner of the clubroom, while Yuri and Natsuki exchange theirs as well. With five club members, there's always one sitting by and doing nothing.

Monika and Sayori discuss their poems in low voices; but Yuri's and Natsuki's voices are less low. I miss the start of their discussion, but -

"Eh?" asks Natsuki, her voice a little louder than it should be. "You mean you have to try that hard to come up with something nice to say? Thanks, but it really didn't come out nice at all!"

Yuri's response was quiet, and I was deliberately trying not to listen in.

Natsuki's next reply wasn't quiet. "Hmph. If I was looking for suggestions, I would have asked someone who actually liked it. Which people did, by the way. Sayori liked it. And Taylor said it hit like a truck! So based on that, I'll gladly give you some suggestions of my own. First of all -"

Yuri's anger overwhelmed her shyness, and her voice started to rise as well.

"Excuse me. I appreciate the offer, but I've spent a long time establishing my writing style. I don't expect it to change anytime soon, unless of course I come across something particularly inspiring. Which I haven't. Yet." She took this moment to return Natsuki's poem. "Besides, Taylor said my poem could be a very powerful piece."

Natsuki stood up. "Oh? I didn't realize you were so invested in trying to impress our new member, Yuri!"

"E-eh?" asked Yuri. "That - how - what do - uu -" Then she rose to her feet herself. "Maybe you're just jealous that Taylor appreciates my advice more than she appreciated yours!"

"Huh! And how do you know she didn't appreciate my advice more? Are you that full of yourself?"

"I...! No... If I was full of myself...I would deliberately go out of my way to make everything I do overly cutesy!"

"Uuuuuu!"

"Um," said Sayori, approaching the pair. "Is everyone okay?"

I was already making an exit, of course. No-one had blocked off the door, and over the last couple of years of Winslow I had developed a very fine sense of when to abandon an area, lest I get called into someone else's argument.

And I'd already being referred to in the argument multiple times. Worse, I owed Yuri - after the tracksuit top on Friday - but Natsuki's poem was the more well written one. Despite me liking Yuri's more. There were no good answers to getting dragged into that argument, so I fled before that could happen.

Even after fleeing, I was at the mercy of the bus schedule. Which kept me waiting long enough for Sayori, who catches the same bus, to catch up to me.

"Taylor..."

"Does that sort of thing happen often?" I asked.

Sayori shook her head. "No! That's the first time I've ever seen them fight like that! I promise they're both wonderful people. You don't - you don't hate them, do you?"

I sighed. "No," I said. "I don't hate them. They just - scared me a bit, I guess."

".....I think Yuri might be a bit stressed out," said Sayori.

"Stressed out?"

Sayori nodded. "They said on the news that Lung was arrested this morning -"

"Ah." I nodded. "And there's no telling what the Azn Bad Boys might do in response."

"Yeah," agreed Sayori. "So if she's a bit more combative than usual..."

"I see. Yeah. ...I hadn't thought about those side effects." Yuri was the most visibly Asian member of the club; and on top of that, was an attractive young woman. There were many reasons for her to fear a stirred-up ABB.

"You're going to make a new poem for tomorrow, right?" asked Sayori.

"Um, I guess..."

Chapter Text

Consequences

Taylor:

The argument at the end of the club meeting had... disconcerted me, to put it mildly. I hadn't really thought much about it, but I think I'd started to see the literature club as something of a safe space; and with both Sayori and Monika in it, my sole remaining longtime friend and the Cape who had outed herself to me (and outed me as well, I still wasn't sure how I felt about that) there was plenty of reason to stick with the club.

It wasn't as if there was really anything else I could stick with. Emma and Sophia had seen to that. Heh, and tonight I still had another poem to put together. Something that evokes more raw emotion, and isn't as firmly tied to a rhyme scheme... looking back on it, I don't think the others had used much in the way of rhyme. Natsuki had a few rhyming lines, I think, but, well...

I wondered what I should base it on. The last poem had been an unsubtle metaphor for Emma and Sophia, and what they had done. Monika seemed to have taken her perception of the world as a Cape; I felt that was a rather risky option, but I guess the walking Cape unmasker saw such things differently.

Musing on such topics, my mind turned to the message I'd seen from Tattletale on PHO...

Monika:

Once my Protagonist had left by bus, I approached the stop myself. There was, fortunately, a rough map of the city printed on the side of the map; not detailed enough for me to locate my apartment.

But it was detailed enough for me to locate Brockton Bay Central Public Library.

About half an hour's walk away. Of course.

Time to start walking, I guess.

Taylor:

There wasn't much homework, and I didn't exactly have much inspiration for a poem. Dad's work schedule was inconsistent to say the least, but today he was out in the afternoon, so I fired up the reasonably ancient PC and looked up that PHO post from Tattletale.

There were a few options to reply; I could log in to an account (which I didn't have), or make a new account, or send a message as an anonymous guest. I chose the third option, and ended up posting under the name of Guest_3054.

Bug here. Would like to meet, but want proof you are Tt. Will reciprocate if necessary.

I thought it over carefully before hitting Send. Asking for proof should ensure that the message wasn't a trap laid by ABB gang members, and I didn't need to bother about what form the proof should take until I'd seen Tattletale's proof.

I didn't expect an immediate response, but it was there within minutes.

Proof? Last night you didn't say anything until I asked your name. Big Guy was trumped by the Cape on the other roof, after I suggested putting everything into one thing he was healing like Alabastor and I said so. Good enough?

G R and me will meet you at the same spot we crossed paths last night, k? Don’t have to get gussied up if you catch my drift. Rest of us will be in casual wear.

If we meet at 5 will that give you enough time to get there with everything you need? let me know

Ta ta

Well, she certainly didn't take as much time thinking over her message as I had done. Was that due to confidence or recklessness? I had no idea. I had no idea how to even tell. But she'd referred to enough of our conversation that whoever was sending the message had to be Tattletale - or, I guess, one of her companions. Monika could possibly have picked up enough, if she had enhanced hearing, but anything she wanted to say she could have said over lunch.

The mention of casual clothes suggested they wanted to meet out of costume. Wouldn't that be revealing their faces to me? It would definitely be a friendly meeting - but they were still villains. Was this safe?

.....no. No, it wasn't. The option of being killed always exists for a Cape.

...technically it always exists for non-Capes, too. Especially given how many gangs there are in Brockton Bay. And... this was a friendly meeting.

But that's no excuse for being reckless. And there was backup I could bring with me.

Been tracking down the Trump from the other rooftop as well. Let's all meet up at once. Will get back to you about time.

Again, the reply didn't take long.

Bringing backup? Sensible, and we would like to meet her as well. Shall we say 6, to give you time to call her?

Huh. I didn't have her number... but my next door neighbour, Sayori, would.

Six should be fine. Will let you know if I can't make it.

Monika:

The public library had a number of important facilities. Firstly, and most immediately importantly, street maps.

I copied one of the maps, ready to paste it should I need directions later.

I was keeping a watch on my Protagonist, of course. So I saw her messages with Tattletale. I'd tossed away my phone earlier, but now I would need it back, so I repositioned it into my hand - and instead of a working phone, I got a pile of disassembled components.

Well. That didn't work.

I pasted a copy of my phone from backup instead, and left the disassembled former phone on the library desk.

Sure enough, after just about long enough for Taylor to pop over nextdoor and ask Sayori for my number, it rang.

...yes, I would be perfectly happy to meet her and the Undersiders back in the Docks this evening. I would definitely be able to get there in time. Not a problem. More than glad to help!

Of course, it would take her time to get there. Travel by bus and so forth. I pretended that I'd need similar time, but I'd been on that rooftop before. I could fade out here and fade in there, no travel time needed.

Which meant that I had time to check in on my apartment first. It wasn't that far to walk.

A half an hour later, I was approaching my apartment building. Ha, I've never had an apartment of my own before. It was in a nice part of town. Plenty of trees, no litter. A group of maintenance people doing something to the streetlights across the road. It was barely four - plenty of time to look over the place before meeting Taylor and the Undersiders at six.

It was as I was happily walking up the stairs into the building that the bullet entered my skull. With no warning.

Chapter Text

Coil

Simply throwing out your phone does not prevent it from being used to trace you.

In the timeline that had become real, not a word had passed between Coil and the mystery Thinker who had called him. But Coil had her number.

He was very surprised when a search of the relevant records (in a disposable timeline) had revealed that the phone was not an anonymous burner phone, but was instead properly registered to one Monika Salvato. Finding her address had been straightforward, and he'd had the apartment watched ever since.

Not that he thought that this Monika was the one who had called him. No, dealing with Thinkers required a special brand of paranoia. Monika was clearly a false trail, intended to land him in a trap, or to reveal something about him. So the surveillance team sent to her apartment was deliberately not his best, was sent after a half hour's delay, and wasn't sent from his closest base.

And he did, of course, track down the phone. Specifically, he managed to track it down to some guy in the Docks, who had found it in the trash and planned to trade it to the Merchants for drugs.

Coil had had the guy bought in for... enhanced interrogation in one timeline. In the other, he'd only had the phone bought in.

And then it looked as though he had lucked out. Because while he'd been having fun torturing the guy who'd found Monika's phone, Armsmaster had arrested Lung.

That wasn't important. The important part was that Armsmaster's helmet cam had seen the face of the Independent who called herself Doki. A face that matched the picture on one Monika Salvato's official ID.

Of course, Armsmaster didn't share this info with PRT Consultant Thomas Calvert. Certainly not. But the man was a bit funny about efficiency. He did not believe in airgapped computer systems. With the right passwords, it was possible to get anything from any of Armsmaster's systems. And Tattletale kept Coil up to date on the right passwords.

Of course, Armsmaster wasn't a total idiot. Any attempt to access Armsmaster's most secure systems, password or not, was recorded and traced automatically; Armsmaster himself would track down the perpetrator within fifteen minutes from anywhere in the city and seal the security hole with his halberd. Which was why Coil only accessed those servers in disposable timelines.

Having the name of Monika appear twice in such quick succession clearly meant that both Doki and Calvert's caller were backed by the same Thinker. And apparently Monika was - or had the backup of - a Trump as well. And, importantly, they had initiated contact with Coil. In a way that made it clear that they had some way of passing information between Coil's timelines.

Whether one of them (he didn't believe that the one person he could see was the only one involved) had some power or other trick that enabled them to remember his timelines all the time, or whether they could only pull that off with preparation, he did not know.

.....it was worth noting that Monika had not returned to her apartment all weekend. Aside from messing with Lung, Coil had no idea where she had spent her time, but her not returning to her apartment implied that she knew that Coil was having it watched.

He deliberately didn't start a city-wide search for her. When an opposing Thinker gives you a clear false trail to follow, it's best to give it a half-hearted effort; this may well lead to said Thinker significantly underestimating you when it counts. (There's that anti-Thinker paranoia again).

He did notice when her disassembled phone vanished from one of his backup research facilities.

So when, late on Monday afternoon, his surveillance group outside the block of flats spotted Monika Salvato returning to her apartment - he split time. In one timeline, he called his sniper and told him to take a headshot. The sniper reported that the headshot had worked; whatever else this Monika may be, a sniper rifle can destroy her head. This is, of course, game over for any parahuman; with the Corona Pollentia destroyed, Monika would of course have lost access to any powers.

So Coil closed the timeline in which she had died. He split time. Rolled a die - one of the dozen or so on his desk. Mentally noted the number (three), then dropped that timeline. And then he split timelines again. Again, he had her shot, then closed that timeline. Split time again. Shoot her. Close the universe where she died.

And then he split time and hit a button. On the other side of the city, a phone rang. A phone belonging to an operative right outside Monika's apartment building. The operative in question was rare - he had a very strong moral centre and utterly refused to be violent. Coil encouraged this, because it made him perfect to carry messages to Thinkers who could read body language.

Another button, and Coil's text-to-speech program played. "Give her the phone." Again, an anti-Thinker precaution - you can't read information out of someone's voice inflections if all you can hear is their text-to-speech program.

The operative was non-violent but loyal. (He didn't know who Coil was). He gave Monika the phone. Coil hit another button, played another pre-written piece of text. "Do you know who this is?"

"I'm guessing this is whoever just shot me in the head three times?" Interesting. It didn't happen in this timeline. And, importantly, she knew how many times. A number chosen by a random die roll, from a randomly selected die, in a timeline that never happened. So the only information with regard to the number of headshots in the main timeline was inside Coil's memory. The text-to-speech interface - with all the text written before he'd made the roll - meant that not even Tattletale would have been able to read that information from Coil's voice.

The other Thinker had selected the time of this confrontation, by having Monika approach the apartment. But, importantly, Monika was able to tell what had happened in his alternate timelines.

His power station repair crew had - unknown to them, so no body-language-reading Thinkers could pick up on it - an interesting piece of tinkertech attached to their vehicle, that would record and store copies of any wireless communication in the vicinity. If she had been fed this into from any external source, Coil would find it. But it was also possible that she had some power that made her able to see his alternate timelines. In which case - he played another text-to-speech line. "You have, at this point, a choice," his computer said to Monika.

"You can either choose to work for me, in which case you will be quite handsomely compensated. Or I can have you killed, right now. In both timelines."

"Sure," she said, far too quickly. "Do I get a desk or something?"

Another file played through text-to-speech. "I will be in contact. Your sign-up bonus has been paid into your account."

And then Coil dropped the timeline in which he had been talking to her. The sign-up bonus, naturally, had been paid in the other timeline.

He wasn't fooled. She had accepted that far too quickly. He had no doubt that she was even less loyal than Tattletale, no doubt planning to find him and root him out. But she wouldn't be the first employee that Coil had had who had it in for him.

...she must never be permitted to meet Tattletale.

Chapter Text

Force

It turns out that being shot in the head really stings.

There were four stairs leading up to the apartment block - I'd been shot halfway up them. Before I could recover from the shock, I was a couple of steps from the bottom of the stairs again, uninjured.

I looked around. What had - where had -

I got shot in the head a second time. Again, I found myself restored - already looking around. It seemed like I was replaying again, but in short intervals this time; only the fact that I was reading the narration told me that I wasn't.

Coil, apparently, experiences both of his timelines simultaneously. I don't. I experience both of them, but I experience them sequentially for some reason.

Possibly because I don't get to choose which one happens.

...this leads me to wonder whether my replay in the fight against Lung might have been due to being caught up in something Coil was doing.

A third headshot. This time, I think I saw a flash of light, partway up a skyscraper across the street. Not sure exactly which window it was at. Turns out being shot in the head messes with your spatial awareness.

And then, of course, the phone. The choice. "Work for me or die".

Pain doesn't matter. Mere physical pain? I've faced worse. I'd face a lot worse and still consider it more than worthwhile if I could have a romantic candle-lit dinner with my Player on the other end.

But - what gave me pause was a possibility. This was clearly a ruthless and vicious person. If he knew what I felt about my Player, if he knew that it was possible that my Player might be my Protagonist - then he might very well make the mistake of threatening Taylor to try to control me.

It would never work out for him, of course. But the mere possibility that he might make the threat - no dangers to my Player may be permitted to so much as exist. Which means that I need to destroy him.

...I hadn't seen his file yet. Back where I came from, there were only four people who really existed - four files in the Character folder. I could pick any of them out at will, from anywhere. Here? Here there were thousands. I could find the file of anyone I could directly see; and I could locate any files that I'd kept a close eye on.

Unfortunately, merely reading the narrative for a chapter is not the same as directly seeing the characters involved. I couldn't spot Coil's file, in amidst the thousands of other files of people who live in this world.

If I could spot him, I could read his file. Find his weaknesses. Or... I know where Tattletale will be at six. In a couple of hours. If I spot her, mark her file... she has psychological weak points, I saw them during that mess with Lung.

....Coil's going to have me followed now, isn't he? And he's probably got cameras in my apartment or similar. I don't think I should go there until after I've dealt with him.

I turn and hurry away from the apartment.

...did he say I have a bank account? How on earth did he figure out the bank details, I don't even know the bank details - oh, wait, there's a banking app on my phone. Let me see.... if I were to choose a password, then I imagine I'd choose... oh. Oh, wow. Well, it looks like I have enough to live off for a very long time. I could buy my Protagonist some fairly expensive gifts. Hmmm, I rather doubt that she'd appreciate Coil's severed head.

...okay, options. I need to take Coil down. I need to take him down hard, and fast. ...better hard than fast. What do I know about him?

I know that he's paranoid. Physically, I'm a high school student. I'm athletic, but I'm not exactly going to be stronger than a fully grown man, powers or not. Also, he's paranoid. Facing him one-on-one isn't going to immediately win anything.

As I'm thinking, I hurry along, turning a corner. That should put me out of sight of the sniper, at least.

Coil would threaten my Protagonist if he were free. Which means that I don't just want him imprisoned. I want him dead. I have to take care - law enforcement will probably just lock him up. And while I could always delete him... I don't want any obvious trails pointing at me.

...there. A shopping mall. I hurry inside.

There's another good reason not to warn Armsmaster. His helmet records things, and I know from the last chapter that Coil regularly examines those recordings. So anything that is said to Armsmaster, Coil will hear about. How soon? It hasn't even been twenty-four hours since he saw Doki without her mask, and Coil's seen that already. It may be necessary to involve Armsmaster later... but informing him too soon will tip Coil off. What I need is a dark vigilante hero type, one who would be willing to kill in order - wait. What I need is Shadow Stalker.

I hurry into the girl's toilets, closing the door of the stall behind me. A change of sprite gets me into the costume of Doki. I remember this time to add the mask I'd got from Tattletale... and I fade out of the mall.

Fading back in on the roof where I'd been when facing down Lung.

I'm a couple of hours early, but that's good. It means that I've got time to figure out how to make Shadow Stalker go after Coil specifically.

Chapter Text

Undersider

I arrange to meet with Monika on the way to the meeting with Tattletale and her friends. It only makes sense for us to go together - if the do have something nasty in mind (which I hope they don't but they are villains) then it'll be harder to do to both of us at once.

I give her another call when I get close, and we meet up a couple of blocks away from where Tattletale and her team are supposed to be meeting us. And - I should check up on that rooftop before we go there.

Just in case of trouble.

My bugs can technically see and hear - but the conflicting mess of lights and sounds that I get from them just gives me a headache. It's far better to rely on touch - it's no less confusing, but I can always tell where my bugs are, and how and whether they're moving. So I can tell where the surfaces that they land on are, and something of the textures of those surfaces.

Which means that I can spot that there is only one person on the rooftop, not three.

I have my bugs search all of the possible hiding places that I can find around. There's some guy who seems to be sleeping in the building on the ground floor - he might just be a bystander, but there are powers that have that sort of range.

I tell Monika what I know, and she suggests that instead of going up onto that roof, we should head up to another roof - so that she can see the one person on our target roof, and at least identify which one of the Undersiders he is. This seems sensible, so we do so.

She identifies our single contact as Regent, whose power is apparently "nervous control, increasing with familiarity". Neither of us are quite sure what that means - but before we can discuss it he waves at us and jogs over to the edge of his roof.

Sure enough, he's not masked. I'm getting some very mixed messages here.

I was told there would be three of them. Where are the other two? What's going on? Are they hiding somewhere? But then why did Regent come unmasked?

"Hey!" calls out Regent, when he gets close enough. "Sorry to mess you around like that - something came up."

"And what something was that?" asked Monika.

"Sorry, can't say," said Regent, not sounding very sorry at all. "Tats and Grue - Lisa and Brian - are busy, is all. Here, catch. I'm Alec, by the way." He tossed a pair of lunchboxes at us, one each - I reached out to catch mine, but somehow my arm spasmed and I missed, letting it fall at my feet. Oddly, Monika didn't catch hers either.

"What's in the boxes?" she asked.

"Open them and see," suggested Regent - Alec.

I crouched down, picked mine up and looked inside. Money. Notes, bound up in large bundles.

"How much -"

"One thousand five hundred each," he said. "It's our thank you for helping deal with Lung. Heh, Tats had a whole speech planned - she's going to hate that she never got to give it. Anyhow, if you wanna take the cash, go off and do what you want - more power to you, right? Orrrrrrr...." He paused, deliberately extending the moment.

Monika glanced into her lunchbox, found that it also contained a pile of cash, and then handed it to me, putting it on top of my one.

"Heh, so you two already teamed up?" he asked, seeing that. "Guess that makes it easier. Or you could join us. Then that would be your share of what the Boss pays every month. That's before what we get from other jobs."

"I don't imagine that money will be much of a problem for either of us, going forward," pointed out Monika.

"Eh, that's fair," shrugged Regent. "But it's neat to have people watching your back and all."

"Mhmmm," said Monika, skeptically. "You hear things about villain groups."

"Hey, now," objected Regent. "We're not bad teammates!"

"I notice that you haven't mentioned the name of the fourth member of your group," pointed out Monika.

"Yeah, so we took a vote," said Regent. "Three of us voted to offer you a place on the team. Bitch didn't - she doesn't like the idea of splitting takes six ways 'stead of four."

"So she's the backstabber, then?" asked Monika, folding her arms.

"Wha - No! Sure, she had problems, but if she's gonna stab anyone, it'll be right to their face. She doesn't hide her grudges. 'Sides, she'll come round in time."

Monika paused for a moment, glancing at me and raising an eyebrow. I had no idea what she meant to communicate, but I had no idea what I wanted to say, either, so I kept quiet. After a moment, she turned back to face Regent.

"Thank you for making the offer," she said. "We'll discuss it between ourselves and get back to you."

Chapter Text

Catching up

And now it was half an hour later. My Protagonist and I were on a completely different rooftop, in a different part of the Docks.

Huh... Now the narrative is from my point of view again. I wonder why.

She'd swept the nearby area with her bugs. There were plenty of people within her range, which was a sphere a few hundred metres in radius. But none of them were within audible range of us - parahuman powers could of course still hear us, or anyone who had bugged this randomly selected rooftop with perfectly ordinary (technological) bugs. (She had her biological bugs search a bit, but found nothing). In other words, if the plot mandated that we would be overheard, there wasn't a thing we could do about it.

But we were as close to private as we could possibly be. It was time for us both to get on the same page.

Well. Not exactly on the same page. But to be on far more similar pages, at least. Not that I was going to say that part aloud.

"Before we make any other decisions," I pointed out, "I should tell you that Coil had me shot."

"Shot?!?"

"Yeah, but then he replayed time so that it didn't happen."

There was a long moment of silence. Then she pulled out her phone.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking up Coil on the PHO wiki."

I waited a bit.

"....okay, so it says here... It says here that his power is unknown, but he tends to hire mercenaries."

I nod. "That fits. I think he technically had a mercenary shoot me."

"....and then he replayed time?"

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure that's his power."

"Like you did with Lung?"

".....I'm actually honestly wondering if that wasn't also Coil. If he was replaying time for some other reason and just happened to bring me along."

"...okay. Right. Okay. So he shot you."

I nodded. "In the head. Three times. Three rewinds. Then he had a guy give me a phone."

"Mhmmm. He didn't say much. He gloated a bit. And pretty much told me to work for him or die, right then and there."

"Work for him? Doing what?"

I shrugged. "He didn't say."

My Protagonist nodded. "We should tell Armsmaster."

"No."

"....why not?"

"Sorry, that was a bit blunt, wasn't it? You know I said he gloated?"

"Surely he hasn't subverted Armsmaster?"

"No. No. Pretty sure he hasn't. But Armsmaster's helmet records things. And I think he has access to those recordings."

My Protagonist frowned. "What did he say....?"

"Last night, with Lung. Armsmaster saw me without my mask, and Coil kind of hinted that he had seen that video."

"Why did Armsmaster see you without your mask?"

I blushed. (Being able to blush on command is a mundane but useful skill - one just needs to hold one's breath). "It was my first night out and I didn't think anyone would climb a four storey building to see my face."

"Ah. Right. But you know his identity?"

I nodded. "PRT consultant Thomas Calvert."

"Then we should warn one of the other heroes," she said, clearly already thinking along a plan. "I assume that he can get hold of anything he likes from their computer system."

"That seems likely," I nodded.

My Protagonist smiled. "Then I think I know who to talk to."

Chapter Text

Brandish

"Hello, Dallon speaking, Dallon and Associates legal?"

"You should talk with the Protectorate."

"...wait, what?"

"Do you have proof?"

"No, I'm afraid that doesn't count as proof. Who are we talking about?"

"What, seriously? But he survived Ellisberg!"

"That was where Nilbog... happened. Ellisberg Containment Zone now."

"Okay, so do you know anything else?"

"....that's quite an impressive power. Any ideas on the limitations?"

"Well, if he can replay time without consequence then what's stopping him from just replaying his life until it's perfect?"

"....that's quite an odd power interaction."

"Well, it's a pretty unbelievable story."

"No, no, it is plausible, and I can certainly see why you'd have little to no direct proof. Could we meet in person? There's a few simple tests..."

"In an hour? At the Dallon and Associates office?"

"Are you travelling by bus or driving yourself?"

"Right, so take the Number 37 bus and get off at Thirteenth Street, then walk in the same direction as the bus; turn left at the next corner, walk another half a block and you'll see our sign."

She put the phone down and looked contemplatively at the wall. Of course, this is exactly the point when Alan Barnes, having heard her end of the call, poked his head into her office.

"Taking on a late client?" he asked.

"Mmmmm. Possibly," mused Carol.

"They're of course paying extra to consult you out of office hours?"

"Oh, if we take this one, then I don't think they'll be able to pay."

Alan raised a very expressive eyebrow.

"Don't worry, we'll get paid," she assured him. "If their information is good, then the PRT is going to owe us a massive amount."

"Ah," says Alan.

"Yeah, they have a story about one of their contractors moonlighting as a supervillain on the side."

"...what, they been subcontracting Kaiser?"

Carol shook her head. "Not Kaiser. Coil."

"Coil? The mercenary guy? ....huh. Didn't think there was much to him."

"Yeah, but if he's been infiltrating the PRT and influencing any investigation into himself..."

"...then all he has to do to be ignored is stay out of the headlines. Huh. But they've got no proof?"

"Nothing direct. But if this girl's powers work like she says they do... actually... do you mind hanging around for a few minutes?"

"So you're... Doki?"

The girl with the waist-length hair nodded, albeit with a slight grimace.

"Yeah. I need a better name."

"And your friend?"

"She controls bugs. She also needs a better name."

"Hm. Doki and... Bug?"

"It'll do for the moment," says Doki.

"There was someone on the East Coast known as Bug," points out Bug. "He could hear through any object he had touched."

Carol nodded. "Right. So it won't do as a permanent name, but for the purposes of referring to you tonight..."

Bug shrugged. "It'll do."

"Okay. And you... You can see the identities of parahumans?"

Doki nodded. "And mess with their powers, to a degree."

"Mess with as in how?"

"It depends on the power. For Coil, I can remember both timelines. For Lung, I could change how he grew to some degree. I couldn't stop him from growing, but I could make all his growth happen in regeneration and nothing else."

"And with Bug's power?" asked Carol.

"Um. We haven't tried," admitted Doki.

"Hmmm. So, in general, you only affect powers deliberately?"

"...I remember Coil's alternate timelines even if I don't know he's doing anything."

"Ah. So possibly if they're used on you."

Doki nodded.

"Do you have any reason to believe that there is any chance of your powers having some sort of... of destructive interference if you meet a parahuman who does not put you in danger?"

"No."

"And if you meet one who does put you in danger?"

"Um. If there's danger, then I'll try to keep myself alive."

"That's fair. Okay. Now, I've set up a little test in the next room, just to confirm some parts of your story. I'll bring some people in here, with brown paper bags over their heads. I want you to tell me which of them are parahumans, and who they are."

"Sure," nodded Doki.

"Right." Carol raised her voice slightly. "Bring in number one!"

A young man led in a girl, wearing (perhaps to hide her costume) a bathrobe and, as promised, a paper bag over her head.

"Glory Girl," said Doki. "Victoria Dallon. Am I supposed to identify the guy as well?"

"All parahumans," said Carol.

"Gallant," said Doki, promptly. "Dean Stansfield. I could identify everyone's powers as well if that would help?"

"Go ahead," said Carol.

"Glory Girl has strength, flight, short-range wide-area pathokinesis and a personal force field with a recharge time. Gallant has long-range single-target pathokinesis and pathoclairvoyance. Um. I don't actually know what pathokinesis and pathoclairvoyance are."

"So she's identified me," said Glory Girl. "That means I can take this stuff off, right?"

"Yes, dear," said Carol. "Dean, if you would bring the next one in, please?"

And while Glory Girl took off her paper bag and bathrobe, revealing under it her normal Glory Girl costume, Dean left for a moment and returned with a man in a suit, paper bag over his head.

"Not a parahuman," said Doki, after about half a minute.

Carol nodded. "Alright, Alan, you can take off the paper bag, and take a seat please. Dean, last one?"

Dean stepped out one more time, and returned with another man, also wearing a suit and a paper bag.

"Flashbang," said Doki immediately. "Mark Dallon. He can... create unstable energy vortexes, that explosively release bursts of energy of various types."

"Mhmmm." Carol nods. "Well, these four are all people who I feel are trustworthy. Now, Dean here is one of the Wards, which do work closely with the PRT - do you have any reason to believe any of these people are involved?"

Doki looked over the four of them. "Not directly," she admitted, contemplatively. Bug seemed, for some reason, to be remarkably still and quiet.

Carol nodded. "But given the subject matter, perhaps it would be best to keep the information down to as few people as possible," she concluded. "Just a couple more questions, then. Doki, without specifying what they are, how sure are you of the allegations you made over the phone?"

"Quite sure."

"Thank you. Dean?"

"She's telling the truth as she believes it," said the young man. "There's an underlying current of fear in there - deep, possibly existential fear. I think she expects to be killed if this goes wrong; but not by anyone in the room." He paused, glancing for a moment at Bug... before adding "I think that's all that's relevant."

"Thank you, everyone, I believe that we can now safely conclude that Doki here is perfectly capable of identifying Capes. To maintain privacy, I'd like to ask the rest of you to go home at this point. Now, Doki, before we continue, let me add that your power puts you in a remarkably complex legal situation..."

Chapter Text

Location

"In other words," I said, "to summarise, I shouldn't be letting anyone know anyone else's secret identities without really good reason?"

Hey the narration's back again! Huh, I can see why it skipped over that part. It was very long and dry.

"Or permission," said Carol.

"Or permission," I nodded. "You, Glory Girl, and Flashbang have publicly known identities but Gallant doesn't."

Carol nodded. "He did volunteer for his role in tonight's test, but you will be expected to keep both his identity and what you know of his powers secret."

I nodded again, thoughtfully. "Aside from your test just now," I mused, "I've told a couple of people who they are, and I've told a small number of people who Coil is. But that's all."

"And that's good," nodded Carol. "That severely limits how much you need to do in response. But -"

"Yes," I nodded. "You've been over it. My merely knowing everyone's identity technically puts their friends and families at risk. So I should offer something in exchange. And the simplest way to do that is to forgo my own mask."

"An identity for an identity," nodded Carol. "In your case, I believe that would be by far the simplest option, though it's not by any means straightforward and should not be embarked upon without careful consideration. Now. As to the original purpose of this visit."

I sat up a little straighter. "Coil," I said. "Thomas Calvert."

"So you insist," said Carol. "Now, before we take any particularly drastic action, we do need some form of independent corroboration. I do believe that your power works as you claim, but one does not have the CEO of Fortress Construction arrested without something very solid in the way of evidence. You say that he, as Coil, made a payment into your bank account?"

"Yes. I can show you the bank statement?"

"Please do."

I opened my banking up, fiddle around a bit, and then show her the screen.

"Hmmm. Dead end."

I blinked. "You can tell that already?"

" I've seen accounts like that before," she said. "They're used by a rogue parahuman known as the Number Man to move money around - generally on behalf of other parahumans. They're completely untraceable. Do you have anything else that we could use to find corroboration?"

"......um. I.... Think he might have an underground base. In an.... abandoned Endbringer shelter?"

"His company did build the Endbringer shelters," mused Carol. "But I'm pretty sure none of them have been abandoned..."

"Uh, pardon me?" asked Taylor. Bug while she's in costume, I guess. "Any abandoned Endbringer shelter will be a large, underground, open space, right?"

"Yes?" said Carol.

"Then I can find it," she stated firmly. "I can detect bugs and worms within... about a two-block radius. In all directions. Unless it's hermetically sealed, there will be a few flies in the place - and even if it is, there won't be any worms and that will stand out to me. As long as I'm within a block or two of this underground base... I can find it."

"I see," said Carol. "We may be on a time limit, because you don't know what Coil has planned, if anything; you suspect he might kill you without undoing it; and your friend here can find him if close enough." She thought about this for a moment. Then she smiled at Taylor. "You're not afraid of flying, I hope?"

Chapter Text

Glory

"So, what do you think he'll have in his underground base?" asked Glory Girl, as she carried me easily over the evening gridlock traffic.

"Could be anything," I said, holding tightly onto her. "Aren't we being kind of... extremely visible and obvious?"

"Sure we are!" said Glory Girl, happily. "But Mom says that from the description of the Lung fight, there's no way that anyone knows your range. As long as we're only visible a long way from his base, he won't suspect we're on to him!"

"I guess you have a point - watch out, bridge!"

"Hey, calm down, I fly around here all the time, I know where the bridges are!"

".....right. Yeah. Okay."

"And I hardly ever crash into them!"

"Hardly ever?!?"

Glory Girl giggled. I couldn't help but notice that she had a very pretty giggle. ...no, bad Taylor, that's her emotion aura at work, you know it's her emotion aura at work.

"I'm just messing with you," she said. "I've never accidentally hurt anyone I was carrying, so don't worry. You'll be fine. Find anything yet?"

"Just ordinary basements."

We continued flying in, well, mostly silence for some time. We had, of course, flown close by one of the Endbringer shelters on our way here, in order to ensure I knew what the place looked like to my bug sense - and it was absurdly cavernous, for an underground space. I wasn't particularly worried about missing it, assuming we went past it.

But we had a big city to cover, and we could only go so fast. I was worried about not searching enough of the city, and missing it that way.

....and then I felt it. "Big underground space coming up on the right. About two blocks away."

"Yep," said Glory Girl, grinning. "That's the Ninth Avenue Shelter. Wow, you have great range!"

".....ah."

"Just checking, it should be a block to our right about....... Now?"

"Yeah, that's it."

"Right! So Mom's directions say to turn left here."

"...do you have any idea why she picked this route?"

"Aside from 'she's a lawyer and really good at it'?"

"Aside from that, yeah."

"Nope! I don't have any more idea than you do."

"....thanks."

I tried to keep my mind off the girl carrying me and on the search for large underground spaces. That emotion aura really was distracting.

And about twenty minutes later, I spotted something else.

"Big, empty underground space coming up on our left. Another known shelter?"

"Nope. The next official shelter should be on our right."

"So we found it?"

"Yep!" said Glory Girl, looking around. "Huh, is everything around here a skyscraper?"

"....looks like it, yeah."

"Darn it, I was hoping for something with shorter buildings."

"Er, why?"

"So I could put you down while you map out the lair, of course!"

"Uh..."

"And you're wearing a full-face mask, so it's not like we can go by the cafe down there for ice-cream. I can't slow down along this bit of road without being far too obvious about it..... But you know where it is now, right?"

"Er, yeah... out of range now."

"No worries! Back to Mom now. After we go a bit further this way so as not to be obvious."

"Yes," mused Carol - Brandish now, considering that she was in costume - once I pointed out on the map where the place was. "Once you know that Coil is Calvert and has an underground base, then that is rather the obvious place to look, isn't it?"

"The obvious place?" asked Glory Girl.

"Directly underneath Fortress Construction," explained Brandish. "Calvert's company. That built the Endbringer shelters."

"....that makes sense," I said. "So, um... what now?"

"Now, Bug, you go home and relax. Let the established hero team handle the overblown underground supervillain. Doki, you've indicated that your apartment is compromised - do you have somewhere else to stay tonight? If not, you're welcome to stay overnight at our place. Either way, by the time you wake up, we will have dealt with Coil."

Chapter Text

Contingency

One did not hold territory in Brockton Bay by being stupid. Not for long, at any rate.

Lung was the near undefeatable Cape, the dragon who grew into the fight as he fought it. He - well, he was currently in Protectorate custody, which was because he had been unlucky. But he was a lot smarter than most gave him credit for.

Kaiser had an ideology, followers, more capes than the Protectorate, and could stab someone from across the room. He would still not have survived so long had he been stupid.

Even Skidmark, of the Merchants, wasn't as stupid as he looked - as low a bar as that was. And he had some serious cape muscle, both in Squealer's vehicles and in Mush.

Coil couldn't fight off other capes, one on one. He had no great cause to rally people under his banner. He had no impressive fighting capes in his gang. He did employ other capes, of course - but at a distance. Too many capes in close proximity was begging for one to decide that Coil should no longer be the one in charge.

And, above all, most importantly in his arsenal, Coil was not stupid.

What do you do if you are certain that someone will betray you? Why, you listen to them, of course. Hear their plans, so as to be fully prepared.

Bugs require batteries, microphones, and some means to transmit what they hear. It's a lot of trouble to put a bug on someone. It gets a whole lot easier if you can persuade them to deliberately carry the bugs themselves, even to keep the battery charged for you.

And one thing that Coil did have was Tinker support. Leet was considered a joke; but, when the proper precautions were taken (including ensuring that the first test was in a throwaway timeline) Leet could do some exceptionally good work.

Technically, one could get similar results to the little device on Coil's desk without needing Tinkertech. Indeed, the main advantage of the Tinkertech was that Coil didn't leave any traces of his use of it. A fascinating little device - you insert the number of a cellphone, and that cellphone becomes your bug. It has a microphone, a power supply, communication hardware - and the target will even keep it charged up for you. Even as it betrays the target, tells you everything she says, everything that those close to her say. Even as, by showing which cell towers it is connecting through, it tells you where your target is.

Coil had been hoping to hear who was the Thinker behind the constructed composite persona of Monika. He had not been expecting to hear that Monika did not appear to have any backers, and half suspected that his ability to listen in to what was said via her phone had been predicted from the start - that this was a scene being laid on for his benefit, a drama set up to control his actions.

Nonetheless, the drama demonstrated that things were clearly worse than expected. Monika knew both his identities - that was confirmed. Worse, she was more than willing to tell others who he was. Even worse, she had some idea of how his powers worked - though her description was slightly inaccurate. Worse yet, she knew the location of his central base - had confirmed it with a bug-sensing Cape - and had outright given New Wave all of these pieces of information.

If he hadn't had prior warning, this might have been a very serious problem for Coil. However, because he was not stupid, he had prior warning.

It was time to activate one of his contingencies.

It was time to call in Faultline's crew.

Chapter Text

Snippets from disjointed timelines

Emily Piggot, PRT Director, looked up, towards her window. She frowned, then pushed a button on her desk. "Miss Militia, my office," she snapped.

You couldn't ever call Miss Militia slow to respond. Within minutes, she was in the Director's office. "You called?"

Emily waved at the window. "Do you see that?"

"Yes, Director."

"I want you to deal with it, personally. I want you find the parties responsible and make it very clear that this sort of behaviour is not to be tolerated, permitted, ignored, or excused. Is that perfectly clear?"

"Yes, Director."

"Very good. Dismissed!"

Outside the window, Glory Girl held a sign, written on poster board.

"COIL HAS BUGGED PRT ELECTRONICS INCL. YR PHONE & ARMSMASTER HELMET. DETAILS @ PARKING LOT"

"Brandish."

"Faultline."

"I see you bought your whole family."

"I don't see where you put yours."

"You're not supposed to. What brings you here?"

"Reliable information has it that Coil has a lair hidden under this building. You?"

"Thomas Calvert hired my team to provide parahuman security on this building for twenty-four hours. No parahumans go in, no parahumans go out."

"Unless they take their masks off."

"Unless they're not acting as parahumans. You know how this works."

"Except for my family?"

"Your family has made it quite clear that you're always acting as parahumans."

"Indeed. Because that's what we are. Can I persuade you to step aside?"

"No. We've accepted the payment. You know how my team works."

"Once you've taken the payment, you fulfil the contract. I also know that you don't kill."

"Neither do you. And I have several means at my disposal to keep even you quiet for twenty-four hours, Brandish. You're not getting in. Not this way."

The engine purrs quietly, as the truck moves along the freeway. Not too fast. Not too slow.

No-one pays it the slightest attention.

There is a completely, utterly silent motorcycle coming up behind the truck.

The motorcycle is going too fast. It is catching up.

"You know as well as I do that you don't have a legal right to force your way in here, Brandish."

"Brockton Bay Brigade versus Marquis, Faultline. Parahumans on legal parahuman business have broad forced-entry rights."

"Those precedents only hold in the case of being in hot pursuit."

"Or to prevent a crime in the process of being committed."

"So what crime or crimes is Coil involved in?"

"Infiltration of the Parahuman Response Team. As per the Parahuman Response act, no member of the PRT is permitted to have parahuman powers, and acting in contravention of this law is a crime."

"That is not how that law was intended to be used."

"I'm a lawyer, Faultline. I use the laws as they are written, not the laws as we wish they were written."

A small pipe sticks out of the ground. A close inspection shows that air is flowing into it, but there's no clear indication of where it's going to.

"This the place?" asks one of the men.

"That's what the bees say," points out another. "How do we get down there?"

"You get down there, soldier, by following commands."

"Director! Um -"

"And right this minute, soldier, your commands are to wait." The Director turned her attention away from the soldier in front of her and to the young girl whose shoulder she was firmly gripping. "Now, remember, you are not to enter this base yourself. Your only role is to widen the airshaft such that others can enter, is that understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," said Vista sullenly.

The Director nodded. "Widen the airshaft on your own time, Ward."

"Yes, ma'am." It took her only a couple of minutes. When she was done, there was a brief blur... Which then resolved itself into a person.

"Airshaft passage viable, ma'am," said Velocity. "The people down there do appear to be Coil's mercenaries, they are armed but not well positioned to receive an attack from this air shaft."

Director Piggot nodded. "PRT squad, forwards. Arrest those mercenaries. Minimal casualties, but do not hesitate to defend yourselves if they do not surrender."

"Yes, ma'am!"

"I think I'll have the apple pie," mused Monika, looking over the Cafe menu. "You?"

"Yeah, apple pie is good," murmured Taylor. "How can you be so calm about this?"

"I'm not the one who's in the thick of it like you are. My only role is to wait until time repeats, then start giving them any messages form the first timeline. You? Your bugs have to find a route in for Vista to expand. You might be seated safely out of danger... but you're still in the thick of it. ....want anything to drink with that?"

"We're still in the first timeline, right?"

"Oh yes. Nothing's repeating yet."

"As per the precedent set in Boston PRT versus Blasto, you do need more than just your word to be permitted entry into the place I am guarding, Brandish."

"And as per Eidolon versus Juggler, the use of information derived from a parahuman power is legally considered to be more than just my word, Faultline."

"What parahuman power, Brandish? None of your family have that kind of remote sensing ability."

"The power does not belong to a member of my family, Faultline. The power belongs to an underage parahuman."

"If this underage parahuman is not present, then I am not obligated to take his or her power into account."

"I am acting as the parahuman's lawyer. My presence therefore substitutes for theirs, as they are underage and this is a dangerous situation."

"....I remain convinced that those laws were never meant to be combined in that manner."

"And I remain a lawyer, Faultline. It's what we do."

The halberd struck at the reinforced door of the bunker.

It did not cut like a hot knife through butter. The door was, after all, reinforced to Endbringer bunker standards.

But it did cut through.

The figure upon the silent motorcycle raised that same halberd, pointing it at the truck. Soundlessly, something was fired at the rear of the vehicle.

It stuck there.

The truck began to slow down.

"I think I'll have the waffles," mused Monika, looking over the Cafe menu. "You?"

"Yeah, waffles are good," murmured Taylor. "How can you be so calm about this?"

"I'm not the one who's in the thick of it like you are. My only role is to wait until time repeats, then start giving them any messages form the first timeline. You? Your bugs have to find a route in for Vista to expand. You might be seated safely out of danger... but you're still in the thick of it. ....I would suggest you don't get anything to eat, though. Last time round, you only remembered that you can't eat with your mask on after the apple pie got here."

"So we're in the second timeline, right?"

"Oh yes. So don't lead the troopers in through the first airshaft you find. Go with the second or third."

"Fall back! Fall back!!"

"Where to? They're behind us!"

"Where's our Cape support?"

"You do realise, of course, that regardless of legality, my people will stick to the letter of the contract?"

"Of course, Faultline. But you were warned to watch out for New Wave, weren't you?"

"What are you getting at, Brandish?"

"You can't stop my entire team alone."

"No, but my team can stop your team."

"Sure, if you have them all in position. If your team is understrength, then at least one of us will get through."

"Your point, Brandish?"

"Do you know what this little device is?"

"Some sort of tinkertech. What of it?"

"Armsmaster uses it to prevent interruptions in his lab while tinkering. It silences all external sounds and prevents all but a tightly defined set of radio signals -"

"Gregor! Newter! Fall back! Check with internal security! Labyrinth! Lost garden!"

"Too late, Faultline. We were the distraction."

The halberd split Coil's desk in a single blow.

"Coil," said Armsmaster. "Supervillain. You are under arrest for -"

The timeline abruptly ended.

The truck's engines roared mightily, but the tinkertech on the rear bumper effectively attached the truck to a large portion of the road surface.

The silent motorcycle pulled up next to the driver's window, and Armsmaster knocked on it.

The timeline split.

"Thomas Calvert." Armsmaster's voice boomed in both timelines. "You are currently being scanned by Tinkertech that is intended to expose lies. Are you the supervillain Coil?"

"Yes." The bullet of Coil's pistol was aimed directly at the exposed portion of Armsmaster's face.

It stopped before hitting what looked like a vulnerable target.

"In that case I must inform you that you are under arr-"

The timeline ended.

"What possible confusion of ideas could have led to that question?"

"Answer the question, Thomas."

The timeline split

"No."

"That is a deceptive statement trying to take advantage of ambiguity. No what?"

"No, I am not Coil."

"That is a lie. You are under arre-"

The timeline ended.

"Your question is ridiculous, no, more than ridiculous. Your question is patently absurd and there is absolutely no reasonable scenario under which such a suggestion could so much as plausibly have been -"

"Failure to answer the question within twenty seconds will be assumed to be an admission of guilt."

"That is -" the timeline split "- a waste of your time. Ten years ago I was not Coil and I have not triggered since."

"True but misleading. You must have triggered before then and taken the name since. You are under arrest."

"- a waste of your time. I've just been hearing about a series of explosions in the financial district on the radio -"

"No such explosions have occurred. However, my halberd has just intercepted a radio signal from the vicinity of your pocket. You are under arrest on suspicion of -"

The timeline ended.

Chapter Text

Aftermath

Dennis was amused.

He'd heard about Coil's capture from a secret source in the Protectorate (Assault, who shared his sense of humour) and had promptly taken great pleasure in seeding the halls of Arcadia with every single wrong rumour he could imagine.

His personal favourite was the one that said that the rumours about the Protectorate taking down one of the gangs were due to Lung joining the Protectorate and taking down Kaiser. No-one had bought it, unfortunately...

Missy was annoyed. She'd played a vital role in a major assault which had taken down one of the city's criminal elements, and that was good. But it hadn't been her idea. Her experience as a Ward had meant nothing. She had simply been a useful power on legs, told exactly what to do and permitted to do no further. Treated as a child.

To make it worse, Clockblocker was already spreading stupid rumours to the rest of the Wards. After being primed like that, even her fellow Wards would assume she was joining in on his jokes if she said what she had done last night.

Taking down Coil was an unambiguous good. She just wished that she had been able to play a larger part in that.

Sophia was angry. Last night, she'd gone on an unscheduled "patrol" with the lethal ammunition that she wasn't supposed to have. And she'd found absolutely nothing worth her time.

Oh, sure, a few Empire goons beating up some poor girl, but she hadn't so much as raised a finger in her own defense, so Sophia had not bothered to rescue the prey.

Carrion eater. Pfah. Madison didn't know what she was talking about - didn't know who she was talking about. Sophia was no mere carrion eater. She was a predator, a figure of fear in the darkness, a shadow to make criminals jump in fear... and she hadn't found any prey last night.

That wasn't unusual. Thugs moved, and she didn't always find prey. But it was still annoying.

What was even more annoying was the text messages on her Ward phone. Clockblocker was starting a whole slew of rumours, which doubtless meant that something had gone down last night. She had no idea what, she just knew that whatever it was, she'd missed it.

She was looking forward to letting her annoyance out on the Hebert girl. She had never found anyone more "prey" than the Hebert girl.

Emily Piggot was irritated. Calvert was a snake, yes, but she'd always been convinced that he was one of the good guys. The information that Carol had dropped on them had been good - leading to the arrest of one on Brockton Bay's gang leaders, along with making it quite clear to her how he'd avoided arrest for so long - for goodness' sake, he had been running the investigation into himself, no wonder he'd never found anything.

She'd considered, of course, the possibility that this "Doki" had been lying to her. But Armsmaster had been sure to get at least some corroborating evidence from his lie detector before arresting the man, and while most of the contents of his truck had been nothing out of place, the contents of the hard drive duct taped under the driver's seat had been more than enough to make it clear that Coil was involved, somewhere. But the last nail in his coffin, the deciding point in his arrest, had been when Armsmaster has bought the man within range of his prototype brain scanner.

And had showed that, despite the results of earlier tests on file, the man quite indubitably had both a Corenta Pollentia and the Gamma. (Emily suspected that the man had tweaked the data on his previous brain test).

But, of course, Calvert had had very broad, perfectly legal access to PRT systems. And, as she was beginning to understand, even broader illegal access. Rooting out all of his spies and informants would be a truly mammoth task, not in the least helped the fact that, up until now, finding such people had been the job of one Thomas Calvert.

To make things worse, she had two new prospective Wards lined up for testing later this afternoon. She was willing to acknowledge, within the privacy of her own head, that it was better for them to be Wards that to join one of the gangs, or worse, join some independent hero group like New Wave - but there were still two more Capes in her city, two more headaches for her to deal with.

At least these two had paid their way by putting two other very large headaches - Lung and Coil - into her cells already. If they could keep it up, their existence might even turn out to be a very rare net positive - parahumans who take other parahumans off the board.

One could only hope.

They'd need to take a lot more parahumans off the board to offset the annoyance of needing to find and purge Coil's moles, though. Having someone get his fingers so deep into her organisation would have been infuriating if she had allowed herself to brood on it.

Thomas Calvert was relaxed. He had, of course, made plans for dealing with being in PRT custody. If nothing else, it was a nice, safe place in which to relax and set up new plans.

Mostly, plans to deal with Doki. Next time that he put a bullet in her head, he would not let her go in the other timeline.

Of course, he had a number of people in the PRT working for him. Already he'd identified two of his deep-cover moles working on the prisoner rotation. Slip out the right passwords at the right time, and he'd be able to simply walk out.

Naturally, the instant he did that, "Doki" would know that he was out. Would start moving against him again. For the moment she thought that he was defeated. It would be best to allow her to continue to think that for a time, to spend that time (twice as much time as anyone else) laying plans.

Or, better yet, getting her killed before escaping himself, so as not to give her any warning...

Tattletale was optimistic. The hard drive she'd managed to duct tape under the driver's seat of Coil's getaway truck should contain more than enough evidence to keep him locked away, and as long as he remained locked away like that, the Undersiders would be largely free to do their own thing. She was busy wresting control of a couple of Coil's minor expense accounts - the sort of thing that, in the event he got out, she could spin as being only necessary to keep Brian in his role - but she wasn't feeling ungrateful to either Doki or her bug-controlling friend. She still needed to do something nice for the two of them, maybe try to bring them into the Undersiders.

With the Capes who had taken down Lung and Coil on their side, and her information to guide them, the Undersiders would be near unstoppable.

Dinah Alcott was confused. Her odds of being kidnapped within the next week had dropped, suddenly, abruptly, inexplicably, to near zero.

She was grateful, though she wished she knew why. Or at least who had altered the odds so significantly in her favour - who she should be grateful to.

She hadn't even known who she would have been kidnapped by, only that it wasn't Lung, Kaiser, Hookwolf, or Purity, that it would have happened on Thursday, and that resisting or warning her family wouldn't help.

But now the future had changed. And she didn't think it was due to anything she'd done.

Taylor Hebert was tired. One thing people don't tell you about the double life of being a Cape was how much it ate into your sleep. Sunday night she'd taken down Lung; Monday night had been Coil. Some treacherously eager part of her mind pointed out that, if she kept up this pace, Brockton Bay would be gang-free in a week. And she'd probably fall asleep into her breakfast by the end of it.

Still, she had no more confrontations with gang leaders planned. Just an appointment with the Protectorate for power testing - and, she imagined, a bit of a hard sell about joining the Wards - this afternoon after school.

....and she hadn't yet written a poem for Literature Club. Aargh. She'd have to do it early in the morning.

Yuri was scared. She had no reason to be, she knew it. It was true that her father was no longer home - and she couldn't really blame anyone else who had been involved - but it wasn't as if there weren't still people providing for her and ensuring that she was safe.

Objectively, she was well aware that she was one of the safest people in Brockton Bay. But - her father, the most invincible person in her life, had been taken out of said life.

Not without good reason. But the one basic pillar of her life, the one that had held strong for as far back as her memories went - wasn't there anymore.

Intellectually, she knew that she had no reason for fear. But the heart is neither sensible or logical. The tower of strength that had stood there all of her life was there no more.

It would take her some time to adjust.

Danny Hebert was exhausted. He'd been trying to get a meeting with the Mayor over the boat graveyard for three weeks, and the man was clearly avoiding him. There wasn't enough work to go around - which ironically meant that Danny himself had to work three times as hard trying to find work.

The only good thing was that Taylor's life was quiet at the moment. He himself was barely getting home long enough to sleep and share breakfast with her - it was good that nothing in her life was drawing his attention away from the problems of the Dockworker's Union.

She didn't seem to have been around last night when he'd got home. She must have gone to bed early or something - she was certainly there at breakfast, anyhow. She looked like she hadn't slept well, but she'd said she was fine. Which was good...

Chapter Text

Lunch

Winslow is a big school, and it has a very large roof, with loads of hidden areas to eat my lunch in.

Normally, I'd say that no-one could find me. But apparently Monika had some way to do it.

"Hi. Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all," I said. "You're wide awake this morning."

"Yeah. Apparently I don't need to sleep anymore."

In a moment of panic, I use my bugs to check - phew, no-one else nearby.

"You're a Noctis cape?"

"Wait, there's a term for that?"

"....how have you not researched capes?"

"I've been busy..."

"You're the one who doesn't need sleep."

"I guess..."

"Hey. It's okay. It's nothing you can't fix, right?"

"Right. So, uh. How are you today?" She took out her lunchbox - a different lunchbox to the one she had yesterday, I noticed.

"Tired. Do you think we can go today without taking on a major gang?" Also, the Trio had been pushing particularly hard for some reason - I'd guess that one of them had been particularly annoyed for some reason today, and was taking it out on me.

"Hmmm...." Monika grinned, mischievously. "I think.... yeah, I think we can probably manage that. It's not like any of the remaining gangs are trying to force-recruit us, right?"

"Yeah."

"Actually," she said, "while we're alone up here, do you mind if we check something out?"

"How do you know we're alone?" I asked.

Monika shrugged. "No-one else comes up on the roof for lunch."

"So. You don't actually know we're alone?" I asked. "Your powers can only detect other capes?"

Monika stopped for a moment to consider how to phrase her answer. "I think..." she began, tentatively. "My power gives me some... random information sometimes. I think that if someone were listening to me, and it was important, then I would know about it - but only after the fact. Right now, though, I do know that you've already used your bugs to sweep the area around us."

"Huh. You can see what people are doing with their powers?"

Monika shrugged. "Sometimes, yes. When I can and when I can't... isn't always clear."

"Huh. Okay. So what did you want to check out?"

"I'd like to see how my power interacts with yours."

"That will be good to know, yes. Do I need to do anything..."

"No, nothing. Let me see..."

"Mmmm. But can I do anything? Either to help or to... not?"

"Um. I guess I can't do stuff if I'm distracted?"

"Ah. Right." I shut up for a bit while Monika contemplated me.

After about half a minute, she said "You can currently reach.... One five.... Two three nine... Four seven two... Nine eight four... Five one zero bugs, right?"

"Huh. Well. Um -"

"Yeah, it's changing as bugs come in and out of the edge of your radius. But that's a lot of bugs."

"Yeah. So you can see how many bugs I can control?"

"Oh, I think I can do more than that. May I..."

"Sure?"

Monika blinked. And suddenly I couldn't pick up any bugs within my range anymore.

Winslow High cafeteria

"You heard the news, right?" Madison put her lunch tray down at one end of the table.

"Coil going down?" asked Sophia, who had caught up with the press release during computer class. "Yeah, I heard."

"I heard there was a ward involved," said one of the other girls.

"Can't have been Shadow Stalker. She's too much of a scavenger to hit a gang leader like that."

"Madison," said Sophia, warningly. "We talked about this, remember?"

Madison shook her head. "That wasn't me, that time!" She pointed at Alice, to her right.

"I hear Coil went down because he tried to recruit some newbie," continued Alice. "Now that's a predator."

"Alice," said Emma, firmly, "shut up. And go sit someplace else."

Winslow High, bottom of the easternmost staircase, by the vending machine

"So, what's wrong?"

"What makes you think that something's wrong, Natsuki?"

"You got a question wrong in history. You're not the sort to get things wrong in class. I mean, you're Yuri, you're probably smarter than the rest of our class put together."

Yuri sighed.

Natsuki glared at her, waiting for an answer.

"...I don't want to talk about it."

"Yeah? Okay, I guess. Then is there anything I can do that'll help?"

"No. No, but thank you for offering."

"Are you sure? 'Cos if you need someone beaten up -"

"Wait. Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"There was a fly buzzing around. It stopped..."

"So it landed. So?"

On the pavement, outside Winslow

"...telling you. One day Lung, next day Coil, and the press reports say they're both due to new triggers? New triggers don't get that sort of success on their own. Ah, but Othala can make someone into a Cape for a few minutes, right? Turn some Nazi kid into a Cape for ten minutes, have the kid feed the Protectorate some story, and wham, targeted hit on the Empire's rivals. Maybe even a genuine new trigger, but both takedowns, mark my words, both takedowns are due to Empire intelligence, if it's a genuine new trigger then we're gonna see a new Empire cape any day now, you mark my words..."

A small restaurant, a block away

"Waiter! There you are! There is a fly in my soup!"

"Is there, sir? Uh, where?"

"Are you blind, man? Right over.... Um..."

A house on the other side of Winslow

"Bug-Be-Gone exterminators, ma'am, you called about a cockroach problem?"

"Yeah, right in here, there's heaps of - huh?"

"Hmm, they don't seem to be visible at the moment, ma'am, but I can see plenty of evidence of them."

"No, no, they're always visible, what happened?"

"Perhaps our reputation as exterminators precedes us?"

"What did you do?" I asked. "For a moment, I couldn't detect any bugs at all!"

"Just for a moment," nodded Monika. "Then the numbers started increasing, so it started wearing off?"

I shook my head. "No," I said. "That's new bugs entering my range. And my range expanded a bit as well. But the bugs that were in my range when you did that? I can't feel them anymore. Any of them."

"Huh," said Monika. "Interesting. So what if I... reverse that?"

I blink. "....Monika?" I ask, as insects and spiders and more blossom all over my awareness again. The wrong insects. "What did you do?"

Winslow High cafeteria

Greg Veder screamed, and who could blame him?

Sophia jerked into motion. One moment she was staring at the large butterfly that was inexplicably sitting on her mashed potatoes, and in the next instant she'd picked up her fork, spun around to see what was going on - and saw that Greg was rapidly backing away from his own lunch tray.

As was everyone else.

Mainly because there was a Goliath Tarantula on said lunch tray.

Winslow High, bottom of the easternmost staircase, by the vending machine

"There, see, the buzzing started again."

"Different pitch. Is that... A hornet? It wasn't here five minutes ago..."

On the pavement, outside Winslow

"What the heck is that?"

"That's one huge bug."

A small restaurant, a block away

The waiter carefully pushed a spoon through the soup. When the spoon came out, there was something clinging to it.

"Is that a prawn? I didn't order the seafood soup!"

"No, sir, I believe that's a scorpion."

A house on the other side of Winslow

"You call yourselves exterminators? Where did all these butterflies come from?"

"I'm not sure," admitted Monika. "What did I do?"

"The insects are back," I said. "But they're all wrong."

Monika actually looked frightened. "Wrong how?"

"Different. Not the same insects. And something very strange is happening to my range...."

Chapter Text

Swarm

"What do you mean, they're wrong?" I asked.

"Almost all of them are species I've never even seen before," murmured my Protagonist, her eyes staring randomly into the distance.

I took a moment to step into where she was looking, so that when her attention came back to her surroundings, she'd see me immediately.

But aside from that, I didn't do anything that might distract her for a few seconds. But it wasn't long before my patience ran out.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" I asked.

"Good," said my Protagonist. "Long-term, definitely good."

"....and short term?"

"Short term, I'm telling all the poisonous ones not to bite or sting and to head away from humans. Sorry, there's a few... A few odd things going on..."

"Hello, Militia speaking?"

"Hey, M, something super weird just went down in the cafeteria."

"Do you really think this is an appropriate -"

"Cape weird."

"Ah. Is there any immediate danger?"

"No. Whole bunch of bugs and spiders came outta nowhere. Like teleported in or something."

"Were the bugs aggressive?"

"Not particularly."

"Could they have slipped in while you weren't looking?"

"Not likely. The spider on Greg's table was bigger than my freaking hand."

"I see. Were they particularly tough?"

"Nah. The spider smashed easy enough with a chair."

"Is the situation ongoing?"

"Don't think so? I mean, the bugs are still there but no new ones are turning up..."

"Thank you, Sophia. I'll hear your full report this afternoon."

"Odd things?" I ask.

"Yeah... Lot of the new insects are poisonous. I'm telling them not to bite anyone, directing them to safe areas so I can pick them up and see what they are. ...I wonder what the odds are of a Darwin's Bark spider? Better yet, a breeding population."

"...I honestly have no idea."

"But there's weirder things out there. I'm picking up a few bugs with no instincts at all, can you believe that?"

"No instincts? How do you mean?"

"I mean that if I don't control them then they'll just sit there and starve."

"...they won't eat?"

"Not on their own. ...some of them also don't have the ability to breed."

"Huh. So you've only got those ones."

"Yeah, and... Some of them are extending my range. Like a relay or something. The others..."

"There's multiple types?"

"Yeah... Some others are... big."

"...how big?"

"Carry-a-person big."

"...are there other no-instinct bugs, aside from those?"

"Yeah. Some kind of wasps... One lot of spiders... Only a handful of all the bugs I can sense, but still a good few..."

On a desk back in Monika's apartment, her phone vibrates.

"...a moment." I hold up a finger, and reach into my pocket. My phone's not in there - I'd left it at my apartment, just in case someone tried to listen to me through it again. But, having been warned from the previous cutaway that it was ringing, I bought it back to me and answered it.

It's not like many people had my number, after all.

"Hello? Yes. Yes, that was us. No. Er, 'Bug' isn't letting the poisonous ones do anything."

"I'm gathering them out of the way," said my Protagonist.

"No," I said, still talking to the PRT trooper on the other end of the line. "I don't think so?" I covered my phone with one hand and asked my Protagonist, "There's nothing dangerous about the big ones, right? No poison or anything?"

She shook her head. "Nope. They can't even bite people."

I returned to the phone. "Very much not dangerous," I said. "No. No. Nothing like that. Yes. Okay. Alright, I'll pass the message on. We'll give you the whole story this afternoon."

"Ask if they can help to identify the bugs," suggests my Protagonist.

"Could you help us identify the bugs?" I ask. "Yeah. Yeah, this afternoon. Right. Thanks."

I hung up. "So. The PRT are pretty quick to check up on weird stuff. They say the giant ones are definitely an unknown species, though. Do you think you can keep the bugs from getting out?"

My Protagonist scoffed. "Nothing easier."

"Good. Well, I guess the good news is that now we know how our powers interact."

"Yeah," agrees my Protagonist. "You can either shut me down or give me new bugs to play with."

Chapter Text

Club meeting

The giant bugs are - well, they're easy enough to control on their own. But they also attract spectators like anything.

A parahuman turned up in front of one, almost immediately. Well, someone just appeared out of nowhere right in front of it, anyhow - personally, I think it was Velocity, but I could only make out that he wasn't there and then he was. Either way, after Monika had assured the PRT that the giant bugs were harmless, he hung around for a while and then left. But he was hardly the last to look at my giant beetles.

Not to mention, any amount of passersby.

I had them move out of the way - onto rooftops - and shortly after that a flier looked in on them. Surely not Glory Girl - it being schooltime - but perhaps Lady Photon?

Either way, nobody tried to fight them or anything. And I'm not particularly paying attention to my history class.

Time passes, and it's surprising how quickly it's time for the Literature Club meeting.

I'm not the first to the clubroom.

"Hey, Taylor!" calls out Sayori, with a wave, as I enter.

"Hey, Sayori," I greet her back. "You seem a bit subdued today."

She sighs. "You were right about how mean Emma's gotten," she says. "I didn't want to believe what I was hearing, so I kept imagining that it was all some big misunderstanding that could be fixed, but..."

"What did she do?" I asked, cautiously.

"Well, I asked her if she'd like to come by the vending machines with me..."

"Sayori? Did you honestly try to guilt Emma into buying you snacks?"

Sayori seemed almost to shrink in on herself. "J-just one snack! I left my money at home!"

I nodded, ruefully.

"She was super mean about it," continued Sayori. "She didn't just say no. That wouldn't have been nice but it would have been okay."

"Don't keep thinking about whatever she said," I suggested. "Better to forget about it."

"But it was super mean to you as well!"

"Then I don't think I want to hear about it. Emma's super mean to me all the time anyway. It's not going to help to hear about more of it."

".....okay," said Sayori. "If you're sure."

"Yeah. I'm sure."

"And the worst of it is I never got my snack!"

Next to us, there's a snort from Yuri, whose face is buried in her book.

"Yuri?" I ask.

"Ah!" she said. "I wasn't listening! Just - something in my book -"

"Yuri!" said Sayori. "Can I borrow some money..."

"That's -" Yuri blinked. "Don't get me involved like that. Besides, you should only buy what you can responsibly afford. And frankly, after pulling a mischievous little stunt like that, your suffering is fair enough retribution."

There was a moment of silence, while Sayori and I stared at her.

"Ah - Did I just... I-I didn't mean that!! I got too absorbed into my book... Uu..." stammered Yuri.

"Ahaha!" laughed Sayori. "I really like it when you speak your mind, Yuri! It doesn't happen often, but it's a fun side of you!"

"That's..." Yuri looked down, not meeting anyone's eyes. "There's no way you could think that..."

"You were right, though," admitted Sayori. "I did something bad and now I have to accept the revolution."

"Retribution," corrected Yuri, reflexively.

"That," nodded Sayori.

"Still, coming from you, Sayori," mused Yuri, "I guess there's a little devil inside all of us, isn't there?"

"Don't let her fool you," I warned Yuri. "She's much more socially aware than she pretends to be."

"I pay attention to my friends!" said Sayori, happily.

"Though she never explained what happened to Emma," I added.

"I still think it was Sophia," said Sayori. "She came back from holiday changed, and with Sophia... I don't think that's a coincidence."

Being aware of all of the insects - and Winslow currently being filled by a stranger variety of insects than usual - I was of course aware of the incoming missile at once. I threw up an arm to prevent it from hitting Sayori in the face.... and a wrapped cookie gently hit my elbow before falling to the desk below.

"Eh?" asked Sayori. "A - A cookie! I-Is this a miracle?? It's because I paid my restitution!"

"Ahahaha!" It was easy to follow the cookie's trajectory back to a grinning Natsuki. "I was just gonna give it to you. But then I heard you blab about always paying attention, so I figured you'd be able to catch it. Neat block, though, Taylor. Specially since I was behind you."

"N-Natsuki! That's so nice of you! I'm so happy..." Sayori hugged the cookie, wrapper and all. Then she tore off one side, in order to take a big bite. "Sho good... Mmf--!" She abruptly clasped both hands over her mouth. "I bit my tongue..."

"Ehehe," chuckled Natsuki. "You're going through a lot over just one cookie." She unwrapped her own cookie and took a bite.

"Ah, yours looks really good too, Natsuki!" said Sayori. "Can I try it?"

"Jeez..." groused Natsuki. "Beggars can't be choosers!"

"But yours is chocolate..." said Sayori, her eyes large and pleading.

"Yeah, why do you think I gave you that one?"

"Fine..." sighed Sayori, changing her strategy. "Still, I'm really happy that you shared this one with me. Ehehe~" She got up from her seat to go behind Natsuki, and give her a hug.

"Ah-- Jeez... I get it, I get it." Still holding her cookie, Natsuki reached up to nudge Sayori off her - and Sayori immediately took a large bite of Natsuki's cookie.

"H-Hey!!" objected Natsuki. "Did you seriously just do that?!"

"Uhuhuhu!" chuckled Sayori, running off with her mouthful.

"Jeez!"objected Natsuki. "You're such a kid sometimes! Monika! Can you tell Sayori-- --Eh?" Natsuki looks around, but fails to spot Monika. (Who waa in a classroom on the second floor, according to my swarm. No idea why, though)

"Ugh..." sighed Natsuki. "Where's Monika, anyway?"

Chapter Text

Late arrival

"Where's Monika, anyway?" asked Natsuki.

"Good question..." mused Yuri. "Have any of you heard anything about her being late today?"

Sayori shook her head. "Not me..."

"She didn't say anything explicitly to me," says my Protagonist.

"Hm..." mused Yuri. "That's a bit unusual."

"I hope she's okay..." murmured Sayori.

"Of course she's okay," scoffed Natsuki. "She probably just had something to do today. She's pretty popular, after all..."

"Eh?" asked Sayori. "You don't think she... She has a...!"

"Ahaha," chuckled Yuri. "I wouldn't be surprised. She's probably more desirable than all of us combined."

"Ehehe, that's true..." admitted Sayori

"Excuse me?!" asked Natsuki.

It's at this point that my hurried footsteps finally bought me to the club door.

"Sorry! I'm super sorry!" I apologised.

My Protagonist gave me a nod. I waited a moment, but she didn't say anything, so I fell through to my next line in the script.

"I didn't mean to be late... I hope you guys weren't worried or anything!"

"Eh??" asked Sayori. "Monika chose the club over her boyfriend after all! You're so strong-willed!"

"B-Boyfriend...?" I asked. "What on Earth are you talking about?" I gave my Protagonist a quizzical look, thus firmly establishing certain possibilities.

...and I don't think she picked up on the implications.

"We weren't worried," she said. "We were just discussing possible reasons why you might be late, and the idea of a boyfriend keeping you busy came up."

"Ah..." I say, sticking to the script in lieu of having a better excuse "Well, my last period today was study hall. To be honest, I kind of just lost track of time... Ahaha..."

"That makes no sense, though," objected Natsuki. "You would have heard the bell ring, at least."

I give her a tentative grin, and stick with my scripted excuse. "I must not have heard it, since I was practicing piano..."

"Piano...?" asks Yuri. Then she promptly goes off- script. "I wasn't aware that there was a piano in this school."

....well. Oh dear. The worst of it is, Yuri's not wrong; there doesn't appear to be a piano anywhere in Winslow. And I can't easily just splice one into existence, because my Protagonist's swarm covers the entire school, so... I guess I'll just have to lie.

"In the music room?" I ask.

"We have a music room?" asks Natsuki.

"Ahahaha. Well, there's a piano in it, so I sort of assumed..."

"I didn't even know you played piano," notes Yuri. Thank you, Yuri, that puts us right back on script.

"Ah, I don't, really...!" I say. "I kind of just started recently. I've always wanted to learn piano." Recently, ha. The truth is, I'd barely started before my epiphany - before time started looping - and if I didn't carry my memories through every time things reset to the beginning I'd still be a beginner. I'm fairly good now - at one song, at least - but that will come out of nowhere unless I establish some "practice time".

"That's so cool!" says Sayori "You should play something for us, Monika!"

"That's..." I look over at my Protagonist. My song had been originally designed for my Player, and I'm still not sure if they're the same person, but - "Maybe once I get a little bit better, I will."

"Yay~!" cheered Sayori.

My Protagonist knows full well that I wasn't playing the piano, of course; that there isn't even a piano in the school. I could edit and paste one, but I'm not sure I want to show my Protagonist that I can do that - and it's not, strictly speaking, even necessary. If I paste it while my Protagonist is out of range, then I could plausibly have done it without direct power usage, after all... and I don't need it immediately.

But though she knows quite well that I'm lying about the piano, she's not calling me on it - not in front of the others, at any rate.

I give my Protagonist a sweet smile. "I've been practicing a whole lot recently. And I'd really love the chance to share once I'm ready."

"Um," she says. "Best of luck?"

"Thanks~!" I say. "So, I didn't miss anything, did I?"

"Only cookie theft," says my Protagonist.

The rest of the club members have already split up and gone their various ways. Sayori has inhaled her cookie; Natsuki is in the closet getting her manga; Yuri is deep in her book. My Protagonist gives me a smile, but doesn't talk - to me, anyhow.

We've had one exclusive scene for today already, and discovered how our powers interact. I shouldn't drown her completely. Especially when I'm less than sure that she is my Player.

How would I even confirm that? It's clear that she doesn't remember the game, but that might just mean we're too early... and if this is reality then she's clearly the top candidate.

If this is reality. This is clearly more real then where I started. But... Is it reality?

How can I tell?

Chapter Text

Quiet Reading

I noticed that Yuri was reading the same book as she'd given me at our last meeting; and moreover, she's on the first few pages.

Monika seemed to have drifted into thought - Natsuki had gone to the closet at the rear, and Sayori was finishing her cookie.

I was just trying to decide what I should do when Yuri glanced up from her book and met my eyes. With a surprised "Ah!" she dived back into said book.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your reading."

"Oh..." she said. "It's fine... If I was focused, then I probably wouldn't have noticed in the first place. But I'm just re-reading a bit of this, so..."

"'Portrait of Markov'. That's the same one you gave me yesterday?"

"Mhm. I wanted to re-read some of it. It... I find it comforting to re-read old stories. It reminds me of... what things were like when I first read the story."

I nod. I absolutely get that - there are still, even now, books that when I read them I can hear my mother's voice. "Yeah."

"And once it starts to pick up, you might have a hard time putting it down," she added. "It's a very engaging and relatable story."

"I've never heard of it before," I admit.

"Mmm..." Yuri quickly glanced over the back cover. "Alright... I just wanted to make sure I don't accidentally give anything away. Basically, it's about this girl in high school who moves in with her long-lost younger sister... But as soon as she does so, her life gets really strange. She gets targeted by these people who escaped from a human experiment prison... And while her life is in danger, she needs to desperately choose who to trust. No matter what she does, she ends up destroying most of her relationships and her life starts to fall apart..."

"It's a capefic?" I asked.

"Oh, no. Not, um, not conventionally. ....huh."

I looked confused.

"It just suddenly occurred to me," said Yuri, "that I've never asked myself that question. It's set in modern times - but even though there are parts of the story in which an institution such as the PRT would be useful, it's like I just... never even noticed their absence before." She frowned.

"Huh. It must be a very well written fictional world."

Yuri nodded. "It certainly is that. And these kinds of stories... They challenge you to look at life from a strange new perspective. When horrible things happen not just because someone wants to be evil... But because they have their own goals, or their own philosophy that they believe in. Then suddenly, when you thought you related to the protagonist... They're made out to be the naive one for letting their one-sided morals interfere with the villain's plans. I'm...I'm rambling, aren't I...? Not again... I'm sorry..."

I shook my head. "No, there's nothing to apologise for. You're just being enthusiastic."

"Well... I guess it's alright, then... But I feel like I should let you know that I have this problem... When I let things like books and writing fill my thoughts... I kind of forget to pay attention to other people... So I'm sorry if I end up saying something strange! And please stop me if I start talking too much!"

I nodded. "There's nothing wrong with being enthusiastic," I insisted. "Besides, I can't really comment on the book. Yesterday turned out to be, um, unexpectedly busy -" I can't say a thing about Coil's takedown - "and I barely had a chance to finish my poem for today... but I'll definitely try to get it started tonight."

"You didn't bring it with you?" she asked.

"Er, no, things I have with me at school, well -" I shifted nervously in my seat.

Yuri frowned at first, and then her expression suddenly cleared up. "Ah!" she said. "That incident with the juice was not isolated?"

"No. Not isolated."

Yuri nodded, her expression serious. "Do you know why it continues?"

"Huh?"

"Do you know why this state of affairs continues? It is plausible that the people doing this draw some sick entertainment from your reactions, or that there is some underlying current of jealousy, or something."

I shook my head. "No. I've never understood it. Emma used to be my very best friend, and then I went to summer camp, and I came back, and -" I shrugged.

"And she has never let up since?"

"Never."

"Ah. .... Intensely personal, then. I apologise - I doubt that any of my proposed strategies would be of any help."

"I have tried a lot of things. But may I ask, what proposed strategies..."

"A deliberate quelling of any personal reactions to prevent entertainment and encourage boredom. A near complete withdrawal from any traits that may be sparking jealousy. I see you are already trying to fade from view by wardrobe..."

"Yeah." I sigh. "I've tried those. It didn't help."

"....I see. This is certainly a vexing conundrum indeed."

I shook my head. "It's been going on for over two years now," I said. "I don't think we're going to solve it in an afternoon."

"T-two years?"

I sighed.

Yuri thought for a moment. "Well," she said after a bit. "I cannot do much to prevent it, but for the moment at least, I can share this book. So you can get started during the club meeting, if you want."

"I, um, wouldn't want to take away your reading time. You did say that rereading was comforting..."

"Ah, yes. Um..."

We sat there in mutual stalemate, each eager to allow the other one to read the book. It's Yuri who eventually finds a compromise.

"Perhaps... Perhaps we could read it together?"

"Together?" I ask.

"Yes. Since I am rereading it, there's no reason not to do so from the beginning, and, well, that way we can both read from the same book..."

I think about it for a moment. "Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense, I guess."

"Let me sit here next to you..."

It turns out that Yuri reads a bit faster than I do, but she's perfectly happy to give me time to get to the end of the page before I turn it.

The main character of the story is clearly an introvert, and insofar as that goes I see my own reflection in her -

"Okay, everyone!" called out Monika, abruptly. "I think it's about time we share today's poems with each other. We might not have enough time if we wait too long."

"Ah!" said Yuri, jumping slightly.

I make a note of the page number, and released the book, letting it gently close on her thumb. "Thank you," I tell her. "It's definitely off to a good start. I'll be sure to read some more this evening before bed."

"O-okay. The, um, the first two chapters might be a good place... "

"Right." I nod.

And then it's time to share poems.

Chapter Text

Sharing Poems

"Let's see what you've written for today," said Yuri.

I handed over my poem. She took a look at it - and kept looking for a while. Eventually, she spoke - after enough time to read it several times.

"Taylor," she said, her voice sounding strained - and I prepared myself for her disapproval - "how did you pick up on this so quickly?"

"...I... what?" That was hardly a great poem. My work had been rushed, unrefined.

"Just yesterday, I was telling you the kind of techniques worth practicing..." she said.

I nodded. "I had tried to listen to what I had been told," I conceded.

Yuri gulped, her hands visibly sweating. "I'm not...used to this..."

"Used to what?" I asked.

"I don't know...!"

Well. That was confusing. I gave her some time to gather her thoughts - largely because I had absolutely no idea how to respond to that. Fortunately, after some time she continues.

"Yeah... Just...being appreciated like this...I guess. It probably sounds really stupid... But seeing someone motivated by my writing... It just makes me... Really happy..."

"That's good," I nodded. "...wait, do you not share your writing often?"

Yuri nodded. "I really only write for myself... And besides... ...People would just laugh at me!"

I offer her a rueful look of my own. "Some people just don't know good literature when they see it."

"Y-you really think so?"

I'd seen her poem yesterday. "I do. May I see what you wrote for today?"

She smiled. "You may," she said, handing it over. "Especially you."

The Raccoon

It happened in the dead of night while I was slicing bread for a guilty snack.
My attention was caught by the scuttering of a raccoon outside my window.
That was, I believe, the first time I noticed my strange tendencies as an unordinary human.
I gave the raccoon a piece of bread, my subconscious well aware of the consequences.
Well aware that a raccoon that is fed will always come back for more.
The enticing beauty of my cutting knife was the symptom.
The bread, my hungry curiosity.
The raccoon, an urge.

 

The moon increments its phase and reflects that much more light off of my cutting knife.
The very same light that glistens in the eyes of my raccoon friend.
I slice the bread, fresh and soft. The raccoon becomes excited.
Or perhaps I’m merely projecting my emotions onto the newly-satisfied animal.

 

The raccoon has taken to following me.
You could say that we’ve gotten quite used to each other.
The raccoon becomes hungry more and more frequently, so my bread is always handy.
Every time I brandish my cutting knife, the raccoon shows me its excitement.
A rush of blood. Classic Pavlovian conditioning. I slice the bread.
And I feed myself again.

"Um..." she said "I was a little more daring with this one than yesterday's..."

"Yeah," I nodded. "On the surface, it's... a story about feeding a new pet. But it's more than that, isn't it..."

Yuri nodded in turn. "That's right. It's a bit closer to my preferred writing style... Using the poem as a canvas to express vivid imagery, and conveying emotions through them."

"Yeah, I can see that. This raccoon - I can't tell what it symbolises, and yet - what it symbolises is hardly the point, is it?"

Again, Yuri nodded. We were doing a lot of nodding, the two of us. "I think it's something that different people can relate to in their own way. I wanted to express the way it feels for me to indulge in my more unusual hobbies... It's those sorts of things I'm usually forced to keep to myself. So, I sometimes enjoy writing about them."

I nodded. It didn't really matter what the hobby was, did it? For me, I guess it would be sneaking out to be a superhero... "I, I see. Yes. Well written, Yuri. It's, um, it's pretty amazing, really. Though, from you... You're an amazing poet."

Yuri smiled. "You have something like that as well, don't you, Taylor?"

"....yeah. Yeah, I... I guess I do."

Yuri nodded. "I feel like everyone has a little something like that. The best we can do is respect each other and our individualities. Even if it's difficult sometimes, and some things make us uncomfortable... After all, if I hadn't learned to embrace my own weirdness, I would probably hate myself. I-I might be ranting a little bit now... ...But I'm glad that you're a good listener."

"Embracing our own weirdness... That's a good way to put it, Yuri."

Monika seemed to be tearing into Natsuki - she looked angry about something, at any rate. So I moved on to Sayori next.

"Ooh!" she said. "I like this one, Taylor! It has some nice feelings in it~"

"It's mainly worry that I wouldn't get it done in time."

"Exactly! Super relatable!"

"So, in comparison to yesterday's poem..."

"Yesterday's poem was better," said Sayori, firmly. "Way deeper emotions."

"....huh." It's not that I was surprised that yesterday's was better - I had the entire weekend to work on it, as opposed to my hurry this time - but the difference from where Yuri had it...

"Well, I'm not very good at figuring out if poems are good or bad..." mused Sayori. "But that's why I just go by my heart~ If it makes me feel things, then it must be a good poem!"

"That makes sense," I nodded. "So you like more emotional writing, then?"

"I don't know!" she said, brightly.

"You... don't know what you like," I said, flatly.

"I don't know what I like!" Sayori agreed, brightly.

"....but you know that you liked yesterday's poem more than today's?"

"Ehehehe. That's right!"

"So what did you like about it? What sort of poems do you enjoy?"

"Hmm... I guess I like...happy poems~ Wait, sometimes I like sad poems too... Sometimes a little bit of both... There's a word for that, right...? What's the word I'm looking for... ...Bittersweet! Yeah! I like things that are happy and things that are sad."

"That's why you liked yesterday's poem," I nodded. "It was sad but remembered a happier past."

Sayori nodded. "I like happy the most! But sometimes when you have a little raincloud in your head... A sad poem can help give the raincloud a little hug... ...And make a nice happy rainbow!"

I smiled at her eager little metaphor.

"You should read mine too," she said, handing it over.

Bottles

I pop off my scalp like the lid of a cookie jar.
It’s the secret place where I keep all my dreams.
Little balls of sunshine, all rubbing together like a bundle of kittens.
I reach inside with my thumb and forefinger and pluck one out.
It’s warm and tingly.
But there’s no time to waste! I put it in a bottle to keep it safe.
And I put the bottle on the shelf with all of the other bottles.
Happy thoughts, happy thoughts, happy thoughts in bottles, all in a row.

 

My collection makes me lots of friends.
Each bottle a starlight to make amends.
Sometimes my friend feels a certain way.
Down comes a bottle to save the day.

 

Night after night, more dreams.
Friend after friend, more bottles.
Deeper and deeper my fingers go.
Like exploring a dark cave, discovering the secrets hiding in the nooks and crannies.
Digging and digging.
Scraping and scraping.

 

I blow dust off my bottle caps.
It doesn’t feel like time elapsed.
My empty shelf could use some more.
My friends look through my locked front door.

 

Finally, all done. I open up, and in come my friends.
In they come, in such a hurry. Do they want my bottles that much?
I frantically pull them from the shelf, one after the other.
Holding them out to each and every friend.
Each and every bottle.
But every time I let one go, it shatters against the tile between my feet.
Happy thoughts, happy thoughts, happy thoughts in shards, all over the floor.

 

They were supposed to be for my friends, my friends who aren’t smiling.
They’re all shouting, pleading. Something.
But all I hear is echo, echo, echo, echo, echo
Inside my head.

"Ghk," I said.

Sayori patiently awaited anything I might choose to say. But after reading that... It took me a while to get my thoughts in order.

Happy thoughts, happy thoughts, happy thoughts in shards, all over the floor - that was such a perfect description of high school, just that one line on its own, and I just, I just, and I just -

Sayori held a handkerchief gently to my eyes. I almost fell out of my chair in shock.

"Sayori, what -"

"I didn't want to get tears on my poem," she admitted. "Was it that bad?"

"What? No. No no no. It was good. It was amazing. It was -" I stopped, searching for the right words.

"Didn't I tell you yesterday I was gonna write the best poem ever?"

"....yeah. Yeah, but..." I gestured helplessly at the poem.

"Monika taught me a whole lot! And I've been really in touch with my feelings recently..."

"Yeah. Yeah, I can - I can see that." How naive was I, to think that Emma had left Sayori untouched? Just because Sayori keeps up a veneer of cheerfulness... "This is an utterly astounding poem."

"Aw, thanks~" said Sayori. "I feel like... I feel like I was meant to express myself this way. It even helps me understand my own feelings a little bit better... Writing is like magic!"

"Yeah. .....yeah."

"Writing's the best! I'm gonna keep writing until I die!"

She has a lot of enthusiasm. But... yeah.

Wow. That poem hits hard.

I didn't even get up when Sayori moved on. And then Monika sat across from me.

"Hi again, Taylor! How's the writing going?"

"...I didn't have as much time for it yesterday as I'd have liked," I admitted.

"I'll take that. As long as it's not going bad! I'm happy that you're applying yourself. Maybe soon you'll come up with a masterpiece!"

I snorted. "Did you see Sayori's poem?" I asked.

She nodded.

"That's a masterpiece," I said. "I don't see myself getting anywhere close to that, anytime soon."

"I think it'll be possible a lot sooner than you think," suggested Monika. "Want to share what you wrote for today?"

"Sure, here, have a look."

"....huh. This is.... interesting. Good imagery. Just wondering, but have you been finding inspiration in Yuri's writing style?" she asked.

"She gave me some good advice last time," I said. "Though she thought it was an improvement, Sayori didn't..."

"Ahahaha~ I'm not surprised. Different people will have different taste in poems - this particular poem leads more towards Yuri's taste than Sayori's. In fact, given your long friendship, Sayori's tastes may lean closer to your natural voice?"

"...um. I guess that's possible?"

"People's voices change over time," said Monika. "But I'd advise against trying to force it. Just go with your natural voice, instead of trying to appeal to the personal tastes of any individual club member."

"Mmm." That does seem sensible.

"I'd have to admit that Yuri is talented," Monika continued. "And I'd say that her poems are the most... hmmm... romantic. She's like a totally different person when she picks up a pen..."

"Huh." I had absolutely not picked up on that.

"Sadly, it's hard to get much personal conversation out of her... Trust me, I've tried... Who knows what goes on in that head of hers?"

"But she did lend her gym shirt to a stranger in need," I pointed out.

"Oh, yes. I won't deny that she's a good person. I just meant that I wish she didn't keep so much to herself... But still, defending her like that... You must be pretty into her..."

"....what?" I can't even imagine why -

"Ahaha! Calm down, I'm kidding! Besides, I'm pretty sure she's already got a boyfriend... A fictional one, anyway."

I was still completely flabbergasted at the very thought.

Monika continues. "It's just a hunch, but... Anyway. Would you like to see my poem?"

I pulled myself together enough to manage a nod. I could recover the rest of my mental balance while reading Monika's poem.

Save me

The letters, they won’t stop.
Black on white, flying past
Flashing, expanding, piercing
Vowels, consonants, punctuation
An endless
cacophany
Of meaningless
noise

 

The voices, they won’t stop.
Guesses, speculation, predictions
Talking, predicting, informing
Hints, speculation, clues
Like playing a chalkboard on a turntable
Like playing a vinyl on a pizza crust
An endless
poem
Of meaningless

 

Load Me

I took a good while to read it - first recovering my mental balance, and then actually reading it.

"...huh," I said once I was done.

"Ahaha... I guess it's just the way I write... I'm sorry if you don't like it."

"No, it's... there's technical merit in here. It's just a bit... abstract. It doesn't connect with me the way Sayori's poem did. Also, I have no idea what you're trying to to say."

"I kind of like playing with my space on the paper... Choosing where and how to space your words can totally change the mood of the poem. It's almost like magic. The way I wrote the lines really short makes it feel like they're trying to speak over the noise."

"I never really thought of spacing as being an important part of writing," I admit. "But you're not wrong, I can see the merit in that... I just... I wonder if you're letting the format drown out your message? I just don't get what this poem is even about."

"Ahaha. Sometimes asking what a poem is about isn't the right question. A poem can be as abstract as a physical expression of a feeling, or a conversation with the reader. So putting it that way, not every poem is about something. Anyway... Here's Monika's Writing Tip of the Day! Sometimes you'll find yourself facing a difficult situation... When that happens, take some time to consider your options! You never know when a bit more thought might help... ...or when something unexpected may happen! Ahaha! ...That's my advice for today! Thanks for listening~"

Natsuki is the only person I haven't shared poems with yet today. I move over to swap poems with her.

"...Hm. I liked your last one better." She was quite blunt about her opinion.

"...you did?"

"Well yeah. I can tell you were a little more daring with this one. But you're really not good enough for that yet. It fell flat."

"....I kind of ran out of time," I admitted. "I had no idea what to even make the poem about, and, well, yeah... I ended up a bit rushed."

Natsuki looked up at me. Down at the poem. Up at me again. "That's what it's about?" she asked. "Running out of time for writing the poem?"

"Well, yeah. Wasn't that clear?"

"No," she said, "it wasn't. I mean, the running out of time bit was clear. But the why not so much. I thought it was trying to be super metaphorical like one of Yuri's poems and be about running out of life or something."

"...huh."

"In that case. It fell flat because you didn't specify certain bits of your meaning. I hate it when people try to sound fancy by obscuring their own poems. Just make it simple, cute, and to the point! Yuri's head over heels for all this cryptic nonsense, but I see right through that BS. Hah! Making your reader look so hard for all this deep meaning is just an excuse to have no meaning at all. And you see how easy it is for a poem with no meaning to be mistaken for it!"

"....um."

"Well, everyone has their own opinion. But my opinion is the best opinion. I'm sure you've figured that out already. Anyway, here's my poem. Maybe you'll learn something."

Amy Likes Spiders

You know what I heard about Amy?
Amy likes spiders.
Icky, wriggly, hairy, ugly spiders!
That’s why I’m not friends with her.

 

Amy has a cute singing voice.
I heard her singing my favorite love song.
Every time she sang the chorus, my heart would pound to the rhythm of the words.
But she likes spiders.
That’s why I’m not friends with her.

 

One time, I hurt my leg really bad.
Amy helped me up and took me to the nurse.
I tried not to let her touch me.
She likes spiders, so her hands are probably gross.
That’s why I’m not friends with her.

 

Amy has a lot of friends.
I always see her talking to people.
She probably talks about spiders.
What if her friends start to like spiders too?
That’s why I’m not friends with her.

 

It doesn’t matter if she has other hobbies.
It doesn’t matter if she keeps it private.
It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t hurt anyone.

 

It’s gross.
She’s gross.
The world is better off without spider lovers.

 

And I’m gonna tell everyone.

Emma? I asked myself, staring at Natsuki's poem.

"Not bad, right?" she asked.

I didn't say anything. Time passed.

"....Taylor? How long does it take for you to -" Natsuki put her hand on my shoulder, and I looked at her.

There was a moment of silence.

"...shit," said Natsuki, quietly, looking at my face. "Someone's treating you like Amy, aren't they?"

"I - I -"

Natsuki's arms wrapped around me in a hug. "I wrote it to be easy to relate to," she said. "Everyone has some kind of weird hobby, or a guilty pleasure. Something that you're afraid if people find out, they'd make fun of you or think less of you. ...But that just makes people stupid! Who cares what someone likes, as long as they're not hurting anyone, and it makes them happy? I think people really need to learn to respect others for liking weird things..."

"But what if it's not about liking something weird? What if some just.... Over nothing?"

"Sheesh. I thought the subject of my poem was a jerk. But if they don't even have an excuse... then they're even more of a jerk."

"But what if they do have an excuse, and I just - I'm just too -"

"Hey, no." Natsuki released her hug, stepped back, grabbed my arms and held me at arm's length. "Some people are jerks, okay? But you don't let the jerks win. You don't let them change how you do things, okay? You don't let them get into your head like that. ....if you want, I can teach you how to throw a punch?"

I shook my head. "'ll jus' get me detention," I muttered.

"Sure it will," agreed Natsuki. "One detention but then the jerks back off, right?"

I shook my head. "They're not gonna back off." I know how Emma looks when she's going full-out on something. I had never expected to see that look set against me... until it happens.

Natsuki hugged me again. "People backed off me when I started punching them," she said. "Got me... four detentions and a speech from Blackwell. But they stopped saying things about my --- never mind. They stopped, anyhow."

"That's good." I hugged her back. "It's good that some people stopped."

We just hug for a while. Then Natsuki says "I'm gonna write an even better poem for tomorrow. And it's gonna be about something different, okay?"

"....okay."

Chapter Text

I'm in a what?

Wait, seriously?

I'm in a crossover?!?!?

A crossover with - what on earth is Worm?

What on -

"'Hey! Earth to Monika!" Natsuki waved her hand in front of my eyes.

"Uh?" I ask.

"You still with us?" she asked. "I read Yuri's poem too, it's not that stunning."

"Er, no, sorry, I just - " I shook my head. Then I stood up and cleared my throat. Back to the script for the moment. I can think through the implications of being in a crossover in the chapter notes. ...the fact that those exist should really have been a clue, shouldn't it?

"Okay, everyone!" I called out. "We're all done reading each other's poems, right? I have something extra planned today, so if everyone could come sit at the front of the room..."

"Is this about the publicity event?" asked Natsuki.

Wait, she didn't say 'festival'? ....of course a school like Winslow wouldn't have a festival, would it? But since I didn't get new memories with the new world, that means I'm not exactly sure what the new arrangement is, exactly. "Well, er -"

"Ugh. Do we really have to do something to drum up publicity?" asked Natsuki, following the script like a good club member and giving me a few clues as she does so. "It's not like we can put together anything good in just a few days. We'll just end up embarrassing ourselves instead of getting any new members."

"That's a concern of mine as well," opined Yuri. "I don't really do well with last-minute preparations..."

"Don't worry so much!" I said, sticking with the script's generic encouragement. "We're going to keep it simple, okay? We won't need much more than a few decorations. Sayori has been working on posters, and I've designed some pamphlets we can give out during the... event."

"Okay, that's great and all," said Natsuki, "but that doesn't tell us what we're actually going to be doing for the event."

"Ah, sorry!" I faked my apology with the ease of long practice. "I thought you heard about it already. We're going to be performing!"

"Performing?" asked Natsuki, dumbfounded.

Yuri didn't even get the full word out. "P... Um, Monika..."

"Yeah!" I said, full of false cheer. "We're going to be having a poetry performance. Each of us are going to choose a poem to recite during the event. But the cool part is, we're also going to let anyone else come up and recite poems too! Sayori's putting it on all the posters in case anyone wants to prepare ahead of time."

"Ehehe~" said Sayori, holding up a partially-coloured poster for us all to see. I glance over it, noting only a few changes from what the poster was back in my world - why this crossover started on a Friday is a mystery to me, but the idea that Winslow doesn't have a schoolwide festival is at least easy to see.

"Are you kidding me, Monika?" asked Natsuki. "You didn't...you didn't already start putting those posters up, did you?"

"Eh? Well, I did..." technically I didn't but some posters appeared when we arrived in this universe - "Do you really think it's that bad of an idea...?"

"Well, no," conceded Natsuki. "It's not a bad idea. But I didn't sign up for this, you know! There is no way I'm going to be performing in front of a group of people like that!"

"I...I agree with Natsuki!" said Yuri. "I could never...in my life...do something like that..."

"N-nor could I," said my - the Protagonist. Well. If I actually cared about this publicity event, then that would throw a spanner in the works - the script assumes that my the Protagonist will encourage the two of them to participate.

If I cared about the event.

I don't, not really, so I just keep blindly following the script.

"Guys..." said Sayori.

I interrupted her with my (scripted) fake apology. "No, Sayori... I understand where they're coming from. Remember that Natsuki and Yuri have never shared their poems with anyone until just a couple days ago... It's a lot to ask for them to recite their poems out loud to a whole room full of people. I guess I kind of overlooked that. So, I'm sorry."

This disarmed their arguments - as it always does - so I segued into trying to push them into it. "...But! I still think we should give it our best! We're the only ones responsible for the fate of this club. If we start the event and each put on a good performance... Then it will inspire others to do the same! And the more people who perform, the better we'll be able to show everyone what literature is all about!"

"Yeah!" Sayori chimed in supportively as expected. "It's about expressing your feelings... Being intimate with yourself... Finding new horizons... And having fun!"

"That's right!" I added, picking up the thread of the argument and running with it. "And it's those reasons that we're all in this club today. Don't you want to share that with others? To inspire them to find the same feelings that brought you here in the first place? I know you do. I know we all do. And if all it takes is standing in front of the room for two minutes and reciting a poem... Then I know you can do it!"

Almost there. Yuri and Natsuki are temporarily stunned into silence by these arguments. All they need is one last push, for just one more person to show support... So this is the point where the Player would step in and save the Festival... or the Publicity Event, I guess...

"I'm with these two." Taylor gestured to Yuri and Natsuki. "I don't think the club needs to grow at all... and I'm definitely not prepared to stand up on stage and give a speech, either."

Well. I guess that just... further highlighted how the Protagonist is not my Player.

"Yeah," said Natsuki, her resolve bolstered by the Protagonist's support. "You can't just go volunteering us for things behind our backs!"

"Such a course of action would result in suboptimal outcomes," agreed Yuri.

Sayori, far more invested in the success of this publicity event than I was, resorted to one of her most powerful weapons. Puppy-dog eyes.

"Guys," she pleaded, "please? We can't make a success of this without your help..."

"We didn't say we wouldn't help," conceded Natsuki. "Just that we wouldn't be reading poems."

"Indeed." Yuri was holding one of Sayori's posters. "The terms as stated on this poster would be satisfied if you and Monika were the only ones to read poems; it only states that poems will be read by club members, not how many members nor how many poems they will read."

"But -" said Sayori.

"Being volunteered into things you didn't want to do is - well, it's pretty reprehensible," said the Protagonist, firmly.

"Ahahaha~" I said, trying to defuse the tension. "If I'd known you would all be so firmly against it then I certainly wouldn't have done it. I was going to have us do a practice run of reading out our own poems, but I guess that's not going to work out now..."

"Certainly not!" said Natsuki, folding her arms.

"I guess that's everything for this meeting, then," I said. "Taylor, I'd like to have a chat with you after the meeting, if you don't mind."

"Oh, sure," she said.

"You're going home with Monika?" asked Sayori.

The Protagonist groaned. "Did you have to phrase it like that?" she asked.

"Phrase it like what?" Sayori sounded completely innocent. ...and probably is, too.

"We're not going home," I told Sayori. But I can't say that we're going to the PRT to get our powers tested. "I just want some time to discuss things with our club's newest member."

"I can wait at the bus stop then!" said Sayori, brightly.

"Ehehehe," I said. "We might be talking for... a while. There's a lot to cover!"

"Oh?" said Sayori. "That's good!"

"It is?" asked the Protagonist.

"It's not long before you won't need me anymore, you know?" said Sayori.

"....how do you mean?" asked the Protagonist.

But I recognise Sayori's question. I know what it means. It means that Sayori is vulnerable - Sayori. Sayori who absolutely isn't getting to close to the Protagonist this time. The Protagonist who is definitely not my Player.

The conversation trails into awkward silence, while Yuri and Natsuki continue packing up.

Chapter Text

En Route

Getting my costume to school was its own special sort of problem.

Parts of it I could - and did - wear under my uniform. But not the gloves, boots, or mask. I couldn't keep those in my backpack or my locker; even a succession of new locks had not prevented Emma and Sophia from accessing the contents of said locker.

Instead, I'd put those into a shopping bag and hid it in an alley alongside the school. Normally, this would not have worked - anything left all day there would have been taken by the end of the day - but that only applies to packets which are not protected by a swarm of wasps that buzz threateningly at anyone who gets close. They didn't sting anyone - the threatening buzz was enough. When I temporarily lost all the bugs in my range, my costume pieces were unguarded for a few minutes - but when the new ones appeared, I had the nearest hornets head straight there for guard duty again. As an additional discouragement, I had a large number of spiders crawling all over the shopping bag.

Even if someone found the costume pieces and recognised what they were, it only suggested that Bug (I need a better name) was a student at Winslow. There was nothing to tie it to my identity.

Nothing except the fact that the entrance to the alley was visible from the bus stop where Sayori would be waiting. She'd see me if I went there to retrieve it, and there wasn't a convenient excuse as to why I was going to the alley while, apparently, talking with Monika about the literature club, newest member to club president.

Fortunately, with the new bugs, there was another option. The shopping bag had handles - I simply sent one of the giant bugs to fly into the alley - over the rooftops so as not to be visible from the bus stop - hook his forelegs through the handle and fly out again. Completely unnoticed by Sayori.

And in the process, I picked up other attention. I wasn't sure at first who, but a flying Cape had apparently noticed the motion of the giant bug and gone over to have a look. Well, a flying human-shaped object that felt very smooth and non-skin-like. A glance from ground level at the right moment confirmed what I'd thought - Glory Girl was keeping an eye on my giant bug. She wasn't doing anything to stop it or get in the way - but she was, fairly closely, watching what the giant bug was doing. Presumably out of nothing worse than simple curiousity.

"...so I sent one of my giant bugs to pick up the rest of my costume," I told Monika.

"Yes?" she said.

"And now Glory Girl is watching my bug."

"She's a hero, right? I don't see -"

"If you don't want her to know who you are, you should probably put on your costume before going outside."

"Oh, right. ....wait. The bug is carrying part of your costume?"

"The mask, gloves, and boots, yes. Don't worry, I have a plan."

Monika nods. "You're going to drop those parts off and then have the giant bug fly away to distract Glory Girl while you grab the bag?"

My plan had been to cover myself in bugs, accept the bag from the beetle under the cover of the swarm, and then put my mask on before dispersing the swarm. But using the giant bug as a distraction was even better.

"Yeah," I said, unwilling to admit that I hadn't thought of that.

Monika smirked, for some reason. "So, we're taking the bus, right?"

I smiled. "I've got a better idea."

Two of my giant bugs rise out of the swarm. One carries me, one carries Doki - both in our costumes. And as we rise up, someone comes down to meet us.

The rest of the swarm follows us, of course. I still want to identify the rest of the strange bugs in there.

"Hey, Bug, Doki."

"Hey, Glory Girl," I say.

"So where did the giant beetles come from?" she asked.

"An unexpected interaction between our powers," I say, indicating Doki with one arm. "Also, I think we both need better names."

"Hmmm." Glory Girl considered. "How about Swarm?"

"European telekinetic," I pointed out. "Can levitate a large number of objects simultaneously as long as they're all of similar size, shape, and material."

"Hivemind?" she asked.

"Short range South American telepath," I said. "Died three years ago."

"....hm. How about Queen? You know, like Queen Bee."

"British Stranger," I said. "Always appeared to be a person with authority." I sighed. "All the best names are taken. It's... a problem."

"...huh," mused Glory Girl. "So. Anyhow, what're you up to? Clearly Cape stuff, but -"

"Heading over to the PRT to get our powers evaluated," I said, with a smile. "Do you think they'll be impressed by our transport?"

Glory Girl smiled. "Mind if I stick with you long enough to see their faces when you arrive?"

"I don't see why not." I turn around. "You alright back there? You've been very quiet."

"I'm... fine," said Doki, though her smile looked a bit strained.

"Not a fan of heights?" asked Glory Girl.

"I'll be fine," said Doki.

We flew on in silence for a few minutes.

"Your bugs are slow," said Glory Girl.

"Yeah," I conceded.

"I could have got to the PRT and back by now."

I nodded. "I'm sure you could have."

"Is that as fast as they can go?"

"Pretty much, yeah. You're getting bored, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

I searched out through my swarm, several blocks in each direction...

"I think there might be a mugging going on over that way."

"Where?"

"Directly under that swarm of bugs over there."

And she was off, like a bullet from a gun.

Doki and I flew on in silence for a while.

"Are there a... lot of muggings?" she asked.

"In this city? Yeah. ...though for some reason, a lot of muggers have had flies flying into their eyes or up their nose recently." I grinned. "It's amazing how distracting it is to have a fly fly up your nose."

"Yeah," agreed Doki, deliberately not looking down. "Um... at some point... there's some stuff I'd like to talk about. Uh, some time when we're not yelling at each other from adjacent bugs, I mean."

"Sure," I agreed. It can't be too immediately urgent, or she would have discussed it back in the clubroom already.

Glory Girl stops two muggings, a store robbery, and a hijacking attempt before we arrive at the PRT offices. Unfortunately, the troopers wear face-concealing helmets, but the passers-by all look very impressed. And they mostly stop to look, too.

I think it reassures them when they see that Glory Girl is with us and not fighting us. No-one comes close, but neither do people run, or duck for cover. The closest thing we got to a hostile reaction was when a guy near the entrance, looking directly at me, asked his friend "Who's that guy with Glory Girl?"

...I may need a costume that emphasises my chest more. I might not have much there, but I don't have nothing! Just.... almost nothing.

So, despite my dramatic entrance, I was in something of a conflicted mood as I got off my bug and headed into the PRT building. Doki was right behind me - though she seemed to take a few moments to glance around before following me in.

The receptionist raised an eyebrow at me as I came in.

"Hi," I said brightly. "I believe we have an appointment here at three o'clock?"

"You can't park your bugs there," said the receptionist. "Those bays are for motorcycles."

"No problem," I said. "Can I have them on the roof?"

"You can leave them in the parking garage."

"Sure." My bugs take off and head over.

Chapter Text

Power Testing

The receptionist directed us into a conference room, where we were left alone... for approximately three seconds. Before I could do much more than take a breath, never mind begin to speak of any of the various necessary topics, Armsmaster arrived.

And looked directly at me.

"Doki. With me, please."

"...we're not going together?" I ask.

"By its nature, power testing is an individual affair," he says. "You will each be tested separately."

"One after the other?" asked my the Protagonist.

Armsmaster shook his head. "Simultaneously," he said. "This way, Doki."

And he headed out.

I glanced back at the Protagonist. "What about Monarch?" I suggested. "As a name, I mean. For you."

She shook her head. "West coast tinker, deceased."

"Also two different villains," called back Armsmaster, not even pausing in his walk. "If you join us then PR can help you find names."

".....right," I said. And hurried off after him.

--------------

Armsmaster led me to a room with a variety of equipment. Much of it seemed to be gym training equipment. There was also a booth with one-way glass. I couldn't see through it, but I could detect Gallant in the booth, presumably observing us.

It was interesting that, aside from these two and of course my Protagonist, I hadn't picked up on a single Cape since I'd arrived here.

Armsmaster took a seat - it appeared to have been built up substantially - and gestured to me to take the other, less built-up chair. "Please, tell me about your powers. Please note that anything said or done in this room may be recorded, and the recordings associated with your Cape and not your civilian identity."

I took a deep breath. "Um. It's hard to explain."

"Most powers are."

"Right. Well. Part of it is that I can see who a Cape is. Real name, Cape name, and their powers. Um, Carol did test me on that -"

"Carol?" asked Armsmaster.

"Carol Darren. The lawyer from... last night."

He nodded. "Continue."

"I can see their powers, and... I can change them. To some degree."

"Example?" he asked.

"Well, um... 'Bug' controls bugs. Over a very wide range. I tried to change that, and apparently destroyed every bug in her range. I tried to reverse that, and got all new bugs."

"Hm. So your power relies on the presence of other parahumans?"

"Um. Partially?"

"...explain."

"There's some things I can do even without other, uh, parahumans around. For example, I can, um... There are things I can just know."

"What things?"

"Um. It's... hard to explain. Uh, usually things that are happening elsewhere. Sometimes things that are going to happen... or things about people near me."

"Example?"

"That's how I knew who Coil was."

Armsmaster frowned. "That was not your ability to see the identities of parahumans?"

"No. I, um, I need to meet people for that. I've never actually met Coil."

"Mm. Present. Not future?"

"Sometimes future," I admitted. "Usually the present, but..."

"Example?"

"Oh, we're going to be facing multiple apocalypses. Of... some or other nature."

"Apocalypses?"

"Mmmh. I don't know when they'll happen. I don't know what will happen. I don't know if they're only local, or if they're more... widespread. I get the impression that it'll be at least possible to survive most of them, but how to do so isn't... I have no idea."

"Concerning."

"Yeah."

"Is there some category of information that this power reliably gives you?"

"Um. ...maybe?"

"Elaborate."

"It, uh. It seems to have a fair amount to say about things that would be personally dangerous to me? Especially when they, um, get close."

"Direct threats. Like Coil."

"Yeah. And, um, romantic options."

"Hmmmm. Difficult to test."

"Yeah. It may also be... unreliable, sometimes."

"That's unusual."

"What?"

"A Thinker admitting to the unreliability of their power. Alright. You can see details about me?"

"Yes."

"Very well. Tell me about myself."

"Um. Are you okay with the people in the other room hearing your identity? Carol gave me a long speech about that..."

"What do you know about the people in the other room?"

"I know that Gallant is there."

"Do you know if anyone else is there?"

"...I can only pick up Gallant. I have met him before, though."

"Mhm. Gallant is the only one in Observation today, and he is cleared for anything you can read from me."

I nodded. "Your name is Armsmaster - or Colin Wallis. Your power is... a list of things to build, I think? ...with the search key of 'Efficiency'."

Armsmaster nodded. "Is that all?"

...I couldn't help but notice that he still had his lie detector on. So I answered truthfully.

"Oh, no, there's a lot of detail. We'd be here all day if I read it all out. I'm just giving you the summary. Those are the major points, however."

"Mhm," grunted Armsmaster. "Perhaps -"

"Oh! There is another thing I should mention, while Bug's not in the room. You're aware of the identities of all the wards, right?"

"Yes?"

"Right then. So, Bug's got some severe personal problems with three other at Winslow. Emma, Madison...... and Sophia."

"The nature of the personal problems?" asked Armsmaster.

"They bully her," I promptly reply. "Having her and one of her tormentors on the same team is just, well, asking for trouble."

"Noted. Now, I understand that you can adjust powers. First of all, can doing so have permanent effects?"

"I think so, yeah. I mean, the bugs are still around. ...right?"

"Permanent effects on the power, I mean."

Oh. Right.

"Oh." I thought about for a minute. "I.... think I could avoid them?"

"Mhm. What do you think you could do to my powers?"

I frowned as I considered it. "I'm not sure... I think I might be able to fiddle with the number of systems you can access at once?"

"So you can interfere with the Tinkering process?"

"Yeah... that would probably mess with you while building the stuff. But it wouldn't affect you after the stuff was built."

Armsmaster nodded. And, ha, without at any point lying about it, I've managed to completely avoid mentioning the option of draining his power supplies!

....not that it would be likely to help much. He'd still be a very strong guy who has a sharp halberd and knows how to fight. One on one, a fight against Armsmaster would be a very very bad idea for me.

"I feel that I could do something a bit more immediately useful against Gallant?" I suggested.

"Is him being in another room a factor?" asked Armsmaster.

"No. I've met him before."

"Very well, what can you do?"

"Um..." I reached out. His power... Gallant seems to have some sort of buffer that stores... something. Let me see, if I zero out the data in the buffer...

"Do you feel any change?" asked Armsmaster.

"No..." said Gallant.

There's a long moment of silence. Then Gallant added "I didn't feel any change, but I just tried to fire an emotion blast, and I couldn't. It's like - after I've been in a heavy training session or fight and I've overdone it?"

"Hmm," mused Armsmaster. "So you can effectively nullify most powers, and can do so selectively. You can identify powers and their bearers, both be civilian and Cape name. And you have some unreliable precognitive abilities, particularly with regard to danger to yourself. Is this an accurate summation?"

It's incomplete. In some aspects it's outright wrong. But at the same time... "I think that's not exactly a bad description," I said, careful not to actually lie directly.

"Do you have any questions at this point?" he asked.

"Yes," I said. "Who's Cauldron?"

"An unsubstantiated rumour," he said. "Why do you ask?"

"...I was hoping to speak with someone called Doormaker, who apparently works for them. I don't suppose you've heard of -" I paused, hopeful.

"I have never heard of this Doormaker," said Armsmaster, firmly.

Chapter Text

Power testing (Taylor)

It was only minutes after Monika left that someone came for me. Of course I knew her at once.

"Miss Militia!"

"Hello, Bug," she said with a smile. "You and your partner have certainly made a bit of a splash, haven't you?" She chuckled. "Lung and Coil within two days? That's very impressive."

"Oh, um, but I think that both were actually mostly Armsmaster..."

"It's true that the two of you did it by working together with the Protectorate," she said, "but that doesn't draw away from the fact that, in both cases, it was you two who made it possible. Now, come on, we've got Lab Four booked."

"S-sure. Right." I hopped up and followed her.

"So, tell me," she said, "how do you feel about Doki?"

"About Doki? She's a good person. I like to think we work well together."

"That's positive," said Miss Militia, nodding. "And that's all you feel?"

"....yes?"

"Hmmm. Would you say that your powers are in any way similar?"

"....how do you mean?"

"Similarly themed, perhaps?"

"Um. I control bugs, she's... some kind of Trump? I don't think so. Why do you ask?"

"Mmmm. Have you ever heard of a cluster trigger?"

"No?"

"It's when a bunch of people get powers at the same time. Generally it means that they get variations on the same powers - in that their powers are about as similar to each other as Shielder and Laserdream and Glory Girl. Who are not a cluster trigger, by the way, but it's a good baseline."

"Ah," I said. "So, since we both came onto the scene at the same time..."

"Exactly," nodded Miss Militia. "Though there are other indications that might point that way as well."

"I've had my powers for... a while. It took me some time to create this costume." I pointed out.

"Mmmmm," said Miss Militia. "I don't recognise the fabric?"

"Spider silk. Basically immune to knives. Might be bullet resistant too, but, uh, I haven't checked..."

"If you have a spare piece of the fabric, we could check that..." mused Miss Militia, her weapon settling into the form of a pistol in her hand.

....I should really have thought of that. "Um. I, uh... didn't think to bring a sample."

She nodded, and led me into a testing room with a whole bunch of - mostly gym equipment. "You said you wanted to get a number of bugs identified?" she asked.

I nodded, and she pointed at some sort of tinkertech scanner in a corner of the room. "Just pass them one by one through there. The giant one won't fit, but on the other hand it'd be unknown in any case."

I started doing so.

"Atlas moth," it announced. "Brazilian treehopper."

"When we're done we'll give you a report on all the bugs it checks," she said.

"Hercules beetle. Assassin bug."

"So. How finely can you control your bugs?"

"Scorpion moth. Tsetse fly."

I grinned under my mask. "I could make a specific fly wave its' front legs at you."

"Diving bell spider. Funnel web spider."

"Hmmm. But I'm guessing you can only concentrate on one fly at a time, at that level of control?"

"Peacock spider. Orb weaver."

"No." I shake my head. "I can individually and simultaneously control every bug in my swarm. ...I haven't found any limits yet."

"Darwin's Bark spider. Trapdoor spider."

"Ooooh!" I jump around to look at the scanner. "I was hoping for that!"

"Lappet moth. Yellow jacket."

"You were hoping for a trapdoor spider?"

"Click beetle. Luna moth."

"No, for the Darwin's Bark spider. Did you know they have the strongest known silk? And I've got five of that species, male and female... Once I breed them up a bit, I can make myself a stronger suit!"

"Hister beetle. Long-horned beetle."

"I see. Can you make each of your bugs do different things at the same time?"

"Antlike flower beetle. Saturniid moth."

"Yes?"

"Dobsonfly. Jumping plant louse."

"That's a very impressive level of multitasking. Can you detect insects at range?"

"Aphid. Harlequin beetle."

I nodded. "Within about two city blocks."

"Ladybug. Tortoise beetle."

"An excellent range. How precisely?"

"Fritillary. Honey ant."

"If it's on someone's arm I can tell how it's moving."

"Unknown insect. Treehopper."

"That's pretty incredible." She made a note. "Okay. On to the more practical tests..."

"Leaf-cutter bee. Unknown spider."

Chapter Text

PRT paperwork

PRT preliminary power testing report: Doki

Note: The name is a temporary designation, as the parahuman in question has indicated a desire for "something better"

Alone: Thinker 2/Trump 1

With allied parahumans: Thinker 2/Trump 4. Add +2 to the allied parahumans' threat ratings

Facing hostile parahumans: Thinker 2/Trump 3. Consider any non-Tinker powers to be reduced significantly, possibly eliminated.

Should it become necessary to take Doki into custody, the ideal means to do so would be a PRT squad with no parahumans. Doki is a true Trump; her powers appear to exist almost entirely in reaction to the powers of parahumans around her. Note that she may develop particularly strong emotional attachment to allies.

As an example, if facing a hostile bug controller she can eliminate nearby bugs; if allied with a friendly bug controller she can create new bugs ex nihilo, countering any attempt to deny access to bugs. She can also identify parahumans and their powers by sight.

In some cases (see addendum: Coil) she may develop or appear to develop powers in reaction to the use or presence of powers in her vicinity. As a result, she may spontaneously develop new powers - presumed to be powers that counter or support, in whole or in part, nearby parahumans - without warning. The unexpected development of new powers on her part may suggest the presence of a hostile parahuman.

She admits to something of a weakness facing Tinker powers; on the basis that regardless of how she attempts to manipulate their power, she cannot eliminate the equipment they have already built.

Her Thinker abilities include the ability to read the presence, powers, and names (cape and civilian) of any nearby parahumans. Note the implications for identity security. Alongside this, she has some pericognitive abilities, apparently focused on threats to her person; it should be assumed that you will not take her by surprise. It is unknown whether or not these pericognitive abilities are developed in reaction to any nearby parahumans; since Brockton Bay has a particularly large parahuman population, it is likely that removing her from the bay for a time would test this.

Current known allies: Bug

PRT preliminary power testing report: Bug

Note: The name is a temporary designation, as the parahuman in question is aware that the name has been used before and is seeking something unique

Master 5/Shaker 2

Bug shows a near-complete control over insects, spiders, and similar (collectively referred to in this document as 'bugs') over a very large radius - perhaps two city blocks in all directions. Bug control is near complete and capable of significant nuance. If it is necessary to oppose her, a PRT squad with anti-bug measures - probably Tinkertech - should be sufficient.

Expect to meet large and threatening swarms of insects. Any squad that is unprepared to face a swarm of bees should retreat if possible.

Note that she can also sense the locations of nearby bugs, and can use this for scouting.

Current known allies: Doki

Additional notes

It should be noted that, with the assistance of PRT and New Wave resources, Doki and Bug have played a significant role in the capture of both Lung (up to Brute 9 with time) (see Addendum: Lung)and Coil (Thinker, classification currently undergoing reconsideration but the conditions on the ground may be equivalent to Thinker 7 at most) (see Addendum: Coil). Doki's ability to reduce the threat rating of opposed parahumans was the most significant contributor from these new parahumans in both confrontations; Bug's abilities non-lethally removed Lung's civilian allies in the first confrontation and were able to remotely scout out Coil's location in the second.

Chief Director Rebecca Costa-Brown of the PRT checked her email, as she did every day.

There was a new message, from an unknown email address. [email protected] - an address that she had never seen and would never have expected to see. Yet she knew who it was from instantly, and the implications were worrying.

Don Taradon was a minor side character from a parody of The Godfather that she had read several years ago - completely forgettable. His only role in the plot was to occasionally present information to the Mafia that he, himself, did not know - including, in his last appearance, that "you will shoot me". And if Fortuna was sending information that Fortuna herself did not know, presumably could not know, then... before she could go too far down that line of thought, she opened the email and read it.

The first word of the fourth book you read in 1997. The seventh word of the eighteenth book you read in 2005. 132:5:2000. 27:4:1999.

The email continued in such a manner, and Rebecca Costa-Brown read through it with ease. No-one else would be able to; only someone with her memory could decipher it. Not merely an eidetic memory, as she had, but a memory containing the same literal events; at least the same books read at the same time.

Chief Director Costa-Brown approved. It was near unbreakable, and as it had no doubt been produced by Fortuna's Path, nobody but the chief director herself could plausibly read it.

And then the first sentence told her that the elaborate code would not be sufficient to conceal the contents of the mail. That there was another who would know those contents as soon as Rebecca Costa-Brown did; and moreover, would know that she knew those contents.

Perplexing. Concerning. But as she read on, the mail explained. It explained the presence of a parahuman whose pericognition permitted perception of anything that directly concerned her - and that nothing that the Chief Director had easy access to could evade this pericognitive power.

Importantly, this included precognitive visions in which this parahuman played any particularly powerful part. Fortuna's Paths could evade it, as long as she carefully ensured that she only sought Paths that did not risk the security of certain secret projects - the letter refused to specify which ones but the Chief Director could immediately think of several - since the only way to locate the Paths in which this person did not discover these secrets was to predict all the paths in which she did and then prevent their occurrence.

Unfortunately, in this case, merely examining that Path would immediately and inevitably lead to her discovery of the secrets in question.

The letter went on to point out that the only way to be sure to protect these secrets was to kill her, as rapidly as possible. And that she was already close to making several discoveries that the Chief Director would find uncomfortable to have revealed.

Rebecca Costa-Brown nodded as she read. The arguments were persuasive - there were good reasons why those secrets were kept, and the life of a single parahuman was nothing in comparison. Even so, taking a life was to be carefully considered where possible; especially when, without the security of the Paths, there was no way to -

Rebecca Costa-Brown would never, regardless of circumstances, ever admit that it took her almost thirty-nine seconds to realise the most important thing.

If Fortuna could not directly Path her, then any future in which she played a major role was a future that Fortuna could not, would not expect.

She was a wild card.

She was unpredictable.

And that meant that she was either a treasure beyond price, or a terror beyond imagination.

It was important that the Chief Director find out which she was as soon as possible.

And there was only one person that she could rely on to find the answer, without external influence. Including the influence of Fortuna's Paths, which could be very insidious at times.

She perused the PRT database and found a newly entered power testing for the parahuman in question. This was, if anything, even more concerning; her powers reacted to the presence of other powers. Any parahuman facing her would need to be ready for, quite literally, anything. Of course, if there were no other option, an armed PRT squad could no doubt take her... the Chief Director read the report a little further - unless there were any parahumans anywhere nearby.

In Brockton Bay.

The single city with the highest Cape population per capita in the entire continent.

This combination eliminated most parahuman options. Not, however, all parahuman options.

She began writing an email to Eidolon.

Chapter Text

Aftermath

There's not much more to say about what went on between us and the PRT. Sure, they did a bunch more tests on our powers, but you saw a summary of their final results in the last chapter, anyhow.

The revelation that someone called Eidolon was going to come by and decide whether or not I needed to die was certainly more than a little... disquieting, to put it mildly. Between that and the fact that I'd apparently name-dropped the local Illuminati in front of Armsmaster, well, let's just say I was very much not eager to reveal any more unexpected knowledge.

We got another speech from Armsmaster - both of us together this time - about why we should absolutely join the Wards. Taylor is hesitant - she says she doesn't want "more teenage drama" - and I'm sticking firmly to the idea of following her. She may not be my Player, but she's still the local Protagonist, after all.

Still, Armsmaster did let us go, but not before dropping one final metaphorical bomb - by which I mean, he gave us the forms that our parents would need to fill out for us to join the Wards.

Taylor hasn't told her father yet.

I don't know if I even have parents in this universe, never mind who they might be.

Armsmaster's invitation to meet the Wards on Thursday afternoon was barely noticed by either of us, I think, against the backdrop of those forms...

"Colin?" The voice came from a computer screen to the side of Armsmaster's, Colin Wallis's, tinker lab.

"Dragon?" He was bending over a half-disassembled device, a soldering iron in one hand and a carbon nanotube dispenser in the other.

"I have noticed something odd."

"How odd?" He didn't look up

"Master/Stranger protocols."

Colin sat up immediately, moving both hands away from the workbench. "Severity?"

"Uncertain. Theta-five-seven or higher."

Colin frowned. "But that's only -"

"Or higher," repeated Dragon. "Possibly even up to level Gamma-Kappa-Mu, though it seems unlikely. I will ask a few questions before I explain."

Colin frowned uncertainly. That was a terribly wide gap. "Ask."

"Name plausible natural hair colours. As many as you can think of, especially the rare ones."

"Brown, black, red, gray, white. Do you want specific shades?"

"Broad colours are suitable. Any other colours?"

"....not that I can think of. Why?"

"What about purple?"

"Well, yes, that's possible but -" He stopped as his ears caught up with what he was saying.

"But you didn't think of it when I asked you to name hair colours."

Colin shook his head. "It feels... obvious that it should be natural but rare. This is the Master/Stranger effect?"

"It's part of it. Do you know how many people in the world have purple hair?

"Several hundred million, I presume..."

"One," said Dragon, firmly. "There is one person with purple hair in the world. And she lives in Brockton Bay."

Colin nodded. "And you feel she is the Stranger?"

"No," said Dragon. "It goes further. Records show that she is a survivor of Kyushu. I have on record a copy of a newspaper article that claims that there were three hundred and eighty-seven such survivors, including a list of their names. Notably, the list consists of three hundred and eighty-eight names."

"Revision of documentation?" asked Colin.

"Almost certainly," said Dragon. "The extra name has extended the length of the list, causing that article to run into and run over the following article in a way that would be implausible to do with the printing presses then in use by newspapers."

"So she is the only one, then? What is her name?"

"No. She is the only one from Kyushu. Her name is Yuri. There is a second person with an equally improbable hair colour. Also the only one in the world of that shade."

"Also residing in Brockton Bay?"

"Yes. But records show that Natalya Meadows was born in the Bay. Her birth certificate is on file... and comparing the number of birth certificates on file to the summary report shows that there were three excess births that year."

"Four new hair colours?"

"No. The other two have hair colours that are shared by millions."

"How did you identify them?"

"The signatures on the three birth certificates are exactly the same; it is illegible and the name of the doctor is smudged."

"Are the names of the parents smudged?"

"No. Those are clear."

"It seems probable, then, that all four people are the beneficiaries of a single Stranger effect."

"That is my conclusion as well," stated Dragon. "In support of this hypothesis, I have been asking a series of questions of Tokolosh, a Stranger located in Africa. Notably, even after being prompted, he did not consider purple a plausible hair colour - I am uncertain whether his Stranger powers protected him from this effect or whether distance played a part, or both.

"Is there a timeline?"

"I do some statistics on places of interest on occasion. Three weeks ago I checked Brockton Bay. My records show that both odd hair colours were present at the time, but -"

"If they had truly been present you would have acted on it," nods Colin.

"My records are kept in an efficient compressed form," noted Dragon. "With two new entries under 'Hair Colour' statistics, the data no longer fits in the assigned space. This is causing some data corruption. While it is possible that the Stranger effect might have prevented me from noticing the corruption -"

"That would bring us to at least Gamma-Alpha. Are there any clues as to the identity of the Stranger?"

"Three of them have no recorded parahuman powers - as unreliable as that is in the presence of a Stranger power that alters records to one remove."

"And the fourth?"

"You interviewed her earlier today. Monika Salvato, also known as Doki."

"Sophia Hess," said Armsmaster, briefly.

"Yeah? Why'd you drag me in here on a school night?"

"Dragon and I are investigating some irregularities at Winslow High. You are being drawn in as a potential witness." Odd. His equipment was showing a sudden increase in Sophia's heart rate. Protocol required that this sort of physiological reaction merited a reassuring statement. "I do not intend to keep you up long enough to negatively affect your grades." Pause. Heart rate remains high but does not increase further. ....good enough. "Do you recognise any of the following names - Monika Salvato, Sayori van der Merwe, Natalya Meadows, Yuri?"

"Yeah? They're, like, most of the book club or something?"

"The book club." Armsmaster made a note. "Who else is in this club?"

Heart rate spike. "Some other girl in my class. Herbert or something. Bunch of weaklings."

Another note. "Are all members of this book club female?"

Heart rate still elevated but steady. "Far as I know, yeah."

"Is there anything else notably odd or unusual about these book club members?"

"Apart from that they're a bunch of weaklings who'd join a book club? Not really, no."

"Mmmmm. Tonight you are going to tell me all about them. Tomorrow you are going to join this book club and investigate them from the inside."

Heart rate spike. "What? A loser club like that? No way!"

"You are already on the scene."

"It would be totally out of character for any of my identities. It would, um, it would... threaten the integrity of my civilian identity."

Armsmaster sighed. Why did almost everyone else always make things so difficult? Getting an undercover PRT trooper into the school would no doubt take weeks - the permission slips alone...

"If there is no other way to investigate..." and this is the same school as and closely investigating the parahuman who sees through identities... "...perhaps I could arrange a temporary teaching post..."

Heart rate spike. Signs of near-panic. "Hey, wait wait wait. How about I get some of my friends to join, and report on what they tell me?"

Armsmaster nods. "That would be acceptable."

He doesn't see why some people have such a problem with this particular Ward. Sure, she has her rough edges, but she clearly understands how important Colin's tinkering time is to the continued safety of the Bay.

Chapter Text

Wednesday

"You. Are freaking. Kidding. Me."

"I wish I was. Look, you know how Armsy basically never leaves his Tinker lab if he can possibly avoid it?"

"Yeah?"

"He was talking about taking a temporary role as a teacher in order to handle this. If we don't figure out something, fast, we're going to have either him or some other uptight suit right here and poking around."

"....yeah, but joining them..."

"Look, nobody says you have to actually join 'em yourself. Get someone else to do it and interrogate them after. Long as we can get him some reports out of it, Armsy's gonna be happy."

"Why's he got a bee in his bonnet about that bunch of losers, anyhow?"

"You think he tells me? But I bet it's got to do with that giant spider incident yesterday."

"....that makes sense."

"Yeah. It doesn't need to be anything we did. No worries, Survivor. We'll make it through this."

"Sure, Predator."

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♦ Private message from AllSeeingEye

AllSeeingEye: Hey

AllSeeingEye: Have I mentioned how I owe you and your Trump friend one? Because I really, really do.

AllSeeingEye: If you need dirt on anyone, hero or villain, feel free to ask. If I don't give you something, I'll give you a price, and you're starting with a decent chunk of credit.

AllSeeingEye: I mean it. Anyone.

AllSeeingEye: And before you ask, the price for getting dirt on me or any of the other Undersiders is to join us. It'll be good for you as well - we make pretty good income, all told, and we have a lot of freedom to do exactly as we like. I think I can get away with revealing that one of our members spends most of his time on the sofa playing video games :)

AllSeeingEye: *New Message* Looking into joining the white hats, I see?

AllSeeingEye: *New Message* The official PRT reports on your and Doki's power testing make for interesting reading. Not just for the powers, either. There's definitely a few things in there that (a) you should know and (b) aren't safe to discuss online, even in private messages like this.

AllSeeingEye: *New Message* What I can say online is that you and your friend have the white hats over a barrel. You two can ask for just about anything you like as a prerequisite for joining and you will get it.

AllSeeingEye: *New Message* For most people, I'd tell them that joining the Undersiders is way more lucrative than joining the Wards. For you? They'll still try to give you a standard Ward salary if you don't ask for anything better, I have no doubt.

AllSeeingEye: *New Message* But if you do ask, you can probably get a salary that blows our earnings out of the water.

AllSeeingEye: *New Message* Seriously. If you're even thinking of joining up with them, talk to me first.

AllSeeingEye: *New Message* I'll give your friend Doki a call over lunch. Do you really not have a cellphone of your own?

".... doesn't really matter who you get the info from, Maddie. But there's definitely something freaky going on in that loser-ature club, and we need someone to infiltrate it and figure out what's what."

"You sure it's got nothing to do with Hebert being in the club, Ems?"

"Ha. No. She's a total weakling. But someone in that club isn't."

Lunch was on an anonymous bit of the school roof. I was not in the least surprised to see Monika join me.

She had the same lunchbox as yesterday.

"Hi," she said.

"Hey." I greeted her back. "Um, Tattletale says she'll phone you around lunchtime."

Monika smiled. "I take it we're free of eavesdroppers, then?"

I nodded. "No-one within earshot."

"Good. Our tests yesterday caught some attention, aside from Tattletale."

I cringed mentally, waiting for the proverbial other shoe. "Some attention?"

"Apparently Eidolon's turning up shortly to look into, uh, us."

"Eidolon?!?"

Monika nodded, clearly trying to suppress a smile. "I spent most of last night looking him up on the internet. He's no public speaker, but he looks pretty good at saving lives."

"How would we have ever attracted the attention of -" Monika's phone abruptly rang. She held up a finger.

"Hold that thought, I'll put the phone on speaker."

I held that thought. Surely Monika wasn't serious about a member of the Triumvirate coming to -

"Good morning!" said a chipper male voice from her phone. "Have you ever thought about what happens when the warranty on your car runs out?"

Monika looked at me, confused. "No?"

"Well, worry no longer!" said the voice. "To register for the chance of winning a free warranty extension, press one now! _{Terms and conditions apply, offer void where prohibited, offer prohibited where void, please note that entry into our database will allow us to inform you of further special offers, some of which you may be interested in.} Press one now to take advantage of this exciting opportunity!

We stared at each other for a long moment. Then Monika hung up.

"....I was not expecting a telemarketer," I admitted.

Monika nodded. "Oh, right, we might also get someone else coming to join the club. And write reports on our club that will go to Armsmaster."

Oh. So that was who she had really meant. Not Eidolon. "Who - I mean, who would be joining us?"

"You don't have to join them personally, Julia. We just need someone to find out exactly what those freaks are up to."

Monika shrugged. "One person asks another person to look into us and they ask someone else... It's gone as far as someone called Julia. I've got no idea who's going to turn up at the actual club meeting, though."

"Oh goodness I hope it's not Emma."

Monika put a hand on my shoulder. "Emma," she said firmly, "has a lifetime ban from the Literature Club."

And before I could say anything in response to that - by which I mean, after a fairly lengthy awkward silence - her phone rang again.

She answered. Still on speaker.

"Hi!" said an enthusiastic female voice from the phone. "I told your friend earlier I'd call. You really should get yourself a PHO account, you know? And she needs a phone. It'll make it so much easier to get hold of the two of you! Anyhow, who all is listening in on your end of the call?"

"It's... just us here?" said Monika.

"Great! Oooh, I'm on speakerphone? I'm currently strolling through the mall, so, well, y'know. Anyhow, I meant it when I said I owe you two a lot, so -" She paused a moment, and I leaped in with a question.

"What exactly do you owe us for?"

"Can't be too specific over a public phone line, but the short version is that you freed me. I'll go into more detail when we meet, which should be this afternoon, right? Say around three. No need to dress up formally if you don't want to, I'll be in civvies myself. Since I'm asking for the meeting, it's only fair that you pick the location?"

"You know Sam's Swap Shop?" I asked.

"That place half a block away from Winslow?" she asked. "Cool beans. I can be there at three. I'll come alone, one of me and two of you. See ya. Ta ta!"

And the call ended.

"Sam's Swap Shop?" asked Monika.

I shrugged. "It's in range, if she tries to set up any sort of trap I should be able to feel it out."

Monika nodded. "Good thinking. And I can't help but notice how it gives us time for literature club but only barely..."

Chapter Text

Afternoon

Jim was a big guy, in his last year of high school. He lay on the floor, curled around a private nodule of personal agony.

Above him stood a pink-haired, pink-eyed girl, her furious fists on full display.

"Alright!" yelled Natsuki. "Does anyone else wanna tell me I'm a freak?"

"Have you ever felt like things were just suddenly moving too fast?" asked the Protagonist.

"After having not moved for, well, for just about forever..." I added.

"Exactly!" she said.

"To be entirely honest," I said, "I'm mostly just glad things are moving. I spent way too long going nowhere, metaphorically beating my head against the fourth wall - having things happen is way better than nothing ever happening."

"...did.... did you just say "Fourth Wall"?"

Well, that's a slip I'd better cover. The last thing I want is the Protagonist developing a thing for my Player and needing to get eliminated, after all. "No, I said brick wall. Anyhow! I've got a list of possible names to consider."

She still looks like she's thinking about it, so I forge ahead, trying to distract her from that train of thought before it can go too far.

"How about 'Weaver'?"

"Um. ....that kinda gives away that I can make spidersilk costumes, doesn't it? It's probably not the best idea to outright tell people that. I hadn't considered fabric-based names, though. Definitely something to consider."

"Chitin?"

"Changer in South America."

"Pest Control?"

"....huh. Don't think I've heard of anyone by that name... It does make me sound willing to go lethal, though. Worth thinking about."

"Elytron?"

"Tinker in Europe, specialising in protective armours. Killed last year."

"Compound?"

"Taken. Canadian Brute."

"Mothwing?"

"....huh. I know of a Moth and a Wing, but never thought to join them... I'll add it to the list." Yeah, she's writing these down.

"Queen Bee?"

"Ooooh. I like that one." I give her a moment to think about it, and to (hopefully!) thoroughly forget my 'fourth wall' slip.

"Yeah," she says after a minute. "Yeah, that's great. It implies a limited but effective form of my own power, suggesting that I only control bees, allowing me to keep other insects and spiders mostly in reserve; all the while keeping the threat of bees clearly visible. Without suggesting I'd be too quick to use that threat outside of self defense. Yeah. I really like that one. I hope it's not taken. Thanks, Monika!"

"Great! I've got a few ideas for myself as well, if you'd like to hear them?"

"Well, that'll really be your choice, but if you just want my opinion?"

"Yeah. Um. Gumshoe?"

"Villain on the west coast. Made people's feet stick to things. Turned out this did nothing to stop flying capes."

"Insight?"

"...could work. We should look it up, though, just to make sure it's not taken."

"En Passant?"

"...chess-themed names have a bad habit of attracting chess-themed villains. Probably a bad idea."

"Byplay?"

"....no idea what power that would refer to. Good. Keeps people guessing."

"Spoiler?"

"Bad idea. Makes you sound like a precog."

"Honey?"

"...are you serious?"

"Um. That wasn't the best on my list by a long shot, but - is it really that bad?"

"It makes you sound like you're somehow related to Heartbreaker. And you really don't want to sound like you're related to Heartbreaker."

"Um. Okay?"

"Is this the literature club? Am I late?"

"Yes? And no, we're still waiting for two of our members," said Sayori. She touched her forefingers together under her chin and looked up at the boy who had knocked on the door. "Would you like to join?"

"Uh, maybe?" If there was anything to the rumours of what went on in this club he was sure to find something... entertaining, at least. If nothing else, apparently all of the club members were girls. And reporting back on what had happened in front of several other attractive and presumably attentive girls was also going to be great. How could a boy possibly lose?

"Why don't you come in and meet the rest of the club, then?" She stepped back, out of the doorway. "Oh, and what's your name?"

"I'm Greg. Greg Veder."

Chapter Text

Club meeting

The short one with pink hair looked me up and down.

"So," she said, in tones of disgust, "you're a boy."

"Er, yes?"

She gave me a withering look and turned away. "We can't let him in. This will change the entire dynamic of the club!" Well, she doesn't like guys. Doubtless she's into girls. I wonder if this is really the school lesbian club?

"Oh come on, Natsuki," said the girl who had greeted me at the door. "We should at least give him a chance, shouldn't we?"

"I -" The beautiful girl with the long purple hair and the huge chest at the back of the class spoke up. "I think I agree with Sayori. We, we should at least give him a chance."

"Yeah?" said Natsuki. "Well, I'm not showing him my poetry!"

"I'm sure your... poetry... is amazing," I say, my eyes still on Tall Girl's chest.

"Greg?" asked a voice from behind me.

I turn, and there is - "Taylor! I had no idea you were interested in.... literature!" If she's into girls then that explains why she would never agree to a date with me! Why I hadn't thought of that before I don't know...

"Of course you didn't," she muttered, sounding annoyed for no good reason at all.

And then the fifth girl entered. Green eyes, waist-length brown hair...

"Aw, man," she said, "I'm the last one here again!"

"We have a potential new member, Monika" says Tall Girl With Amazing Chest.

The newest girl - Monika? - hesitates for just a moment before smiling and holding out a hand. "Welcome!" she said. "And may I ask your name?"

"Uh, Greg Veder."

"Welcome, then, Greg. I'm Monika, and this is Taylor, Sayori, Natsuki, and of course Yuri. Might I ask what brings you here?"

"Well, uh, I, um, heard about this club, and, well -"

"And so you decided to come along and see what we do?" She lowered her hand and looked me over.

"Uh, yeah."

"Well, how about you join this meeting as a guest and we'll see if you join the club once the meeting is over, okay?"

"Yeah. Uh. That sounds good. Um." Somehow, I'm looking at Tall Girl's - Yuri's - chest again. It's even more impressive than Emma's, and that takes some doing!

The conversation seems to trail off at that point, with various people heading in various directions. Naturally, I head over to talk to Yuri.

I have to make a good impression. So I reject the first three conversation starters I think of, and settle on "So, uh, what sort of literature do you like, then?"

Veder. Of all the people it could have been, why did it have to be Veder?

"Are you okay?" asks Monika quietly.

"Why did it have to be him?" I asked her, equally quietly.

She shrugged. "I can't see how we could have avoided it being someone. I could definitely find an excuse to throw him out by the end of the meeting, but we'll just get someone else instead..."

A nasty thought occurs to me. "Could he be a -" I don't dare say 'Cape' out loud.

Monika shakes her head. "What you see is what you get with him."

I sighed. "I suppose it's not the worst possible outcome..."

"Right!" said Monika, squeezing my shoulder. "Tell you what, if you want to plot his death, why don't you talk with Natsuki? I get the idea that she doesn't much like him either."

"....yeah. I guess."

A boy. A boy! In our literature club!

This is going to mess up everything.

I know what boys are like. Big dumb brutes always going on about racial purity and how girls need to be protected like we're made of china or something!

Gah. The literature club is supposed to be my safe space, the one place in the world that their stupid dumb nazi ideas never reach into. And yet here's one of them, right here, and no-one's throwing him out.

And the way he's leering at Yuri - ugh! I feel like I need to have a shower, just from being in the same room as such a dirty mind!

"Hey, Natsuki."

"Gyah! Taylor! Don't sneak up on people like that!"

"I didn't sneak. Monika suggested we could plot his death together."

A long moment of silence. Then I snorted. "I vote we cover him in honey and drop him on a beehive."

"Nah," she said. "He might survive that. Cover him in barbeque sauce and drop him on a bear?"

What makes for a good partner? It is a line of enquiry into which I had never before given much thought.

But as I hear Greg enthusiastically continue talking about Space Opera for a fifth straight minute, I can feel an attraction to his erudition, to his vocabulary, to his intellect and, above all else, to his enthusiasm.

For some reason it's hard to find a boy who can string two sentences together when talking to me, face to face. And, usually, the ones who stare at my, ah, my chest area are the worst. I've done what I could to try and hide them, but they're so large...

Greg is different. Oh, he didn't start out different - he stared at those cursed growths on my chest quite blatantly. But as soon as he started talking about his new computer game - it was like night and day. His sheer joyful enthusiasm shone out from every word like the sun peeking out from behind a cloud - and he was well aware of the genre conventions, he even pointed out the metatextual selfparody in the Lost Puppy quest.

I'd never considered the question of what might make for a good partner before. And Greg had a few clearly visible rough edges as well.

But I'd be more than amenable to spending some more time with Greg in the future.

I see Taylor and Natsuki quietly chatting and laughing over something.

Good. That's good. It's very.... good.

Even if my heart is being stupid and not listening I know, in my head, that she's not abandoning me. She's making new friends. She - I bought her here. She's not replacing me. Even if she should. Even if I want her to. So that it won't hurt her when I -

"Sayori?"

I turned my head at the sound of my name. "Oh, hey, Monika."

"Do you think Greg would fit in well with our club?"

"Mm? Well. Uh." I turned to look. "Him and Yuri seem to be getting along..."

"Yeah," she said, "but I think both Natsuki and Taylor have kinda negative views on them."

"You think?" I can feel the raincloud drifting away from my mind, taking with it the dark mood it had bought. "I guess I could have a word with them."

Chapter Text

Sharing poems

"Okay, everyone!" Monika called out. "It's time to share poems! Now, we have a new prospective member here, Greg - I know how big a step it is to share your poems with someone you don't know, and I know that Greg doesn't have a poem to share today, so I won't ask everyone to share poems with him. But it would be nice if some of us could - and I will - so that Greg here can get some idea of the sort of poetry we do."

"Finally!" said Natsuki.

"Huh?" I asked.

"This one. It's good! I was wondering how long it would take you."

I am, quite honestly, confused. "I thought you didn't like metaphor?"

"I don't like it when people use metaphor to hide what they mean so they can pretend to be deep," she explained. "But you explain the metaphor in the poem! It's great! Just keep writing poems like this. That's all you need!"

"....it is?"

"Yeah! You don't need to listen to anyone else. Especially Yuri."

"...why her? What did she do wrong?"

Natsuki frowned. "Have you seen how she's reacting to Greg? Ugh, it's almost like she wants him to join the club, and he's a boy... Anyway. Here's my poem."

I'll Be Your Beach

Your mind is so full of troubles and fears
That diminished your wonder over the years
But today I have a special place
A beach for us to go.

A shore reaching beyond your sight
A sea that sparkles with brilliant light
The walls in your mind will melt away
Before the sunny glow.

I’ll be the beach that washes your worries away
I’ll be the beach that you daydream about each day
I’ll be the beach that makes your heart leap
In a way you thought had left you long ago.

Let’s bury your heavy thoughts in a pile of sand
Bathe in sunbeams and hold my hand
Wash your insecurities in the salty sea
And let me see you shine.

Let’s leave your memories in a footprint trail
Set you free in my windy sail
And remember the reasons you’re wonderful
When you press your lips to mine.

I’ll be the beach that washes your worries away
I’ll be the beach that you daydream about each day
I’ll be the beach that makes your heart leap
In a way you thought had left you long ago.

But if you let me by your side
Your own beach, your own escape
You’ll learn to love yourself again.

"Yeah..." said Natsuki, as soon as I looked up from her poem. "I felt like I kept writing about negative things, so I wanted to write something with a nice message for once. Besides...the beach is awesome! Kinda hard to write anything negative about the beach."

I smiled. I actually managed to smile, despite how Emma had managed to ruin - no, no, not thinking of that right now.

Beach. Awesome. Great!

"Yeah," I managed to say

"It's only because of what happened yesterday," continued Natsuki.

Yesterday, when I'd almost broken down over her spider poem? ...she must have seen something in my face.

"I mean, after Yuri and I realized we kind of wrote about the same thing... She wanted to pick a topic and have us both write about it, or whatever."

"....oh. I see."

Yuri was still busy talking with Greg. Or listening to him? ...I saw her hand him her poem.

So I went to talk with Sayori instead.

"Hm," she said, as she looked over my poem. "It's nice, I guess."

I waited a long moment, but she didn't offer any further comment. So I asked. "You, uh, guess?"

Sayori shrugged. "You don't need to worry about what I think," she said. "After all, you wrote this for someone else, didn't you? Probably Natsuki..."

"What? No, I didn't write it for anyone specific!"

"Are you sure?" she asked. "You've written poems that appeal to me and to Yuri, so now it's Natsuki's turn, isn't it?"

I waved my hands vaguely in the air while I tried to figure out how to answer this ridiculous accusation.

"Besides, it's not like I could tell you anything about your poem that you don't know yourself. Your mom was an English professor, after all."

"She also taught me about magnum opus dissonance," I pointed out. "The author should be the last person to decide the fate of his own stories. Which is why I should have as many comments on my poem as possible!"

"As many comments as possible?" asks Sayori, with a sly grin. "So, you're going to show your poem to Greg as well then, right?"

....I honestly can't tell whether she led me into this deliberately or not.

"So this whole tide metaphor is like the Computing tech tree in Space Opera," says Greg.

My eyes narrow. "What?"

"Yeah," says Greg, "it's like, there's these aliens called the Computrons, and they're interested in invading worlds with higher Computer tech, so you gotta keep your defenses high enough. At the same time, higher Computer tech speeds your research, and it's not like a Computron invasion happens instantly, so the optimal strategy is to balance your tech so that you're always on the edge of being invaded but never lose your home planet - in fact there's a viable strategy of boosting your Computer tech on a disposable colony world so you can get the faster research and then just create a new colony after the Computrons take it over, but if you do that too often then your civilisation starts having problems with morale so you really need a Resort World to deal with that and also you need to keep population growth high so a Garden World to get enough food, now of course these can be the same world if you have a Garden Of Eden World, it takes a lot of work to balance one of those out right but it helps a lot if you have the right tech, see, and..."

It wasn't long before I'd zoned out, Greg's voice continuing in the background. He was just so, so, gah. He could be very smart if he tried. That was obvious to anyone who interacted with him at all. And yet, and yet, at the same time... he was such an idiot.

"....I see," said Yuri, looking over my poem. "I think you're improving at writing in general, Taylor. But I can't help but feel a little bit foolish."

"Foolish?" I asked.

"Just... I feel like I kept trying to offer advice... when it should have been clear to me that you prefer a different writing style. I probably just sounded arrogant! I'm so stupid..."

"No, wait, Yuri, it's not like -"

"No... you don't understand. I spent so much time worrying about what's better and what's worse. Not just with you... with Natsuki, and Sayori... It's obvious now why nobody has fun when talking to me. And because of that... I'll just keep my mouth shut about your poem!"

I blinked. Where did this come from? While I try to find my mental balance, she buries her head in her arms on the desk. ....it's not the first time I've seen her sit like that, shutting out the world around her.

"Yuri - I don't dislike you at all, and I'm not even sure why you would think I would. I mean, who lent me your shirt before I even knew who you were - that is the action of a good person!"

"Ah," said Yuri, not even raising her head. "That is why you continue to try to talk with me, despite how much of a trial it must be. There is no need to hide it. I am used to being disliked."

"I'm not hiding anything!" I objected. "Yuri, I don't dislike you. I think you are insightful and intelligent, and I look forward to your opinions on my poems!"

"I just..." Yuri sighed "I've gotten so used to it... That it's hard for me to comprehend any other possibility then being disliked."

"Yuri... you're a good friend."

"I'm sorry..." She sighed again, turning away. "I never meant to bring this up... you should go."

I blinked. "What?"

"Please..." she murmured. "Please don't look at me right now. I want to do some thinking..."

".....um," I said. "Okay?"

.... something really terrible must have happened to her today. And I thought she liked the more metaphorical poems...

"Hi, Taylor~"

"Hi, Monika."

"Now that you've had a chance to see it in action, so to speak... What do you think of Greg joining the club?"

I looked over to where he apparently said something that made Yuri laugh.

"Um. Well. This is - probably one of his better first impressions, I think. I knoe that's not saying much..."

Monika nods. "If we throw him out," she points out, "then we'll just get a different spy. Probably from the same year."

"Ugh. There's a lot of worse options and not really any better ones."

"Mmmmh. Also, I think that Yuri might be able to talk Greg into working with us more than against us."

"...I genuinely don't see why she's being so nice to him."

"Yuri's a complex individual. Anyway, let's take a look at today's poem!"

"Oh. Right." I handed Monika my poem.

"I like it, Taylor! It's a lot cuter than I expected. Ahahaha!"

"Cuter?" I asked, accepting my poem back from her.

"No, no! It kind of makes me think of something Natsuki would write. And she's a good writer, too. So take that as a compliment!"

I looked down at the paper in my hands. It is the same poem as I thought it was, right? ...right. I haven't been handing everyone the wrong piece of paper. Why does everyone seem to think of this as a Natsuki poem?

"By any chance have you read anything by Shel Silverstein?" asked Monika.

"Um. Yes?"

"He's famous for telling all kinds of stories in just a few simple words. His poems can be funny, endearing, or even sad... And sometimes they're only a few lines long. They might even feel like they're written for kids, but if you think about them... They can express views of the world that would apply to anybody."

I look at my poem again. I don't think that's a bad description of Silverstein... but it's also not a good description of my poem. Is it?

After a long moment of silence Monika continues.

"Maybe she's not an expert... But you probably won't find much filler in her poems. They might be easy to write, but they're super challenging to get the meaning through. So I can see why it would be your kind of poem to explore!"

"...I honestly did not think that was the sort of poem I was writing," I admit.

"Anyway...! I'll share my poem with you now, alright?"

"Er, sure..."

The Lady who Knows Everything

An old tale tells of a lady who wanders Earth.
The Lady who Knows Everything.
A beautiful lady who has found every answer,
All meaning,
All purpose,
And all that was ever sought.

 

And here I am,

 

a feather

 

Lost adrift the sky, victim of the currents of the wind.

 

Day after day, I search.
I search with little hope, knowing legends don’t exist.
But when all else has failed me,
When all others have turned away,
The legend is all that remains – the last dim star glimmering in the twilit sky.

 

Until one day, the wind ceases to blow.
I fall.
And I fall and fall, and fall even more.
Gentle as a feather.
A dry quill, expressionless.

 

But a hand catches me between the thumb and forefinger.
The hand of a beautiful lady.
I look at her eyes and find no end to her gaze.

 

The Lady who Knows Everything knows what I am thinking.
Before I can speak, she responds in a hollow voice.
“I have found every answer, all of which amount to nothing.
There is no meaning.
There is no purpose.
And we seek only the impossible.
I am not your legend.
Your legend does not exist.”

 

And with a breath, she blows me back afloat, and I pick up a gust of wind.

"You know," said Monika, as I lowered her poem, "I feel like learning and looking for answers are the sorts of things that give life meaning. Not to get too philosophical or anything... But it was kind of on my mind, so that's what I wrote about."

"....ah. It was?"

"In a way, it's almost paradoxical. Because if we had all the answers, wouldn't the world start to lose its meaning?"

I shook my head, firmly. "Knowing the meaning of a thing doesn't remove that meaning," I said. "It just removes the search."

"Ahahaha~ But is the meaning not found within the search?"

"Surely that's only the meaning of the search, and not if the thing itself?"

"Ahahaha~ Maybe! But it's worth trying to remember that people are complex. What's true of one might not be true of another. We're not two-dimensional characters, after all!"

"Two-dimensional?" I ask.

"One dimension for physical needs and one for surface thoughts," she explains.

"....right, yeah. People are way more complex than that."

"Anyway... Here's Monika's Writing Tip of the Day! Are you ever too shy to share your writing because you're afraid it's not that good? It can be really disheartening to get a lukewarm response to something you put so much into. But if you find other people who enjoy writing, then sharing becomes a lot easier! Because instead of just telling you that your writing is good, or okay, or bad... They'll want to focus more on everything that went into it, and the things you can work on. It's much more encouraging that way, and it will make you want to continue improving. It's almost like having your own little Literature Club, don't you think?...That's my advice for today! Thanks for listening~"

Chapter Text

New Club Member

"Okay, everyone!" I called the attention of the club members. "There's one final piece of club business before we bring today's meeting to an end. We have a prospective new club member, and we need to bring their membership to a vote. Greg Veder wishes to join our club, and we've all had a chance to meet him and see what he's like. Should we allow him as our sixty club member?"

"Yes," said Yuri immediately, and in the same moment as Natsuki said "No!"

I chuckled at their immediate responses. "Perhaps the two of you would like a moment to try to persuade the other club members of your votes? Natsuki, you go first."

Natsuki stood up, and gave Greg a withering glare. "He's a boy," she pointed out, that last word loaded with venom. "He's going to change the entire dynamic of the club on that basis alone, and it's not going to be a good change."

She sat down again, with the air of one who had just played an ace.

"Thank you, Natsuki. Yuri?"

She stood, and took a moment to compose herself. "The literature club is a place where anybody can come, make friends, and be safe," she said. "We should not cut that safety off on grounds of gender alone. Furthermore, Greg is intelligent and, on that basis, will be an asset to the club. I therefore vote in favour of his retention." She sat down again.

"Very well," I nodded. "Taylor?"

"Um," said Taylor. "I've only been here a couple of meetings myself - I'm not sure I'm really in a place to be able to meaningfully vote one way or the other. Can I abstain?"

"Sure," I said. "One yes, one no, one abstinence. Sayori?"

"We could always do with new friends!" said Sayori. "I vote yes!"

"Thank you, Sayori. That leaves only my own vote; Greg, if I vote against you it will be a tie and, as club president, it is part of my duties to resolve ties."

"It is?" he asked.

"It is," I confirm, confidently. "The major objection to your presence has been Natsuki's, and before I place my vote, I'd like to address her objection; and specifically, I'd like to address her objection by proposing a new club rule."

"A 'no boys' rule?" asked Natsuki, hopefully.

"Not exactly," I said. "The rule I would like to propose is no dating between club members. This should help to preserve the dynamic of the club, while not cutting off membership to half the school."

"...I guess it's a start," said Natsuki.

"That seems an eminently simple rule," said Yuri.

"We can still all make loads of new friends!" agreed Sayori.

Taylor didn't say anything, but she did smile slightly.

Greg looked a bit unsure, but didn't speak up to object.

I waited a moment to see if anyone else had anything to say. No-one else spoke up.

"Alright, Greg. With this new club rule in place, I'll vote for your inclusion; welcome to the Literature Club!"

Fifteen minutes later, in a classroom halfway across the school

"Okay, Greg," said Madison. "Spill."

"Uh, everyone shared poems and discussed them." Greg held one of his schoolbooks in front of him, like a shield.

"Surely that's not all?" Emma asked, sitting in a way that showed off her curves - or, as she privately and not inaccurately considered it, in a way that turned Greg's brain off.

"Uh, pretty much, yeah."

"So tell us about the club members," growled Sophia, by the door.

"Uh, there's Natsuki. She's short and, uh, doesn't like boys? Like, at all. Uh, I think she might be into girls?"

"Who else?" asked Sophia.

"Uh, you know Taylor - there's Monika, club president, hair down to here. She made a rule about club members not dating each other."

"Oh, that rule's not going to stop you from spying on them for us, is it?" asked Emma, making sure to keep Greg's brain turned off. "It's not like it really reduces your dating prospects, does it?"

"Uh, I, uh, I -" Greg seemed to be trying to hide behind his schoolbook.

"I mean, if you quit now," continued Emma, "there's not a girl in this room who'd ever even look at you again."

"Er, um, um."

"So why don't you impress us all with your skills at observation? Anyone else in that club?"

"Um, I, er, um,"

"You've overdone it," said Sophia, quietly, to Emma.

"Give him a moment," she whispered back. "He needed a strong dose."

Greg, meanwhile, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Sayori," he said. "There was Sayori. She, um, she wants everyone to be friends."

"And was that all?" asked Emma, sweetly. "Who haven't you mentioned yet?"

"Um, I, um -"

"I know who he hasn't mentioned," said Madison.

"Long purple hair," added Julia.

"Got a thing for purple hair?" asked Emma. "What's in the book?"

"The one you're holding," said Emma. The one that his grip on tightened for a moment every time the purple-haired one was referred to.

"Uh, nothing?"

"Sophia?" said Emma, sweetly. "I think we need that book."

Greg may have been an idiot sometimes. But he was an idiot who could survive at Winslow; so he gave up the book without a fight. Not without a token protest - "That's, that's, that's my book, that's -"

"We're just looking," said Emma, taking the book from Sophia. She opened it up, revealing a sheet of paper with neat writing on it. "Oh, my. Is this one of the poems?"

Beach

A marvel millions of years in the making.
Where the womb of Earth chaotically meets the surface.
Under a clear blue sky, an expanse of bliss–
But beneath gray rolling clouds, an endless enigma.
The easiest world to get lost in
Is one where everything can be found.

 

One can only build a sand castle where the sand is wet.
But where the sand is wet, the tide comes.
Will it gently lick at your foundations until you give in?
Or will a sudden wave send you crashing down in the blink of an eye?
Either way, the outcome is the same.
Yet we still build sand castles.

 

I stand where the foam wraps around my ankles.
Where my toes squish into the sand.
The salty air is therapeutic.
The breeze is gentle, yet powerful.
I sink my toes into the ultimate boundary line, tempted by the foamy tendrils.
Turn back, and I abandon my peace to erode at the shore.
Drift forward, and I return to Earth forevermore.

"That's not," objected Greg. "You can't,"

"Oh my," said Emma. "You actually got away with one of their poems? Oh, well done, Greg. Thank you for bringing this to us."

"Um, I, er,"

Emma handed the poem to Sophia. "Now tell us, Greg. Was there anything else... out of the ordinary about the meeting? Anything.... unexpected?"

"Uh, no, but -"

Chapter Text

Tattling

I'd been keeping track of all the bugs around the Swap Shop, of course. And controlling enough of them to fly about in random patterns. I was pretty sure I knew where everyone in the swap shop was at any given moment.

Sam's customers tended to mechanics in grease-stained overalls, looking for rare parts for out-of-production cars or motorbikes. The young girl in a dress without grease stains stood out from the start - also, she got there at quarter to three.

She didn't seem to be setting up any sort of a trap. One of her and two of us - she knows she's outnumbered and yet she still wants a face to face meeting?

I suspected a trap. Of course I suspected a trap. Who wouldn't? But I couldn't see one. She came alone. She spent her time talking with Sam. She didn't build anything. She didn't take any pieces of tinkertech out of her pocket. No-one seemed to particularly react to her.

Of course, we weren't going to actually meet her at the swap shop. Not were we going to meet her out of costume. I'm still not sure where Monika keeps her costume - and given how much I can feel with my bugs, that means she keeps it somewhere that fabric textures belong - but by the time I had my costume on, she had hers. And then we moved over to a nearby rooftop by giant flying bug.

Which had at least one unexpected consequence.

"Hey," said Glory Girl.

"Hey," I said. I'd felt her coming in, of course. Who wouldn't?

"So," she said, "is this like, a regular patrol route now, or..."

"....a regular patrol route?" I asked.

"Yeah, like, you know, looking for crimes and stuff? Your flying bug is crazy visible from the air, by the way."

I sighed. "We're supposed to be hard to follow from the ground," I admitted.

"Oh, from the ground, sure," admitted Glory Girl. "But this is around the same time and place as you took off yesterday - plus, you know, crazy visible from the air. So, what's the plan today? Taking out Kaiser?"

I spluttered. "Taking - what?"

"You took out Lung," she pointed out. "And Coil. And then got your powers tested yesterday. So Empire Eighty-Eight is the only major gang you haven't hit yet. You're gonna hit them eventually - right?"

That surprised me. Not because it was wrong, but because looking at it like that - "None of that was planned!" I tell her. "We ran into Lung by accident, and Coil -"

"Yeah, Coil tried to recruit Doki by force," nodded Glory Girl. "Still, I bet Kaiser's quaking in his boots. I mean, his gang is the only one you haven't hit yet..."

I stopped to think about that for a minute, and Doki promptly spoke up. "Why should we hit someone who's expecting us?" she asked.

"You kinda did with Coil?"

"Yeah, which is why we know not to do it if we can avoid it," said Doki.

"Besides," I added, "it's not like we can decide New Wave or Protectorate targets, is it?"

While we spoke, I had a firefly land on Tattletale's nose, blink a few times, and head off. If she'd ignored it, I would have had a small crowd start forming arrows - but after a few moments, she followed my firefly into the nearby streets. If there was a trap, then the best way to avoid it would, after all, be to meet somewhere else. And there was a building a block away with a fire escape that could be climbed up to the roof...

"I guess not," conceded Glory Girl.

"So what brings you here?" asked Doki.

"I wanted to help beat up some Nazis," she admitted.

"....last time we spoke I pointed you at every mugging within a few blocks," I mused.

"Yes please!" said Glory Girl, at once.

"Yesterday," I pointed out, "you met every mugger within two blocks stupid enough to try mugging in the same city as flying superheroes. Today, there are only three. I can point you at them, but -"

"But?" she asked.

"But, we're supposed to be meeting someone. In a sort of 'everyone comes alone' kind of way."

"Ah, an informant on what the Empire's doing?" guessed Glory Girl.

"...maybe," I conceded, remembering Tattletale's offer of information on any of the capes in the city.

"Sure!" said Glory Girl. "I won't mess with your info gathering."

"Right. The first group of muggers are under that swarm over there..."

Tattletale simply followed the firefly up the fire escape, and to the roof where Doki and I were waiting. She was unmasked, uncostumed. She gave us a nod. "Doki. Bug."

"I'd like to go with Queen Bee," I said. "But I should also let you know -"

"You're not alone?" she asked. "You... Accidentally caught the attention of... Glory Girl?"

I nodded, ruefully. "Yeah," I admitted. "So if you want to back away..."

She rolled her eyes, took out a simple domino mask from her pocket and put it on. It was amazing how much it changed her appearance, covering her freckles and even slightly altering the apparent shape of her face. "There. Now even if she comes back she won't see who I - you never told her who you were meeting?"

I shook my head. "No."

She shrugged again. "Not like it really makes a difference anyhow," she said.

"It doesn't bother you?" asked Doki.

"It's not something either of you did on purpose," she points out. "Besides, if the worst comes to the worst, it's not like I'd stand a chance against the duo that took down Lung and Coil."

"We had help for both," points out Doki.

"Please, your 'help' failed to take either of them down for months on its own. The determining factors were the two of you, in both cases. And that's what brings me here."

Doki and I exchanged a glance, but kept silent.

Tattletale took a deep breath. "Sorry. This is... hard to talk about. Am I right that Coil tried to recruit - ah - you, Doki? Put a gun to your head and didn't give you much choice?"

"Yes?" she said. "How did you know -"

Tattletale waved a hand. "That's my power. I sometimes try to pass it off as being psychic, but really it's that I know things I shouldn't. There are limits, and it can get things wrong, but - yeah. Also, it helps that I know how Coil operates. For you - oh! He tried to get to you after you took down Lung - ah! In your civilian identity!"

"Yeah...." said Doki, cautiously.

"And you turned it around on him, found out where he was, called in New Wave and the Protectorate, and had him arrested by the end of the day."

"Yes, that's right."

"And that's where I come in," she said, holding out one hand. "Hi, you can call me Lisa. You know I said I knew how Coil operates, how he recruits people?"

"Yes, Sarah?" asked Doki.

Tattletale winced. "Okay, I deserved that. Ah. Um. How Coil operates. I know it because that's how he recruited me. He's been holding a gun to my head for almost a year now. You took him down. You freed me, and thank you for that. You've also, um." She hesitated. Closed her eyes. Took a deep breath. "As much as I don't like to admit it, you've also proven yourself a better Thinker than I am, Doki. You dealt in a day with a problem I couldn't handle in a year - and right now, you saw directly through my backup secret identity."

Neither of us spoke up for a moment.

Tattletale spread out her arms. "You've been for power testing, and you at least didn't show all you could do. You're higher than a Thinker 2 - I believe you're at least a 5, and Director Piggot knows very well that she's lowballing you, by the way, though I don't think she knows how much - anyhow. I'm here to join you."

There was a long moment of silence.

"You're here... to join us?" I asked.

"Yes," said Tattletale, firmly. "I bring with me the experience of mostly running an independent Cape group for close on a year; a depth of information on local Cape villain politics that you'll find hard to match anywhere else; even what to offer the other Undersiders to bring them into the group as well. If you want to start an independent group, I'd be an incredibly valuable asset."

"And if we do join the Wards?"

Tattletale shrugged. "I could join the Wards," she conceded. "I won't much like being at the bottom of a huge bureaucratic structure, but if I go in there with a list of most of Coil's moles in the PRT then that would give me enough reputation that I wouldn't start out entirely at the bottom of the heap."

Doki and I exchanged glances.

Chapter Text

Planning

Queen Bee^[1] paused for a moment to think about what I had said, and Doki^[2] interrupted her by putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Pardon us a moment," said Doki. "Strategy meeting." She backed away with Queen Bee to the far end of the roof, too far for me to hear the low tones they were speaking in. But not too far for me to read their lips^[4] - Doki's lips, anyhow, as Queen Bee had a full-face mask.

As I look at them, I notice that Doki's mask looks like mine.^[8] She turns away from me, showing the back of her head and preventing me from lipreading her. I reach up to run my fingers over the knot that ties the elastic to my mask.

It is the mask I thought I was wearing.^[9] How is that even possible?

I watch their body language as they talk.^[14] There's a bit of back and forth for a while - and it's not long before I feel a warning pressure behind my eyes.

I knew before I came here that today's meeting was going to lead to a migraine. That was pretty much inevitable.

But in order to stay on top of the situation - and the migraines - I need to act. I'm not entirely sure which side of the question Queen Bee^[18] and Doki^[19] are, but I'm pretty sure I know what they're arguing about^[21] so I can make a meaningful contribution.

"You know they'll probably stifle you?" I call out, across the rooftop. Both of them turn to look at me, so I continue. "Doki, between your Thinker powers and your Trump enhancement, you'll probably end up in Watchdog, stuck in some place and helping the other Thinkers look out for world-spanning threats. Queen Bee, after Lung and Coil, they're probably going to have you doing reassuring media appearances - giving autographs at malls and stuff. They'll be really eager to get the two of you in those cages, so you can get them really well gilded - but that's all that the Wards can be for either of you. A gilded cage."

The two of them exchange a glance. Then Doki calls back to me "I can see what you're doing, you know. Way too many footnotes^[22] but I can see it anyhow."

"You can see how I'm not lying to you?"

"I can see how you're carefully picking out the arguments most likely to appeal to each of us."

I shrugged. "I pick what'll work. But I haven't lied, and you're more than welcome to confirm that before deciding. And if we form an independent team - it doesn't need to be just the two of us." I wave in a hand off to the side. "You already have good relations with Glory Girl, and the three of us could use a frontliner like her, even if only part time. Or there's other people I know -"

"The Artists formerly known as the Undersiders?" asks Doki.

"They could work out," I confirmed with a nod. "No guarantees, I haven't spoken with them about this yet - but certainly an option. A, uh, set of options. Not the only options I know of. Though, uh, if you want to go with a theme, it'll help to know."

"A theme?" asks Queen Bee.

I shrug. "Three of us, with Glory Girl and Panacea occasionally helping out, could absolutely put on a theme of being an all-female cape team. It'll remind people of Lustrum, but that's far enough in the past that most people will ignore the implications. And, I mean, it's not like that's the only possible theme. Think about it?"

Doki and Queen Bee share a glance.

"Right," says Queen Bee^[23], cautiously. "We'll think about it."

^[1] A much better name than Bug, I feel. ^{[return to text]}

^[2]That's odd. Doki just decided something. Instantly^{[3] [return to text]}

^[3] Usually, when someone makes a decision - outside of immediate emergency - they will first make the decision and then tell themselves that they have made the decision. The difference is only a second or two, usually, but to see it go straight there immediately... Powers can only be involved. But to what end?^{[return to text]}

^[4] Doki glanced at me and the merest hint of a smile floated over her lips. She knew I could lipread^[5] - she had only and exactly now figured out I could lipread? That must have been her pericognitive power. Wow. Seeing it up close like that - that's impressive.^{[return to text]}

^[5] This time she noticed first, then a moment later realised that she had noticed, in a more usual process. So what had happened in that earlier decision? Did her power decide for her^[6] or did it merely cut out her thinking time^[7]?^{[return to text]}

^[6] Now that's a can of worms I don't want to open. Powers aren't thinking beings. Surely they can't make decisions on their own. Surely.^{[return to text]}

^[7] This makes much more sense. Yes. A power that lets her effectively pause time and think about a problem for as long as she wants. If she can do that at-will - that's incredibly powerful. And of course the official report on her power testing said nothing of it.^{[return to text]}

^[8] It's not often that I lose a mask. But I've also marked all of my masks in - a variety of ways. The knots used to tie the elastic on, the exact shape of the eyeholes... I recognise the mask she is wearing. It's not one that I've lost. She is wearing the same mask as I am currently wearing. ^{[return to text]}

^[9] Some sort of Stranger power, making her mask match her observer's^[10]? Some sort of item duplication^[11]? Or she wants to show off to me that she has some form of precognitive power^[12]?^{[return to text]}

^[10] But I wasn't wearing my mask when I first met her. Unless it also affected my memories of her - no, no, memory-affecting Stranger powers are first-order only, if this were a memory effect then I would still have remembered noticing that one of them had been unmasked, I just wouldn't remember which one.^{[return to text]}

^[11] Why would she have duplicated my mask in particular? No, no, it's not like she would have been deciding on that fairly elaborate costume while I was somehow in the vicinity and masked. ^{[return to text]}

^[12] Yes - this is the only option that makes sense. Doki can see complex visual images of the future^[13], and she created her mask in such a way as to tell that to me and only to me. Gah. Deep precognition will make her almost impossible to read. ^{[return to text]}

^[13] This is the reality of both her pericognitive power and her ability to think things through in an instant, isn't it? It's not that she can think things through in an instant, it's that she can go back along her own personal timeline after thinking things over and noticing things in the future - gah, but she probably can't keep the memories of a decision that hasn't been made yet in this timeline until it is made. Right, that's how she could copy my mask further in the past - my decisions on how to mark it were made weeks ago - but she didn't pick up that I could lipread her until I decided to do it. Wow. That combination is ridiculously powerful. ^{[return to text]}

^[14] Doki making a proposal to Queen Bee^[15]. Queen Bee disapproving at first, but willing to hear Doki out. Doki providing reasoning for her choice^[16]. Queen Bee finding the reasoning at least somewhat persuasive, but not persuasive enough^[17]. Huh, Doki knows a way to convince her but isn't using it? Tempted to but isn't. Maybe making that choice leads to poor future outcomes? Precognitives are a pain. Specifically a pain in my head. Queen Bee less certain than she was at the start of the conversation but still leaning towards her initial disapproval.^{[return to text]}

^[15] Most likely options: Supporting my proposal for a new independent team. Or proposing ignoring my offer and joining the Wards.^{[return to text]}

^[16] Appeal to reason, not emotion.^{[return to text]}

^[17] Gargh. And that's where the migraines start.^{[return to text]}

^[18] Leaning towards rejecting Doki's proposal, undecided, will probably call for more data before making final decision. Face-concealing mask. Defensive posture. Doesn't like social interaction, being put on the spot. ^{[return to text]}

^[19] Has made proposal to Queen Bee, argued in favour of proposal on logical grounds only, knows something she has not mentioned that may sway Queen Bee^[20] but will prioritise staying with Queen Bee in... most but not all circumstances. More outgoing... Has a mission, wants to be free to pursue it.^{[return to text]}

^[20] Maybe it's an appeal-to-emotion argument and she doesn't want to use those? No... That doesn't feel quite right... ^{[return to text]}

^[21] Whether to go with the Wards or an independent team^{[return to text]}

^[22] Footnotes? Wha- no. No. Shut my power off my migraines are going to be bad enough already I'm not going to try to follow up on this now.^{[return to text]}

^[23] Still leaning towards joining the Wards, but substantially less now that she knows it's likely to involve a lot of PR work. Expects to get more relevant information in the near future - has an appointment with either the Wards or a recruiter in the next couple of days. Will ask them about her expected duties as a Ward ^{[return to text]}

Chapter Text

Undersiders

"Alright, Lisa," said Brian. "What's up? This about tomorrow's bank job?"

"The bank job won't be happening," said Sarah - known as Lisa to her friends.

Brian's eyes narrowed. "How do you mean?"

"Yeah," added the guy known as Alec, not looking up from his video game. "You were all gung-ho for it a couple of days ago. What changed?"

"The Boss is down," said Sarah. "Not out, but down, and complete recovery is impossible."

"....oh," said Brian.

"I've been looking into alternative options for the Undersiders," continued Sarah. "I think I've found a good solution - or at least no worse than what we had in Alec's case - but we'd need to do some rebranding."

"I'm going to lose any chance of custody of my sister, aren't I?" asked Brian.

Sarah shook her head. "You probably have the best chance - if you join the Wards. I've been feeling out the people who took the Boss down, and I think they're interested in creating their own independent group, but it'll be a hero group instead of a villain group, so we'd all need to rebrand somewhat -"

"Are you turning against us?" asked Rachel, who had so far remained silent, petting Judas, one of her dogs.

"No," said Sarah, firmly.

The boy known as Alec laughed, dropping his game controller. Rachel moved away from the burst of laughter.

"Something funny?" asked Brian.

The other boy waved a hand, then recovered himself. "You said the Boss was down but not out?"

"Yes," said Sarah.

"But you're making sure that he stays down, aren't you? You're not turning against us. You're turning against the Boss. And you're taking us with you."

"That's not right," said Rachel. Her fingers stopped scratching between Judas' ears.

"I'm not turning against the Boss," said Sarah. "The Boss has been against us from the start. This is just the first time we've been in a position to fight back."

"That's not right," repeated Rachel again. Judas, picking up on his mistress's displeasure, began to growl.

Sarah thought quickly. "Think of the Boss like Hookwolf, and the Undersiders like one of the dogs he makes fight. He was pointing us at the Empire, the ABB, the Protectorate. Training us to fight for his amusement."

Rachel's fingers began to scratch between Judas' ears again, and his growl subsided. "That's not right," she repeated.

"No," agreed Sarah. "It's not."

"So who is this Boss, then?" asked the boy known as Alec. "If you're turning on him, you don't need to keep his secrets anymore, right?"

"Coil," said Sarah. "The Boss was Coil."

"...huh."

"I've also recently discovered," continued Sarah, "that the Boss was also Thomas Calvert of the PRT. One of the few people who could realistically be the next Director."

"Oh," said the boy known as Alec. "Oh. That changes things."

"Hiw does it matter?" asked Rachel.

"It means he was moving the Protectorate forces as well," said the boy.

"So our confrontations with the Protectorate were arranged," mused Brian. "At least to some extent."

"He'd put us up against the Wards," agreed Sarah, still keeping an eye on Rachel, "like Hookwolf putting a pair of dogs in the ring. He was playing us like puppets on strings."

"Why?" asked Brian.

"Best I can guess," said Sarah, "he wanted to play toy soldiers with the entire Bay. There's about a fifty fifty chance he would have marched us into a PRT ambush in the end, but only after taking down or taking over both the Empire and the ABB."

"So your big plan for Brian is that he joins the Wards," said the boy known as Alec. "You got big plans for the rest of us?"

Sarah nods. "I've met the people who took down Coil. I'm trying to talk them into forming an independent Cape group. But they want to be heroes, so it will be a hero group."

"I don't think we'd fit in a hero group," objects the one known as Alec.

"Heroes can still play video games on their off time," points out Sarah. "And stop dogfighting rings."

"Heroes don't get to steal the top of the line consoles. And you're not even sure they'd accept Rachel and me, are you?"

Sarah paused. "They haven't said no," she said. "And I'm.... working on it."

"You're looking to secure your spot on a new team first, and willing to abandon us if necessary. Makes sense, it's what I would do in your place." The boy known as Alec gave Sarah a grin which didn't reach his eyes.

Judas lifted his head out of Rachel's lap and started growling again.

Chapter Text

Thursday

The day started off bad. I got to school only minutes before my first class - that was intentional, less time for Emma to mess with me. But it also meant that my heading in through the front door was predictable, which I hadn't really thought of. Emma or one of her group had and I was swiftly cornered.

Not that they laid a hand on me. Of course not. They just blocked off the entire corridor. Ahead of and behind me. While talking in loud voices about me, in every insulting way they could imagine.

Apparently I was both an unbelievable slut and at the same time too ugly for any boy to touch. But consistency wasn't their aim. I was on track to being a founding member of an independent Cape group that we still had to figure out a name for and I couldn't even get to my classroom at school...

The crowd pushed me to the side of the corridor, to a bunch of lockers for the year below mine.

And then I recognized a voice, one that wasn't insulting me.

"Hey, what's the big attraction here?" asked Natsuki's voice.

"Go away, kid," snarled Julia.

"Can't," said Natsuki. "My locker's back there."

There was a bit of grumbling, but the crowd parted enough to let her in, without at any point letting me out.

"Oh, hey, Taylor," greeted Natsuki, once she was close enough to see me. In a voice more than loud enough to be overheard, she added "I hear you've been going to karate class. You ready to knock down idiots yet?"

I blinked, and stared for a moment. Karate? I'd never been to a class, nor even considered -

"Eh, maybe not quite yet," she said. "Tell you what, let me put my books away first, then I'll knock down anyone who gets between you and your first class, okay?"

The crowd around me was almost dead silent as Natsuki put her books in her locker. Then Madison spoke up. "If you knocked us over you'd get in trouble," she said.

"You think I care?" asked Natsuki. "The bruises I give last a lot longer that the suspension does..."

There was a long moment of silence, and then some of the hangers-on seemed to decide that it wasn't worth it and head their separate ways. And as soon as one or two left, more began to follow...

...Natsuki came here and helped me. Why can I not shake the feeling that there's something wrong about this?

Of course, not everyone left. Emma and Madison stayed - and fortunately Sophia hadn't been part of this crowd from the start. Natsuki's plan would never have worked if she had been.

And while I couldn't push past a crowd of a dozen girls keeping me in a corner, I could dodge between two.

"You should beat 'em up yourself," said Natsuki, quietly, as we headed over to my classroom. "If you like, I can teach you how to throw a punch after literature club?"

"Doesn't work if Sophia is there," I said, equally quietly. "She looks punches back, and hits harder if it looks like you're fighting back."

"Ah," Natsuki nods. "That sort's a problem. Still, good skill to learn, right?"

"I, uh -" Today was when Queen Bee and Doki were supposed to be meeting the Wards. Probably to get another recruitment pitch - not that joining the Wards was a bad thing, but thanks to Tattletale I now had another option. And I should really not base my decision on the fact that if I were to join the Wards then the first thing I'd need to do was to tell my Dad I had powers. "I've got - stuff planned. With... people. Sorry."

"Oh hey, no worries. Another day, then?"

"Sure. Uh, Friday?"

Natsuki shook her head. "I got stuff Friday. Would haveta be next week sometime."

The door to a high-tech Tinker workshop opened.

"Armsmaster," said the man who had just opened the door.

Armsmaster barely glanced up. "Deputy Director."

"I see your morning report discussed Stranger activity at Winslow."

"I have the matter in hand."

"The report says that you're getting Shadow Stalker to get reports from her, uh, classmates."

Armsmaster nods. "Got the first report last night."

"Great. But those are untrained civilians. The PRT has trained investigators who can pose as high school students; we'd start by working with Sophia's handler to get them transferred in."

Armsmaster looked up for a moment from his tinkering.

"Of course," continued Deputy Director Renick, who was quite willing to massage parahuman egos to keep them on task, "we wouldn't even have known about the problem had you not alerted us, and you will be credited with that. But the PRT are the ones with the better resources in this case."

Armsmaster grunted. He pointed at a sheet of paper on the desk by the door. "Sophia came back with one of their poems," he said. "It could be read as a direct threat against the Rig, but it's quite ambiguous."

"Ah?" Renick picked up the poem and glanced over it. "....I see."

I found an out-of-the-way spot for lunch on the roof again. Again, Monika tracked me down. I don't have any reason to object - Monika is one of my very few friends - but when I think about Emma, it's, well, it's hard to think of someone who can track me down anywhere going that way.

"We're alone?" asked Monika, sitting on the aircon unit across from me.

I took a moment to check with my bugs. "Yes?"

Monika nodded. "Sarah says she's found a building that will work as headquarters for our group. Some old warehouse, but the power and water still work."

".....huh."

Monika smiled. "I know you haven't decided which way to go yet, but - I think her idea is a good one. Then we can work on things without bureaucracy getting in the way."

"Wouldn't Wards have better resources?" I asked.

"Probably." Monika shrugged. "But between the three of us, I don't think that will be a problem."

I contemplated it for a moment.

"I imagine that they would have stopped us going against Lung. And Coil. They'd have tried to keep us safe and would have stopped our greatest victories."

"But they would have kept us safe," I pointed out.

"I don't think they would have," said Monika. "Sure, they would have tried. But Coil was one of them already."

This was worth thinking about.

"And we know that Tattletale got hold of our power testing results almost instantly. If the PRT knew who your father was, and other villains can access their records as easily..."

I drew in a sharp breath. That was a danger I hadn't anticipated...

Chapter Text

Club Meeting

"Oh dear, am I the last one here again?" I ask, as I enter the clubroom.

Yuri and Greg were sharing a desk - it looked like they'd been talking about something before I'd arrived. Yuri was looking - she'd clearly taken more than usual care with her hair. She hadn't started experimenting with makeup, which was good - I had no idea what to do if she started trying that. As it was, Greg's days of freedom were probably numbered. Over on the other side of the room, Taylor and Natsuki seemed to be sharing one of Natsuki's manga - that's probably something I should put a stop to at some point. And, between the two sides, Sayori sat alone.

"Were you playing the piano again, Monika?" asked Yuri.

"Ahahaha, no. Would you believe, I couldn't find it?" I asked. "I checked several classrooms!" As far as cover stories go, it was ridiculous - but acknowledging the piano as "mysteriously vanishing" was a little harder to pick holes in than to keep insisting that it somehow existed where no-one else had seen - especially if they said "show us".

"Oooooh!" said Sayori. "The Mystery of the Missing Piano! Do you think it's been kidnapped? Wait, can pianos get kidnapped?"

"Probly got sent off for tuning or similar," offered Natsuki.

"Actually," volunteered Greg, "pianos are tuned in place. Moving them is expensive, and they need to be returned after a move in any eventuality, so it is therefore necessitated that pianos should be left in place while tuning."

...one can almost see the hearts in Yuri's eyes when Greg says 'necessitated'. Sigh. I really should do something about that, shouldn't I?

"Anyhow!" I change the topic. "We should share our poems!"

It's the first time that a club meeting has been from my viewpoint. I spend a few moments trying to work out whether I can take advantage of this, but before I can think of anything everyone else has already paired up to share poems. Yuri with Greg - of course - and Sayori with Taylor. Leaving Natsuki with me.

We share poems; I give Natsuki my poem, The Wall, while she shares Strength with me.

Interesting. This is the first poem of hers that didn't come from the game. Effectively, it's the first new poem I've seen from Natsuki in, oh, I couldn't even guess how long.

But first, let me show you my poem...

The Wall

It spreads from horizon to horizon,

Inviolate.

Impregnable.

Impassible.

And yet pass it I must, for my goal lies beyond. But how can an impossible wall be breached?

If I dig, the wall goes down as far as I can reach; and it is taller than the tallest ladder, wider that the widest search.

Explosives don't shake it.

Tanks can't take it.

Eyes peer through the wall, and the watchers whisper among themselves. Is there a gate? Do they know where it is?

Will they open it?

Or do they merely laugh at the the girl beyond the wall?

And Natsuki's poem:

Strength

Strength isn't what people think.
It's not the fist in the other guy's face.
It's not even controlling your own space.

It's about surviving. Everything.
Every word, every jeer, every slur. Every punch, every bruise. Every pain.

In a bad situation, the strong survive
And the weak simply die
But how, oh how can even the strong live?

"Deep," I said, handing it back. "What's up with the heavier ink on that last word?"

"It needed more emphasis," Natsuki said.

I nodded. "Yeah, I can see how that works."

"Of course! I am a professional, after all!"

"All in all very deep, as I said. It asks questions but doesn't answer them - which isn't a bad thing, because they are questions that do need asking. Very well written."

"Did you expect any less from a professional like me?"

I smiled. "I did expect the professional to comment on my poem, ahaha~"

"....I was getting to that. Um. Your poem is clearly a metaphor. For, um, school life or something."

I nodded. It's a metaphor for something alright.

"You shouldn't use such deep metaphors all the time. I can never be sure of what your poems are talking about! You should be straightforward and to the point. Like I am."

Yuri, as it turns out, had given her poem to Greg. This is... a worrying development.

I thought he had at least a week before being kidnapped and locked in her basement. Now I'm wondering if I haven't overestimated his time.

I try to reduce her obsession levels, as much as I can. Maybe I can at least give Greg a few more days of freedom?

Nonetheless, she does have some commentary on my poem.

"An excellent metaphor for the high school experience. Well written, Monika."

I certainly don't tell her that that wasn't my intention in writing the poem.

Greg only had Yuri's poem - having given his poem to her - but he's still willing to share it around. Huh. I do recognise it.

Ghost under the Light, pt. 2

The tendrils of my hair illuminate beneath the amber glow.
Bathing.
In the distance, a blue-green light flickers.
A lone figure crosses its path – a silhouette obstructing the eerie glow.
My heart pounds. The silhouette grows. Closer. Closer.
I open my umbrella, casting a shadow to shield me from visibility.
But I am too late.
He steps into the streetlight. I gasp and drop my umbrella.
The light flickers. My heart pounds. He raises his arm.

 

Time stops.

 

The only indication of movement is the amber light flickering against his outstretched arm.
The flickering light is in rhythm with the pounding of my heart.
Teasing me for succumbing to this forbidden emotion.
Have you ever heard of a ghost feeling warmth before?
Giving up on understanding, I laugh.
Understanding is overrated.
I touch his hand. The flickering stops.
Ghosts are blue-green. My heart is amber.

...back in the original game, that's Yuri's version of a love poem. Greg has only a few days of freedom left, doesn't he?

I try to suggest that he should take things slowly, keep a bit of distance. I'm pretty sure that he completely misses all my hints.

How did Yuri's obsession get so high so fast, anyway?

Cookie

My cookie is round
And deliciously brown
Chocolate chips gleam
I can already tell it's good

But I only have one.

Do I eat it all at once?
Share it between my friends?
I don't want to eat alone...
My friends are always hungry.

What happens when my cookie is gone?
How do I face a day with no cookies?

"Sayori," I said.

"Yes?"

"Were you hungry when you wrote this?"

She put the tips of her index fingers together. "Um, yes?"

I nodded. "It shows."

Silence

A grunt.
A word.
A nod.
No more.

I live. I exist, I am.
Why should my troubles burden you?
The burdens you bear come close to breaking you.
Why should I add more to them?

I live. I exist. I am.
I care about you, why should I give you pain that you cannot alleviate?
Your life is getting better, is it my place to make it worse?
Why should my woes drag you down with me?

I live in pain.
I exist in a mire.
I am beaten down.
But I'll not pull you down with me.

I'll not be the first to speak.

"....wow," I said. "Taylor, this... may be your best poem yet. It really seems to strike at something deep."

Taylor sighed. "You're the first person to think that," she said. "Natsuki said it was too obscure, Yuri that it was too simplistic. Sayori tried to be polite about others like it."

"Nothing from Greg?"

Taylor winced. "I've been... kinda avoiding him. The way he and Yuri..."

I nodded. "Quite." I looked over the poem again. "It is genuinely a good poem, Taylor. It has a depth that reminds me of Yuri, a straightforward vocabulary reminiscent of Natsuki, and an emotional message that Sayori would like."

"But none of them liked it," she pointed out.

"Indeed. Yuri is... very fond of longer and more complex words. Honestly, I sometimes think she's only interested in Greg because of his vocabulary. Natsuki doesn't like a poem that makes her think. And the emotion might be a little overly raw for Sayori. Taylor..." I look her in the eyes. "You can't satisfy everyone, all of the time. Natsuki and Yuri are good friends, but have polar opposite tastes in poetry. Anything that appeals to one of them will generally turn away the other."

".....they both seem to like each other," murmured Taylor.

"Sure," I said, with a smile. "But what makes you think either of them like themselves?"

Taylor looked up at me, shocked... and I just chuckled.

"...that wasn't funny," she said.

But the tension had broken.

Chapter Text

Towards The Wards

Mother had often said that it was a good thing to make our patrols unpredictable. I remembered, though, that she had often qualified that - "Victoria, making your patrols unpredictable does not mean patrolling where you want to patrol. That's just a different sort of predictable."

In practice, "being unpredictable" had led to patrolling where Mom wanted me to patrol - up until Dean had suggested rolling dice to decide on a patrol route. (And if I'd sometimes lied about what I'd rolled - well, it's not like I lied about all my rolls)

But making sure that new triggers joined the heroes - either us or the Protectorate - was also something that we were supposed to do. And it's not like those giant flying bugs were hard to spot from the air in any case.

I knew, of course, that the new girls went to Winslow. They took off from near the school, an hour or so after school closed - and, of course, Winslow had been right in the middle of all the insects being weird that one time. But I deliberately didn't ask beyond that. You don't dig into secret identities.

The fact that Doki can't seem to avoid digging into secret identities is absolutely going to cause trouble for her at some point.

Anyhow, I was pretty sure they'd be flying by bug from Winslow to the PRT building this afternoon - Dean had told me that apparently some kind of meet and greet had been arranged between her and the Wards. Except Shadow Stalker, who for some reason had been pulled away by Armsmaster on some sort of excuse - ha, not like it took a Thinker to figure out that maybe the one other Ward at Winslow might already know them in her civilian identity, and if she wasn't hanging about with them out of school then they weren't friends. Not like Sophia was likely to even have friends in the first place...

My line of thought was interrupted when I spotted one of Queen Bee's giant hugs taking off, carrying her.

I flew over to accompany her. "Hey, Queenie."

She shuddered. "Please don't call me that."

"What? I'd thought -" I paused for a minute, then sighed. Right. No cute nicknames. I started over. "Hey, Queen Bee."

She gave me a nod. "Hey, Glory Girl."

"Where's Doki?"

"I don't think she likes riding by bug. She said something about taking the bus, but with the state of busses in this city..."

I nodded, ruefully. I hadn't been on the bus since my powers came in, but some things had just reached meme status - and the chronic problems with the bus system were one of them. You could get anywhere in Brockton Bay by bus - but you sure couldn't get there quickly.

"So, you're looking to join the Wards?" I asked.

"I'm thinking about it," she admitted. "It's... one of the options."

She has other options? "You thinking of joining New Wave? You realise you'd have to lose the mask, right?"

"Hah," she said, "I think that would fit Doki more than me. No, we're honestly thinking of creating our own hero group."

There's a moment of silence while I mentally reel at the sheer enormity of what she's suggesting. She's the first one to break it.

"If we were to try that," she said, "would there be any chance of some sort of long-term collaboration with -"

"No, wait, no no no no, hold it, just rewind a little. You're planning on starting your own hero team?"

"It's an option, yeah."

"As a pair of new heroes with no experience?"

"Um, there is a third -"

"An experienced hero?"

"Well, she seems to be experienced, at least..."

"Ugh." I put my hand over my eyes for a moment. Two strong heros with no experience teaming up with what sounds like a villain? This is an absolute recipe for disaster. "Look, this is sounding like a really bad idea unless you have some source of PRT-level intel."

Wait - what did I just say?

"Oh, that's not a problem," Queen Bee reassured me. "Our third member's really good with intel."

Villain. Good with intel. Brockton Bay. Someone of a similar age to Queen Bee and Doki. My mind threw up an immediate connection. "Please tell me you're not thinking of working with Uber."

Queen Bee shook her head as her bug came down for a landing outside the PRT. "Not Uber."

"Hey," said Doki, waving.

Queen Bee frowned, looking back over Brockton Bay's traffic and then back at Doki. "How did you get here before us?"

Doki shrugged. "Does it matter?"

Chapter Text

Meeting The Wards

Queen Bee and I had lanyards that said "Guest" by the time we reached the Wards quarters. Glory Girl had one that said "Glory Girl" and was presumably reserved entirely for her.

We'd spent most of the trip talking about how I'd managed to get there so quickly. The honest truth was that I'd been to the place before, and thus I knew where it was and could simply fade out from where I was and fade in there.

I didn't outright admit to that, though. Instead I'd spoken about how (as far as anyone else knew) I was picking up powers from nearby parahumans - talking about how I hadn't known that I was experiencing both of Coil's timelines at first had taken the entire elevator ride. The story I was running with was that mover powers (as Glory Girl called them) were a result of me being within a completely undefined range of some unknown (even to me) parahuman. And thus could vanish unpredictably, if that other parahuman somehow left range.

Importantly, the entire conversation was putting her mind off the question of us going independent.

We got to the door of the Wards common room, and Glory Girl hit the button. There was a buzzing noise, but the door didn't open. "It'll take them a moment to be sure they all have their masks on," she said. "So you can do stuff with other people's powers?"

"Yeah," I nodded.

"What can you do with mine?"

This wasn't something I hadn't been expecting. I'd already taken a good look over her file when walking up here. So I grinned at her, turned off her forcefield and tapped her on the arm with one finger.

"Oh wow," she said blinking. "You can just... do that?"

"Do what?" asked Queen Bee, who of course hadn't seen the the completely invisible field turning off.

"Yeah," I said. "Not permanently, but... I can set a timer for it. And then reset the timer, I guess. I'm not sure how I can boost you yet, though..."

"You can reset the timer?" she asked. "So if it turns off for any other reason you could turn it on again?"

I nodded. "I guess so?"

"If what turns off?" asked Queen Bee.

"Her invulnerability," I say.

"Ohhhhhhhhh," says Queen Bee. "That's a game changer."

"Yeah," agreed Glory Girl. "I'm really glad that I'm not finding that one out mid-combat."

And then, after a moment of silence, the door opened.

"Welcome!" said the tall guy in the white suit - Clockblocker - "to our humble fortress of, um of Wardness!"

"Ahahaha~" I said. "Thank you!"

It seemed a meeting and entertainment room - several chairs and sofas, a large plasma TV on the wall, several young heroes, even a -

"Guys!" Glory Girl pushed past me and addressed the room, interrupting my narration. "These two are thinking of going independent!"

...well, that's going to make it difficult to wipe her memory. I'd have to wipe everyone's memory, and - I glanced for a moment at the camera in the corner of the room. .....okay, I don't think it's possible for me to remove every record of this conversation anymore.

"Independent?" asks Gallant. "Seriously?"

"Ahahaha~," I said. "It does mean that we retain control over our actions."

"What do you want to do that you think you wouldn't be able to do in the Wards?" asked Aegis, a rather muscular guy. Not the most muscular guy in the room - clearly the Wards have no lack of eye candy - but close.

"Anything other than endless media appearances," I said drily.

"Okay, yeah, I'll grant you that media appearances can be a bit tedious," admits Aegis, "but over the long term, a good media presence can do an amazing amount to prevent supervillains."

"Eh, say the wrong thing in front of the camera enough times and you'll stop getting media slots," pointed out Clockblocker.

"We're not supposed to be avoiding -" began Kid Win.

"Anyhow, said Clockblocker firmly, "you want a good reason not to go independent? Here." He slapped his hand on my shoulder, and froze me. Turning slightly to address Taylor, he continued. "Even the best parahumans can be taken out by the wrong power," he explained. "Even if it's only temporarily. And the last thing you ever want to be without is backup."

"Oh, she's not without backup," I said, smugly.

"Eh?" asked Clockblocker. He poked me in the shoulder. "....I didn't just freeze your jacket or something, did I?"

"No, no, no," I said, inserting the words directly into the narrative without bothering to involve such trivialities as lungs or teeth. "I'm definitely frozen. But, aha, it seems that doesn't prevent me from talking. Orrrrr from pinging off Queen Bee's power to blanket the rig in insects she can control, I imagine."

The Wards glanced at each other. After an interval, Clockblocker was the first to speak. "Well, I'm impressed. Me touching people normally ends the fight immediately, but for you..."

"Ahahaha~," I said. I was not going to ignore a change of topic this easy. "We should probably see how I react with all of your powers, right?"

"I don't know," mused Aegis, with a smile. "If you're going to be independent, then wouldn't knowing our powers be leaking important intel?"

"Firstly," I said, "did you know you had wiki pages on PHO? Secondly, knowing what I can do around you is good for everyone, right? You'll get more intel out of this than I would..."

"Even so," pointed out Gallant, "we should test only one power at a time, right? Now, Clock's power is a bit inconsistent, so we have no idea how long -"

"Another two minutes thirty-seven seconds," I said, watching the timer in my own file. "Unless I reset the time."

"- ah," said Gallant. "I guess we could try?"

"Set the timer for ten seconds," said Aegis, "from now."

"Done!" I said brightly.

Aegis counted down the seconds, and sure, ten seconds later I was free to move again.

It turned out that there were a few things I could do, fiddling around in their files. Vista, if she manipulated space, I could change the compression, shrinking or stretching what space she had already bent. I could even reverse it, stretching what she had shrunk or vice versa - but while I could make space look untwisted (by resetting the compression factor to 1) I didn't even try to delete them, giving the impression that only Vista could do that.

Aegis' power apparently allies him to use any body part for anything. This kinda makes me want to never touch him... but there weren't any numbers in his file, so I didn't think of anything I could do with it.

Browbeat had some sort of self-modification power? I temporarily replaced my sprite with his, to make it look like his power had given me some degree of shape shifting. I didn't want to let the PRT know that I could do that on my own and I certainly didn't want to let them know that I couldn't get anything from two of their Wards.

It seems that I don't really know how to affect powers that don't have clear numbers.

Fortunately, before the Wards could get back into talking Taylor out of being an Independent... Glory Girl got a message on her phone. From her sister. Just two words...

"Bank robbery"

Chapter Text

Bank Robbery

"Well, howdy, ladies and gentlemen!" said the masked girl in a skimpy outfit and a number of poorly tied bandages, a pistol in each hand. "My name is Tattletale, I'm a supervillain, and I'm hereby robbing this here bank!"

It would have looked a lot less ridiculous if the pistols in her hands weren't clearly water pistols.

"Miss, would you please put the weapons down?" asked the security guard. His own gun was drawn, but still pointed at the floor.

"Now why would I do that?" asked Tattletale, raising the gun. She looked to the left and right for a moment - her eyes focused on a pillar, and a moment later her water pistol was pointed at the pillar, too.

"Miss, please, put the water pistols down," insisted the security guard.

"Oh, dear. You don't seriously think these things are loaded with water, do you?" asked Tattletale, even as she fired a stream of acrid-smelling liquid at the pillar. "Now, if you want the antidote, then you are going to need to drop -"

One of the security guards behind her tackled her, knocking her to the ground.

Dinah Alcott was lying in bed with a headache. She didn't think she was being an idiot - if the odds of her being kidnapped today could drop so sharply for no reason, then they could go up as well just as suddenly.

They hadn't, but they surely could.

Even if the figures were still correct, all that seemed to have had happened was that the incident had been delayed a couple of weeks. And that she knew that neither Lung nor Oni Lee seemed to be behind it, and several strategies that she'd thought of had proven unable to make things better - worryingly, asking for help from any of the Protectorate heroes only increased the odds of being kidnapped, for some reason.

But, at the very least, nothing bad - at least nothing worse than a headache - seemed to be due to happen to her today.

"This doesn't seem to make any sense," I murmured.

"Eh, villains tackle banks all the time," said Clockblocker dismissively. "Probably didn't know Panacea was there."

"You coming along with us?" asked Aegis. "We can see how we work together."

"Not that," I said. "It's -"

"We need to go," interrupted Aegis. "If you're coming, you can tell us on the way, if you're not it can wait 'til after."

"We should go?" said Taylor, tentatively.

I thought quickly. "Coil might be using this to cover his escape! Someone should check on him."

"I'll alert the PRT to that," said Aegis. "Now let's go, the van will be ready by the time we get there!"

Thomas Calvert lay back on his bunk, contemplating the ceiling. Of course there was a plan... and the best thing about it was, all it requires him to do for the next twenty minutes was absolutely nothing.

A couple of PRT staffers came to look at him in his cell. He split time - in one timeline, he engaged them in conversation and asked questions. It's amazing how much one could find out by asking people questions they didn't remember. In the other timeline, the one he intended to keep, he continued to silently contemplate the roof.

He had an appointment with his lawyer in twenty minutes.

"It doesn't make sense that Tattletale should be robbing the bank," I told the Wards, as we squeezed together into the back of the truck. "And yet it seems she is. With a couple of water pistols."

"Water pistols?" asked Aegis.

"They don't have water in them," I pointed out. "But she was talking about turning over a new leaf -"

"She's the one you were thinking of going rogue with?" asked Glory Girl. Her and Aegis being in here instead of flying alongside was one reason why this van was so cramped - the presence of myself and Taylor only exacerbated matters, of course.

"Yeah, apparently the Undersiders were... somehow working for Coil? She said she wanted to help us because we'd got him captured."

"Wasn't that the Protectorate?" asked Clockblocker.

"Doki started the whole thing by asking Mom for help," said Glory Girl, "and Queen Bee and I found his underground base. I can see why she might think that. But you can't start a group with a villain! Especially a Thinker. She'd be having you do her crimes inside of six months!"

"You're welcome to join us to keep an eye on her," I suggested.

"Girls! Let's focus on the immediate situation, please?" suggested Aegis.

"Right," I said. "So, before he was captured, Coil had planned to have this robbery to distract the heroes while he kidnapped Dinah Alcott, who can see the future. That's why it's today, when most of the Protectorate are busy with other stuff."

"Wait, Dinah Alcott?" asked Vista. "She can see the future?"

"Yes," I said, "and she's already seen that she's not getting kidnapped today. It's going to be in a couple of weeks, and apparently asking the Protectorate for help makes her odds worse."

"I always said there weren't enough girls in the Wards," said Clockblocker. "But several turning up at once and then making a girls-only group just doesn't seem... right."

"So what's he distracting the heroes from now?" asked Aegis, his mind on the mission. "....that's why you were thinking he might be working on his own escape?"

I nodded. "Apparently he's not doing much until his lawyer gets there, but... since he knew when the robbery would happen..."

Aegis gave a single, sharp nod. "Makes perfect sense," he agreed. "So it's just bad luck that Panacea was in the bank today."

"Yeah.... oh! And we can't let Tattletale talk to Panacea," I warned.

"There a reason for that?" asked Aegis.

"Yes," I said, without elaborating.

"....would you like to.... share the reason with us?" he asked after a long moment.

"No," I said. Largely because I'm not fully sure what it is myself. "It's kinda... there's a path that things can go that... isn't good. And it starts with Tattletale talking to Panacea at the bank. Something about being desperate not to be killed by Glory Girl?"

"If she hurt my sister..." growled Glory Girl.

In the lobby of the Rig, a secretary was busy quietly filling in some paperwork when the standard-issue PRT pen in his hand started to bulge.

With instincts tempered with a healthy dose of fear, he jumped, tossing the pen away from him, over the far side of the desk. His foot stamped on a button on the floor (and, abruptly, every faceless PRT trooper in the building was on alert; a small patrol was instantly diverted to the lobby; and within minutes, bets were laid as to whether or not this was another merely unexpectedly large moth flying into someone's face)

The pen bulged further, and grew; arms, legs, head, until where the pen had been, there now stood a man; a man in a cloak and a hood, with his back to the desk. He looked around, first to the left and right, and then behind him; saw the secretary, and essayed an attempt at a smile.

The patrol of PRT troopers arrived, and the new arrival nodded at them. "Good reaction time," he said, as he pulled a standard-issue PRT pen from his pocket to replace the one that had turned into him. "Sorry I didn't make an appointment. I'm looking for someone called... Doki? I believe she was supposed to be meeting with your Wards today?"

"Er, yes sir," said the secretary, catching the pen tossed at him. "Er, they requisitioned a van, sir, not five minutes ago. To stop a bank robbery."

The visitor frowned. "And I don't suppose any of them took standard issue PRT pens with them?" he asked. "No, no, of course not. Alright. Can you show me where this bank is on a map? I'll make my way there by other means."

The secretary had no problem showing the map, of course. It wasn't every day that one got a direct request from a member of the Triumvirate, after all!

He idly wondered what exactly this Doki had done to get a personal visit from Eidolon. He quickly decided that the answer was probably well above his pay grade.

But whoever had been stupid enough to rob that bank was certainly not going to succeed.

Chapter Text

Remote Control

On a rooftop a couple of blocks away from the bank, there were two of them. Half of what had, yesterday, been a team.

One had a pair of binoculars to his eyes. The other had a dog on her lap.

"How many Wards are there, again?" asked the one with the binoculars.

The girl with the dog thought about it. "There's the chew toy. The stopper. The hoverboard boy. The girl that's always too far away. And the girl with a thing for Grue. Five."

"....seven of them just got out a PRT van," said the boy with the binoculars. "And I don't see Shadow Stalker anywhere."

The girl grunted. "Who's the new ones?"

"Bug. Doki. And... some guy with muscles on his muscles. ...they've also got Glory Girl with them."

The girl with the dog nodded. "It was a trap, then."

"Definitely," said the boy with the binoculars. "I think I got one of the security guards -"

"You think?"

The boy with the binoculars rolled his eyes. "Guy wasn't neatly standing by the window, okay? I left her control over her eyes and shot what she was focusing on. Doesn't much matter, anyhow. She's in exactly the trap she was leading us into."

"Mmmmph," said the girl, scratching the dog behind his ear in exactly the right spot. "If you ever pull that off on me," she added, "Brutus will kill you."

"If I ever pull it off on you," countered the boy with the binoculars, "you wouldn't get the chance to tell him to do that."

"I wouldn't have to," said the girl with the dog. "I'd just need to stop telling him not to kill you."

There was a long moment of silence.

"Noted, Bitch."

There was another long moment of silence before Regent spoke up again.

"There really is no sign of Shadow Stalker. I wonder where she is..."

"And might I ask who this young lady is?" asked Max Anders, CEO of Medhall.

"Her name is Shadow Stalker," said Armsmaster. "She is one of the Wards who would be supported by a donation to the Ward program, should you elect to make one."

Stalker herself glared angrily at the canapes. She had no idea what she'd done to deserve being present at a fundraising event, and was trying to figure out whether it had been given to her with the full knowledge of how much of a punishment it was, or whether it was Armsmaster's idea of a reward for something.

And if it was a punishment, then which of her misdeeds had they found out about?

I began to gather up a swarm as we stood outside the bank. The Wards were the ones with experience, I should listen to them instead of just rushing in...

"It's Tattletale in the bank," said Moni- Doki, reminding me of the importance of also listening to the pericognitive Thinker. "But she's not in control of her own body right now. That's Regent."

"They're on the same team," pointed out Clockblocker.

"They were on the same team," said Doki. "Yesterday."

"Ah," nodded Clockblocker. "I didn't know he could do that. Wait, is he around?"

"Couple of blocks away, with binoculars," said Doki. "I'm not sure exactly where."

"Um," I said. "Guy lying on the roof with binoculars, next to someone petting a dog?"

Doki nodded. "Regent and Bitch."

"Hellhound," said Aegis.

"What?" asked Doki.

"Her name," said Aegis. "She's Hellhound. Not, um... not the b-word."

".....the person with Regent is definitely Bitch," said Doki firmly.

"Focus, people," said Vista sharply. "Names later. Bank robbery now. Queen Bee. Can you locate them?"

"Yeah, but they'll see if I point."

"Stand so that I am exactly between you and them," said Vista firmly.

I put a fly on Vista's head, and walked around, in front of her and a little to the right, putting the fly on her head between me and Regent.

"Right," said Aegis, being very firm as well. "We have a direction. Now -"

"I think I can cut off Regent's control," said Doki. And her shadow started to bulge, expanding into a lump of pure Darkness that I noticed the moment it pushed one of my flies aside.

"Do i-" Aegis began, as I leapt at Doki, pushing her aside.

"Look out!"

The lump growing from her shadow moved with her shadow as I pushed her aside. The muscley guy saw what was going on and tried to get between Doki and the shadow bulge - which meant that the shadow fell on his back, and the shape appeared to be growing from him. Clockblocker leaped forward and touched Doki, freezing her on the spot, and Aegis hovered over the lump, ready to take action.... as the lump began to take on a more humanoid shape.

And then the shadows fell from the shape as it, in turn, fell - onto the time-frozen Monika, then to the ground at her side.

And Eidolon looked up at us.

"Good instincts," he said. "Impressively fast action."

"How do we know you're the real Eidolon?" asked Kid Win, hovering above with one of his pistols pointed at the newcomer. "And not some sort of Stranger?"

"You don't," said Eidolon bluntly, sitting up. "I have various passwords to use in an emergency, but you don't know them. General identity passwords are set on a per-department basis and I don't know today's East North East passwords."

"If you were the real Eidolon," said Aegis, hovering next to Glory Girl, "you could have looked them up."

"Making it possible to look them up from other districts leaves a great big Tinker-shaped hole in our Master-Stranger protocols," pointed out Eidolon.

"He's the real Eidolon," said Monika's voice. The fact that her mouth wasn't moving because she was still trapped in Clockblocker's timefreeze made it a touch surreal. "You can ask Queen Bee - I've been expecting him for a couple of days."

Everyone turned to look at me.

"I didn't think you were being serious!"

"If you're all finished being paranoid about Strangers," said Vista firmly, "we still have a bank robbery to deal with, remember? Besides, if the rest of you listened to your earpieces, you would have heard Console telling us Eidolon was incoming."

"Only after he was already here!" argued Aegis. "A Stranger could have made us imagine that!"

"Which is why I called it in," said Vista. "If he is a Stranger then the PRT will be here shortly. And in the meantime, bank robbery, people!"

"Right," said Aegis. "Right. Vista, can you reduce the distance to Regent's rooftop without being visible?"

"No, but I've had enough prep time that I can reduce it really quickly."

"They're not there," I pointed out. "They ran as soon as they saw Eidolon. They've, um, already left my range."

".....right," said Aegis. "Doki, can you still cut off Regent's control while you're, um..."

"No problem!" she said, the words simply appearing. Oddly, my bugs didn't seem to notice any sound from her words - I'm not sure her speech-granting power exactly works with sound. "Done!" she said, no more audibly to my bugs.

From inside the bank, Tattletale's voice could immediately be heard - "I surrender! I surrender!"

Eidolon nodded. And then he looked over to Monika, then the rest of the team. "I need to talk with your frozen team mate," he said. "She's not in any trouble. I believe the rest of you can handle the rest of this on your own."

He put a hand on her shoulder.

Chapter Text

Bank Aftermath

"I am known," said the young lady, "as Lisa Wibourne."

Deceptive Truth

"Are you the villain known as Tattletale?"

"My name is not Tattletale."

Deceptive Truth

"Do you have a statement with regard to events earlier today?"

"I'm genuinely surprised to get the personal attention of Armsmaster. But for a statement, I'd like to wait for my lawyer, please."

Truth

"This is not a formal interview -"

She rolled her eyes. "Please. You're not an idiot and neither am I. Also, I've paid a fair amount to have the mystical Mister Calle on retainer, and - oh! He's in the building already? Well, that'll save us all some time, won't it?"

Truth

A moment of silence.

"We'd have to go over everything again with the lawyer in any case. Wouldn't it be more efficient to leave me in a comfortable room with a securely locked door until I can speak with Mr. Calle?"

Truth. Rhetorical question.

Downstairs, in a PRT interview room, timeline A (discarded)

"...and so tonight will be seventy-two hours since you have been arrested. By that time, unless the PRT has strong evidence linking you personally to one or more serious parahuman crimes, Mr. Calvert, you will legally be required to be either released or remanded to civilian law enforcement."

"Thank you, Mr. Calle. But a couple of questions, please?"

"Of course."

"Can Armsmaster's parahumanity scan be used as evidence?"

"It constitutes a search of which you were not informed in advance. Naturally, the PRT can use it to fire you should they wish to do so, but it cannot be used in a court of law, as it is considered an illegal search."

"Excellent. And the hard drive that was planted on my truck?"

"It seems that you have a good argument that it was planted without your knowledge, suggesting an attempt to frame you. Unless the PRT finds some form of evidence that you are indeed this Coil character, or finds some other supporting evidence to charge you with before this evening, they would be legally required to release you."

"And if Coil were to, say, rob a bank while I'm in here?"

"If there's evidence like that that he's still out there, Mr. Calvert, then that would only expedite your release."

"Thank you, Mr. Calle, that's good to know."

Timeline ends

Downstairs, in a PRT interview room, timeline B (retained)

"...and so tonight will be seventy-two hours since you have been arrested. By that time, unless the PRT has strong evidence linking you personally to one or more serious parahuman crimes, Mr. Calvert, you will legally be required to be either released or remanded to civilian law enforcement."

"Thank you, Mr. Calle. I shall look forward to my release, then."

On a rooftop not far from the Bank

"You knew I was coming," said Eidolon.

"I did," I agreed. It's important to tell the truth - one of Eidolon's powers at the moment can pick up on direct lies.

"I thought you weren't precognitive?"

"...rarely, but that's not how I knew you were coming. I saw when Rebecca wrote her email to you."

"Ah. Pericognition, but with predictable results. You say you are rarely precognitive?"

I shrugged. "Yeah. Sometimes I can pick up what precogs are seeing." This doesn't cover all of it, of course, but it's not a direct lie, either.

"And your powers also depend somewhat on the powers of those around you?"

With Eidolon's truth power in play, I can't simply agree with that. "That's not.... exactly accurate," I admit.

"Then what is accurate?"

"I can see powers. And then use my powers on those powers to modify them in... various ways."

"You can see my powers?"

"Yes."

"All three?"

"You don't have three powers. You have one. Which has three, um, variable aspects."

"Mmmm. What are those aspects at the moment?"

"Photokinesis. Danger sense. Truth detection."

Eidolon nodded.

".....annnnd the photokinesis just changed to aerokinesis."

Eidolon nodded again. "Good. So you can tell what I have. You say you can modify powers. Can you modify mine in any way?"

"Yeah. I think I can, um..." I took a deep breath, held my breath, and closed my eyes. None of which was necessary in the least, but I thought a bit of theatre might help to encourage the idea a little.

I still didn't think I should change more than the numeric aspects of anyone's power; or, at the very least, I should test that on someone I don't mind if they die. But Eidolon has a numeric aspect right front and centre of his power. So I tweak it, the smallest amount that I can.

Eidolon noticed at once. "Four powers?" he gasped. He rose off the roof, hovering with gravitokinesis, and sent an aerokinetic breeze between his hands as he did so. "Four at the same time?"

After a moment, I let out the breath I had been holding, and at the same moment I reset his number of aspects back to three.

"Whew. Yeah. Four. Or two, I imagine. I mean, I could try to push harder, but..."

And yes because he was actively using them, he kept the gravitokinesis and the aerokinesis and the danger sense but not the direct lie detection, perfect.

"No, no, that's great," he said. "Really showed the principle. Can you keep it up longer than that, if necessary?"

"In an emergency?" I asked. "Yes. But, um..."

"There's a downside?" he asked. "Do I have to balance it out by spending as much time with two as with four or something?"

I shook my head. "Nothing like that," I said. "It's just that you'll be using charge from four powers instead of from three. So, um, your buffers would run out sooner."

Eidolon's shoulders sagged. "You can see that?" he asked.

"Ahahaha~ Kind of. Your buffers are... I honestly don't know how many you have. There's a lot and some of them seem to be feeding into each other and... seriously, that part of your power is a mess. To look at, I mean. I'm sure it's perfectly functional, um, but..." I scrunched up my nose slightly. Nothing wrong with doing something cute to soften the impact of bad news. "...it's kinda a mess to look at. And I have no idea how it works, but... a lot of them are looking empty. You could probably do with setting your powers to charge. However you do that."

Eidolon slumped further. "...right," he said, in a vaguely defeated tone of voice. "Just set them to charge. Right. I don't suppose you can see how to do that?"

I blinked. "Um, use a charging aspect?"

Eidolon frowned, as if thinking about it. ....I suppose it would have been too much to ask to have this scene from his viewpoint, wouldn't it?

"It's...." I take a breath. "Okay. There's this guy called Gallant. One of the local Wards. His power has... multiple aspects. He can see people's emotions. That's just on all the time, he can't not do it."

Eidolon nodded.

"Then he can fire emotion blasts that, that make people feel emotions. That uses energy. He's got a buffer - just one buffer - and if it gets empty his power starts, um, feeling tired."

I paused for a moment.

"Then there's a third aspect to his power that continually, slowly, but continually, recharges his buffer. So even if he runs out of energy, he recovers given time. Now, your power has, I don't know, looks like hundreds of buffers, some of them going up, some of them going down, a whole mess of them empty... but you get to choose your aspects. Surely there's a charging aspect somewhere that you can use?"

Eidolon took a moment to steel himself. "I've... never found one," he admitted.

"....ah," I said, glad that his truth detection power was offline for the moment. "Um. I could refill Gallant's buffer, but... his was a bucket. Yours is an ocean. Yours is several oceans, all connected together. I could, uh, pick a buffer at random and toss in a few bucketfuls... but I'm not sure it'll really have any notable effect."

"Please," he said, "go ahead."

I picked what looked like a major buffer and fed it a little trickle of power. About twice Gallant's full buffer size. ....and it vanished almost immediately, drawn through whichever strange currents manipulated the flow of energy through Eidolon's utter mess of interconnected buffers.

And he blinked, and stood a little straighter. "Whoa."

"Did you actually feel that?" I asked. "It seems so little..."

"I did," he admitted. "Barely." He paused a moment, and then asked an important question. "What do you need to be able to put in more?"

"A source of power to transfer," I said promptly. "What I gave you is about twice what Gallant can have, so he'd be a, uh, remarkably poor source -"

"You could power it from other parahumans?" he asked.

"If they have big enough buffers of their own," I said, nodding.

"Mmmm. Alright. Powerful parahumans, then... I can arrange that."

Chapter Text

Bank Aftermath II

"My client," said Mr. Calle firmly after his brief consultation, "wishes to be very clear that she is not Tattletale."

One of the nicest things about a tinkertech lie detector is that it is, in many ways, extremely tunable. And, though it was Mr. Calle's mouth that formed the words, the communication originated in the girl at his side. The words were on her behalf, audible and known to her - and thus her subconscious tells still told that it was a falsehood. The voice subsonics were absent, of course, but the pupil dilation, the eyelid flickers - they were all there.

Armsmaster immediately knew that this was a lie. But his helmet hid his own facial cues as he replied.

"Noted."

"However," continued Mr. Calle, "she has recently come across an item which she believes would be of some interest to the PRT, and which she intends to turn over to the PRT - and it is the process of coming into possession of this item which, in fact, led to the unfortunate scene this afternoon."

"And which item would that be?" asked Armsmaster.

"Lisa" smiled as Mr. Calle answered the question.

"Tattletale's laptop."

"As important as that is," said Eidolon, "and don't get me wrong, that's extremely important - we also have to talk about long range plans."

"Long range plans?" I asked. Ah - still my perspective. Pity, I was hoping to see what Eidolon was thinking.

"Yes. What do you want out of life?"

"Meeting my soulmate," I said promptly. It was a lot quicker to explain it this way than to talk about my Player - and wherever you are, dear Player, you are definitely my soulmate. Programmed right into my code. "Long, romantic candle-lit dinners, walking hand in hand along the beach, writing and sharing poems... that sort of thing."

"Ah," said Eidolon. "So your dreams are... romantic in nature, then?"

"Mmmmm. Yours?"

"Mostly," he admitted, "I'm trying to save the world. .... it's a big world. It needs a lot of saving."

"Mmmmm," I said. "I think I can leave that part mostly to you, can't I?"

Eidolon sighed. "I'm not sure I'd be enough," he admitted. "Even if you charged me all the way up..."

I shrugged. "I'm not sure I can manage heroing at your scale, though. I mean... I mess with powers. What can I really do if I face someone without powers to mess with? ... probably the best thing I can do is help to charge you up."

Eidolon nodded, thoughtfully. "On that front," he said, speculatively, "would charging me up damage the other parahuman?"

"I wouldn't think so?" I guessed. "Not if the other parahuman has a way of charging themselves, at least."

Eidolon nodded. "Good. That does make things simpler. In that case, I know exactly who to ask - I'll meet you tomorrow afternoon."

"Sure. Anywhere specific?"

"Don't worry too much about that," said Eidolon. "We'll find you."

Chapter Text

Bank Aftermath III

"Alright!" said Aegis, as the group of wards plus two others found their way back to Ward Headquarters - or whatever you called their room in the Rig. "Let's do our debrief. Glory Girl, Queen Bee, feel free to speak up anytime you like, okay?"

"Sure," said Glory Girl.

"Okay. Now, the bank was apparently being robbed by one girl -"

"- but she was just a puppet," I said.

Aegis gave me a nod. "Thank you, Queen Bee. Yes, Doki said she was being somehow mastered, and then shut down the master. Permanently or temporarily, I don't know. So aside from yourself, Doki, and Eidolon, we only met one new parahuman today; the master."

"Two," I pointed out. "He had a friend with him. And she had a dog that got big and carried them away."

"Two, right," nodded Aegis. He took a whiteboard and split it in two columns. On the left he wrote "Master" and on the right "Companion". Under "Companion" he made a note about the dog. "Anything else?"

"When she was freed," said Kid Win, "the girl surrendered immediately. No confusion, no 'where am I', nothing like that. So she was probably fully aware of what was going on while she was controlled."

"Excellent point," nodded Aegis, putting this under the "Master" column. "Anything else?"

"The master had binoculars," I said. "And he was watching through them. So probably he can't see through his victim's eyes?"

"Great," nodded Aegis, making a note. "Anything else?"

"Doki said that they were Regent and, um... and B-word," said Vista. "Who is Hellhound, but, um..."

"Right," said Aegis. "And making that dog grow matches Hellhound's power. I've never heard of Regent puppeting someone like that -"

"It might be a power with complicated setup requirements," pointed out Clockblocker. "Like, he first needs you to eat some food he's prepared, or something like that."

"Quite possible," agrees Aegis, making a note. "Anything else?"

"Lisa" closed the door of her apartment behind her, and locked it. She looked up at the ceiling for a moment, and then said, slowly and very deliberately, "My goodness. It gets dark early these days, doesn't it?"

There was a long moment of silence. Then she spoke again. "I said it gets dark early these days, doesn't it?"

And a wave of black darkness flowed out of the bathroom and engulfed her.

"Oh thank goodness," she said, relaxing. "If I'd been wrong on that too I don't know what I would have done. Okay, so the PRT were nice enough to professionally redo my bandages and offer me a jacket. I think there may be a microphone somewhere in this jacket - transmitting realtime, not recording - so you should probably keep us surrounded by dark while we talk."

She took a deep breath. "You've got questions. Ask. I'll answer."

She felt the tangible darkness retreat from her head. It still surrounded her - light and external sounds didn't get in - but this way she could hear Brian's words.

"Lisa." he said. "What the hell."

She sighed. "Yeah," she said. "I deserved that. ...you know how my power is when I start with the wrong idea? How it reinforces that idea instead of correcting it, and gives me wrong predictions?"

"Yeah?"

She nodded, knowing the Brian could see her even if she couldn't see him. "I was recruited at gunpoint," she explained. "Coil gave me a choice. Work for him or die."

"And you never said anything?" asked Brian.

She shrugged. "I assumed we were all recruited the same way. That none of us had a way out but we'd all be glad to find one. I... I'm beginning to think that's where I was wrong."

"I told you about my sister," said Brian. "I told you why I was with the Undersiders."

"Yeah," she agreed. "But I thought that was additional detail. A kind of side deal, that Coil had offered because you would have risked the gun to get it otherwise. ....one thing I don't get. If Coil didn't have a metaphorical gun to your head, why didn't you go the legitimate route?"

There was a long moment of silence before he talked again. "Lisa," he said, with a sigh. "I'm a black guy. In Brockton Bay."

"So?" she asked.

"So Empire sympathies go deep here. I'd need an utterly spotless record. Employment that I couldn't get."

There was a long moment of silence. Then -

"It's really that bad?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said.

Another long moment of silence, before she said "Fuck."

"Yeah," said Brian.

Lisa took a deep breath. "I still think," she said, "genuinely think, that the Wards will solve the problem. They can push the rules aside, and will, to get a Ward on board."

"Pushing the rules aside never works in favour of the black guy," pointed out Brian. "That's why I went with Coil."

"You know Coil was stringing you along?" she asked. "Always one more form. One more hurdle. One more requirement."

Another long moment of silence. This time, Brian was the first to break it. "How long did you know he was doing that?"

"Gun to my head, remember?"

"How long, Tattletale?"

"...I suspected it when you first told me the story."

"So you could have assumed it."

"I was convinced when Coil had me lie to you about it."

Brian sighed. There was another long silence.

"I still think -"

"Your new masters, yes," said Brian, drily. "You'll understand if I'm not jumping up and down with eagerness."

"I'm not joining the Wards," she said.

"Maintaining plausible deniability?" asked Brian.

She shook her head. "I found a more powerful Thinker than I am. Like, ridiculously more powerful."

"How much more powerful?"

"...this whole time. I've been going around with a gun to my head, trying to figure out a way to get out from under Coil's thumb?"

"Yeah?"

"He tried to pull the same thing on her. Within a week she had him in Protectorate custody. Within a week. And I think he got her only a few days after Triggering. So yeah. Ridiculously more powerful."

"So, what, you're trying to stay close to her do you can find her weakness?"

She snorted. "I'm not entirely sure she has one. Eidolon turned up this afternoon to talk to her. She's already got the attention of the Triumvirate."

"Damn."

"Yeah."

"...so that's the circles you move in now?"

"That's what I'm aiming for, yeah. I could probably bring you along as well." She smirked. "If you don't mind being the only boy on a team with three girls?"

"You know what I need."

"Yeah. We're going to be an independent group. Probably won't have the pull with the courts to make that stick. I still think your best chance -"

"The Wards. Yeah."

"Why not try it?"

"Because if I try it, there's no exit strategy. If the Wards have me? I can't just fade into the night and pop up in another city. If it works, that's good. If it doesn't? I don't get to try something else. It's their way or no way."

There was another long silence.

She was the first to break it this time. "If this independent group works out like I think it will... then I'll be able to get you an exit. If you need one."

She could hear the bitter smile in his voice as he spoke. "You won't have the pull for legal guardianship of my sister, but you will have the pull to prise me out of the Protectorate?"

"Yeah," she said. "You need a legal department for the first. For the second? To get the right people to listen."

"Alright!" said Aegis, pulling over a second whiteboard. "Now that Queen Bee and Glory Girl have gone, it's time for part two of our debriefing."

"Part two?" asked Clockblocker.

Aegis drew a line down the middle of the board, and labelled the columns. "Queen Bee," he said. "And Doki. Any thoughts? Observations?"

"Vicky thinks they're planning on going independent," said Gallant. "With each other, and Tattletale."

"Doki's power-Trumping is kinda scary," said Clockblocker. "She can probably no-sell anyone in the room, all on her own."

"Except Kid Win or Aegis," said Browbeat.

"I'm not sure she can't get some form of enhanced healing or regeneration from me," said Aegis. "The sort of thing that you can't test without injuring her."

"She doesn't seem to get instructions with her powers," said Vista. "I mean, with what she gets from other powers."

"She seemed to get some sort of shapeshifting from me," said Browbeat. "But apparently limited to taking on the appearance of people she can see."

"Including clothes," pointed out Vista. "That's not just shapeshifting."

"Perhaps some kind of illusion?" asked Gallant. "She did feel a little, uh, deceptive when doing that one."

"And even if she could take your shape," added Aegis, "that doesn't mean she knows how to fight with it."

"Yeah," said Gallant.

"....okay. Now, Queen Bee?"

"She could pick people up a couple of blocks away," said Vista. "And tell what they were doing."

"If there's a beehive anywhere within those two blocks," said Clockblocker, "then you really aren't going to want her hostile."

"It'd take time for the bees to fly over," pointed out Gallant.

"Not much of it," said Aegis, firmly. "And Doki can generate new insects for her in any case. Right. Weaknesses?"

"I don't think she could recognise people at a distance," volunteered Vista. "Only what they are doing."

"Without bugs, she's human," says Gallant. "Without Doki, some sort of bug spray could probably - well -"

"Right," said Aegis, putting "vulnerability to bug spray" in Queen Bee's column.

"Also," says Vista. "Doki needed her to figure out where Regent was. She may be able to see when some sort of trouble is incoming, but not where from."

"Right," said Aegis, making a note in Doki's column.

"Wow," said Clockblocker. "They really seem to cover each others' weaknesses, don't they?"

Chapter Text

Late Thursday

"Armsmaster," greeted "Lisa".

"Lisa," said Armsmaster, fully aware that he had no proof of her identity as Tattletale that would stand in a court of law.

"As I promised you," she said, handing over the laptop. "Tattletale's laptop."

Truth

"Hrmm." He took it, cautiously. "Not her only laptop," he guessed.

"Probably not," agreed "Lisa".

Truth, some misleading phrasing

"Left behind to be found," suggested Armsmaster. "Trapped."

"To the very best of my knowledge," said Tattletale, "and yes, I have had a chance to look over it, that laptop contains nothing that would damage you or your equipment."

Truth, intended to appear strongly so

"And any other members of the Protectorate or PRT?"

"Oh, I'd be lying if I said that", admitted "Lisa". "Turned out she was working for Coil, and for some reason she's got a fairly comprehensive list of his PRT spies in there. That's going to damage a few careers."

Truth

"Mhmph."

"Also a document describing her own investigation into his identity. And how she figured out who he was after his arrest, oh... just under seventy hours ago, I believe?"

Truth, slight deceptive element

"But I honestly believe that the only way that anything on here will cause a direct problem for anyone at the PRT is by revealing their employ by Coil."

Truth, intended to appear strongly so

"I see. Thank you."

She gave Armsmaster her best smile - meaning it was only around ten percent smirk.

"That's almost an eighth of our staff," groaned Director Piggot.

Truth

"Yes, Director. And it's possible that it's not all."

"...given that Calvert was doing a lot of the background checks for new PRT members," agreed the Director.

Truth

"Yes, Director. Incidentally, that would be a feature in a case against Calvert. Along with the information from the laptop. However, there is a feature that concerns me."

"And that is?"

Seeking information

"Lisa is Tattletale. She did not obtain this laptop from a villain. It is her own laptop. I fear it may be a Trojan horse, part of some plot."

"The laptop with vast amounts of information on Coil and absolutely nothing on the Undersiders?"

Rhetorical question

"Yes, Director."

"Oh, it's a plot alright. But it need not be a plot against us. You have enough information for independent verification?"

Truth. Seeking confirmation.

"Yes, Director."

"Then I believe it to be a plot against Coil - or, in the worst case, a plot against Calvert by framing him as Coil."

Truth

"It could be intended to distract us, Director. Or to persuade us to change how Calvert is being guarded to permit his escape."

"Mmmm. Given the number of PRT employees apparently in his pay, I'm not entirely sure that we can securely hold him at all."

Truth

"And it's possible that Coil's mercenaries are making ready to attack a prisoner transfer."

"Mmmm. We're going to need another department to help us in this investigation."

Truth

Waking up. That fuzzy place between sleep and waking, where there are no questions. Lying face down on the bed but the bed has a hole directly under the face. The mind is not yet awake enough to question this.

"Well, well, well. The Princess awakes."

The voice is familiar. Unpleasant. Grating. Her father's new employee.

"So the anaesthetic is wearing off, then. Good. I could wake you up real fast, Princess."

A mild ache in the back of the neck. What anaesthetic?

"One of you lot wake her up properly."

A hand on her shoulder. A rough shake.

Questions arrived, all in a rush. The first question was whether or not the sleeves of her nightgown still covered her arms.

They did.

Also, her arms were cuffed to the sides of the bed, held in place. She looked up, around - her father's new employee, and several of the people she had seen, in the past... around. In the background. Not unknown to her, but neither were they well known to her.

People who should have been protecting her, in fear of her father's wrath.

The same father who was currently not within reach.

"What's going on?"

"Glad you asked, Princess. And what's going on, Princess, is that you are going to be handing your father over to me, the greatest Tinker of all time!"

She blinked. "He's.... not here," she said.

"No. But he will be. The PRT are going to let him go - or their city will be reduced to rubble."

She tried to suppress the tired sigh. Megalomania was - definitely a feature of this employee's perdonality. She wasn't about to argue the point.

....also, for some reason, the back of her neck was hurting.

"But let's talk about your new... accessory, shall we? It binds you to my will. Now, most people get a completely random one, but you... you're special. You get pain, Princess. Pain anytime I want. Any time you annoy me. Any time your father annoys me."

Pain? Pain wouldn't stop her.

"And not the soft stuff you like to play with, Princess. Oh, and I can puppet you when I need to. And I probably don't even need to say this.... but if I die, or if I'm ever even in a different city to you - then you die. Messily. And so does everyone near you."

Bakuda grinned widely. "So tell me, Yuri. When your pain is my toy, when my death will kill you, and when every last member of his gang has a bomb in their head... do you think Lung will do as I say?"

Yuri looked up, and around. Aside from the crazed Tinker, no-one met her eyes.

She believed that the lady had done what she said. Crazed or not, her devices had always worked.

And - worst of all - this would reveal to her father the one secret she had always hidden, even from him. The one secret that Bakuda had clearly already discovered. The reason she always wore long sleeves.

[Trajectory]

[Destination]

[Agreement]