Main Content
Archive of Our OwnArchive of Our OwnHi, TheBrimmedHat!PostLog Out
FandomsBrowseSearchAboutWork Search
tip: "sherlock (tv)" m/m NOT "sherlock holmes/john watson"
Actions
Entire Work ← Previous Chapter Next Chapter → Chapter Index Edit Bookmark Mark for Later Comments Share Download
Work Header
Rating:
Mature
Archive Warning:
Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Category:
Gen
Fandoms:
Parahumans Series - Wildbow亜人 - 三浦追儺 & 桜井画門 | Ajin - Miura Tsuina & Sakurai Gamon (Anime & Manga)
Characters:
Taylor Hebert | Skitter | WeaverDanny HebertBrockton Bay WardsLisa Wilbourn | Tattletale
Additional Tags:
Canon-Typical ViolenceCanon-Typical Body Horrorshard-altered psychologytags to be added as we go
Language:
English
Collections:
Timballisto's Curated Works
Stats:
Published:2019-05-24Updated:2020-03-11Words:99,568Chapters:29/?Comments:226Kudos:730Bookmarks:266Hits:29,374
(Restricted) The Shadow Over Brockton Bay
Temeritous
Chapter 23: Wraith 3.6
Notes:
I have finished arc 3 and its interlude, and... I'm not all that happy with it. Depending on how the first couple chapters of arc 4 go, I may wind up rewriting all of 3.8, 3.9, and interlude. If that happens there will be a break between posted chapters. As expected, my new job is leaving me less writing time.
Chapter Text
"Why did you think I'd be interested in a jewelry store heist?" Alec asked.
"Shiny rocks. Plus maybe we'd let you keep some of the loot for your costume." Lisa said.
"I'm gonna bedazzle my scepter with real diamonds."
"Depending on how big the haul actually is," Brian interjected. "That isn't a guarantee."
"Boss did guarantee he'd pay us at least eight grand each," Lisa continued, "On top of whatever he gets for the loot. That's a pretty good deal, and he's funding our recon."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Brian asked. "He's going to pay us hourly to stake it out?"
"Nope. Another villain who's in town already reconned it. Got busted by a couple heroes, so she doesn't want to do the heist herself because they're prepared for her kit. So she's selling the info to us."
"That's Circus, right?" Alec said, surprising everyone. "What? I have the internet, I keep track of some shit."
"I'm in," Bitch said. "As long as this is still a four-way split." She glared at me.
All five of us were gathered around the kitchen island, standing and eating the pizza that Brian had brought with him. I kept chewing my mouthful, trying to think of something to say. Nothing good came to mind, so I just kept staring with a blank expression instead.
Her eyes narrowed, but she broke eye contact to look down and grab another slice.
"Taylor doesn't want to be on the team, so it's still just a four-way split." Lisa confirmed. "Brian? Alec?"
"I want the information from Circus before I decide," Brian said. "A jewelry store on Lord Street is bound to catch a lot of attention, I want to make sure it's worth it. Not to mention the rumors that Alexandria is or was in town. Any truth to those, Lisa?"
"I can confirm that she was here, but she might have already left for LA again. Either way, she doesn't bring anything that say, Velocity or Dauntless doesn't already. In-and-out like always, we'll be gone before the alarm even starts to ring. Alec?"
Alec shrugged. "I'm down."
Lisa looked at me, for some reason. "Still not on your team," I said. At the same time I decided I'd follow them from a distance. Accidents happen, after all.
"Right. I'm up for it, personally, but I also want the intel from Circus. Boss is interested in recruiting her but he wants our take on her first."
Circus; we were supposed to keep an eye out for the villain and use caution when engaging. I could use this to get information about her powers -
A step behind my own train of thought, I abruptly remembered I wasn't with the Wards anymore, and stopped it in its tracks. They probably wouldn't want any information I could gather anyway.
"Settled then," Brian nodded. "Tats, text me the number for Circus. I'll call her tonight."
Lisa was already tapping away at her phone. Without looking up she said, "She's paid half now and half after a successful job, boss has it arranged. If she asks you for payment, she's just trying to scam you."
"Thanks," Brian said, a bit sarcastic in a 'I know how this works' way.
Lisa winked at him. "You know me, always looking out for the team. Taylor, I'll stop by the apartment tomorrow morning, we can go get coffee alright?"
Right. I still needed to know what was up with her and the Undersiders' patron.
I had my Dust jostle me awake as Lisa came down the street, holding two paper cups from the Yellow Bird Cafe. By the time she pulled back her foot to kick the door and get me to let her in, I was already on the other side, dressed if not put together, and pulled it open. I then had to steady her with more Dust as it left her off balance.
"Next time say something," she said, rolling her eyes.
"You should know by now that I know everything that goes on within range," I reminded her.
"Yeah, but the one time I depend on that something will come up. Here, just how you like it." Lisa handed me one of the cups, still warm. "Go brush your hair, I want to go out for a walk and get some air. I was cooped up half the night doing research."
I liked walking, so I went and made myself presentable to the outside world. Lisa presented me with the same movie-star-incognito sunglasses when I came back.
"There has to be a better disguise than this," I muttered as I put them on. I still looked ridiculous. The huge lenses somehow made my mouth look bigger .
"I could get a pair of those joke glasses with the fake nose and mustache attached," Lisa offered. "Think about it, nobody in their right mind would think you were trying not to be noticed."
"I'll stick with these." I wondered if I could give myself a disfiguring injury; but then if it healed naturally, it might be permanent. Then that led me into wondering if plastic surgery would stick, and by the time I decided it probably wouldn't we were out on the street walking. I'd missed my peaceful walks; we went in silence. I figured that Lisa would start talking when she wanted to.
I swung my legs at a restful pace, then realized Lisa was huffing trying to keep up with me. Right, I was too tall to use my full stride. I slowed down.
"No, keep it up," Lisa said, her voice quiet and half out of breath. "This is fast enough that I can spot anyone trying to follow us. Nobody sane walks this fast."
A harsh if fair assessment. I remembered being a kid, walking with my parents, struggling to keep up with dad's long stride. He used to laugh about it and pick me up and put me on his shoulders.
I missed him like someone had taken away my safety net at the beginning of a trapeze show. It wouldn't kill me, but the absence made me nervous.
Lisa broke into my maudlin thoughts by beginning with, "My team's boss is Coil."
"The mercenary guy? Is he even a parahuman?"
Lisa gave me a look. "Yes." I'd maybe insulted her a little by implying she could be trapped by a normal person. "His power is… complicated to explain, but to boil it down, he splits timelines. If he has to make a yes or no decision, in one reality he says yes and in the other he says no. Whichever outcome is most favorable is the one he chooses to keep, and once he's picked a reality to live in he splits again.
"From the outside, he just looks lucky. Imagine a maze that only ever splits in two directions; he gets to explore both ways at once. Whichever leads to a dead end, he cuts off, and because nobody but him knows the other reality ever existed, from the outside it looks like he already knew the way through."
"Mazes aren't that easy, though," I pointed out. "Some have more than a two-way split, and some don't lead to dead ends until after you've already passed through a bunch of forks."
She nodded. "And that's where I'm having trouble. You can't tell where he split. Was it five seconds ago, when you walked into the room… or was it five hours ago, when you figured out where he is?"
So, if he was smart with his power - and I assumed he was, because Lisa hadn't outsmarted him yet - you might never know that you were on the right track.
Still… "How did he get you?"
"Remember when you asked me why I became a villain? I told you I didn't really have another choice."
I stopped walking. "That was Coil?"
Lisa bumped into me, making flicking motions with her hand to get me to start going again. "Yes. There was a gun and everything, very scary. My options were work for him or die, and personally I like living. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't exactly an angel before. I was stealing to make a living, which is part of how he found me. He has connections in law enforcement, paramilitary, the PRT. But I wasn't aiming to be… this."
"He has connections in the PRT?" I asked, surprised.
"Why do you think I didn't just try running away? Not only would I have to anticipate a guy who can hide half his moves, I'd have to dodge every acronym agency out there. He's got the strings to pull to put me on wanted lists across America. If I want out, I'll have to step over his dead body to get to the door."
Can I kill someone for her? I didn't feel like I had a problem with it.
"There's more you need to know, Taylor." Lisa said. Her voice was oddly gentle. "It's not just law enforcement Coil has his fingers in. He has spies in all the major gangs, including Empire Eighty-Eight."
Empire?...
Lisa drew us down a narrow side street, not wide enough to even have a sidewalk on both sides. I went unresisting, waiting for a thought to finish forming. She started, "Do you remember - " I think he'll let him go. " - thought Kaiser was telling the truth? Maybe - "
Here. You should watch this.
Black balaclava - gun raised - three shots.
Kaiser frowned and jerked the phone back, turning it around to look.
Was he surprised? Was that what that was?
Quickly, a new picture started to come together in my head:
Krieg also told me that it wasn't them that leaked your civilian ID, Purity said.
About the Empire and your father, what really happened, Alexandria said.
And I pulled off the sunglasses, turned to look at Lisa. She met my gaze, fearful but unflinching.
He has spies.
My hand lashed out almost before I knew I was moving, shoving her back into the brick wall. I pinned her with a boost of strength from my Dust cloak. "How long… have you known? How long have you been leading me around, working for the guy who killed my dad ?!"
I had knocked the wind out of her; I could feel her convulsing under my hand as she dragged in too little air. "Please," she whispered, "Taylor, please."
It was like this that I'd first showed her my Dust, that she'd told me I might be able to bring people back. I asked if she trusted me, and she did.
Do I trust her?
Or, a better question, did I need to? She could explain herself now and I could act later.
I let up the pressure, using Dust instead of my hand. She sucked in a deep gasp of air and coughed, eyes watering. Once she'd gotten that under control, she met my eyes again. "I didn't know, Taylor. I didn't. God, I wish I could make you see what I see, so you know I'm not lying."
"I'll know if you lie," I swore. I had Dust in her veins now. I could feel every beat of her heart and every catch of air as she changed her mind about what she was saying. I wasn't sure… but I thought I'd know.
"Okay," she said. "I did not know. Coil told me to send you the stuff on Shadow Stalker. He told me to try to recruit you if I could. I know he wanted…" she paused, still panting for breath a little. "At least one more heavy hitter for the team before he takes us big-time. When the Empire happened, I thought it was just… good luck. Do you see what I meant about his power? It just looks like he's lucky."
"You knew he was lucky ," I snarled.
"Good luck still happens!" she half-shouted back, then coughed again. "It was only… only when I was hunting them down for you that I started to realize. Half of it was so easy because it was stuff he'd asked me to find before. By the time I was sure… you had already agreed to be my friend. You'd already offered to help me."
I demanded, "Why wait? Why not tell me then?"
"I was scared !" She stopped and stared at me. She was still scared; she was telling me anyway.
I let her down and stayed back as she caught her balance and took a few deep breaths.
"Of this. Of you. That you wouldn't listen to me first. I was hoping you'd calm down, settle in. If I told you that all of this was Coil's plan, that first night you called me… wouldn't you have killed me?"
Maybe. I don't know.
"But you're better now. Less angry. Still a wreck, psychologically speaking - "
" Great time for humor."
She smiled weakly. "But a functioning one. So, thank you. For giving me a chance to explain."
It might have been easier, I supposed, for her to never tell me. Certainly less immediately risky. She could have pointed me at him from half a city away and then just disappeared. Coil would be too busy dodging me to even think about going after her.
"Thanks… for trusting me." After a moment's thought, I added, "Fuck. I've been working for him too, haven't I?"
Lisa nodded. "He inspires that feeling a lot. It's really annoying knowing he's met me more times than I've met him."
"Split realities, right." I rubbed my temples with some Dust as I dragged a hand through my hair. "Okay. He dies. How?"
Lisa's smile spread slowly from ear to ear. "I have some good ideas for that. Remember how I said he wants to take us big-time? Well, after this jewelry store heist he'll make the team an offer..."
I didn't go with the Undersiders to meet Circus because Lisa asked me not to.
"I appreciate the thought, Taylor, but you are being tracked pretty heavily and I don't want to scare her off, or have the Protectorate showing up."
That left me with a lot of time to myself; the rest of Wednesday left to my own devices.
I'd written down the phone number Alexandria gave me on a Post-It note and stuck it to Lisa's coffee table. At noon, I spent the time waiting for my frozen pizza to cook alternately staring at it and trying not to think about it.
Pizza in hand, I sat down in front of the laptop Lisa left behind and started searching, opening up new tabs on everything I could find that dealt with immortality. There were pages about immortal jellyfish and long-lived creatures, trees so old they predated human writing systems. Those had a certain kind of interest, but knowing that my best chance for a pet was a jellyfish wasn't helpful. I didn't plan on moving into the ocean.
I didn't really believe that I'd be able to find out if there were more people like me by running a basic search on the internet. I just didn't have any better ideas, and it was a good way to kill time.
It turns out there are a lot of stories about immortal human-like creatures, go figure. Many of them are about vampires. Most of them aren't worth the air it would take to speak about them. But I did stumble upon a list of recommended short stories for exploring unique themes of immortality, compiled on a personal blog of all places. The concise summaries, despite being written in pastel blue on a darker blue background, had me interested. I bookmarked the site and took a break, stretching my back and glancing at the time. Early evening, the Undersiders were meeting Circus right now. I got up and wandered around the apartment to stretch my legs.
Your friends have been trying to get in touch with you.
The intrusive words replayed in my mind like a mantra. Repeated so often they lost meaning, and then repeated until the meaning came back. I still couldn't imagine facing the Wards, having them emote at me while I tried to figure out what I should be emoting back, so that they wouldn't realize that I didn't feel things the right way.
But PHO… that would be easy, wouldn't it? It's easy to watch your words when you can see them written down in front of you first.
I went back to Lisa's laptop, closed my other tabs and opened the PHO bookmark, and immediately noticed the red notification bubble over the PMs. I almost closed the window.
Come on, Taylor, what kind of coward are you?
I read through their messages, Dennis irreverent as always as he skipped around the difficult things. Missy acting strong, still nursing that stupid crush. Dean… Well, his messages didn't make me dislike him any more, and I knew enough by now to tell that he was sincere. His idea of things just didn't mesh with my own. Carlos made me smile, imagining a welcome home party. A complete fantasy, but a nice one that I indulged in for just a moment.
I walk past the front desk, the secretary greeting me. Pass Piggot in the halls, she nods to say "Glad to have you back," but she doesn't give me a hard time. Down in the Wards' section, Dennis gives me a hard time and tries to ruffle my hair like he always does to the others. Chris whips out a party horn, blowing obnoxiously until Carlos swats it out of his mouth. Missy comes up, kind of shy and kind of angry at the same time, and we smile at the same time and forgive each other. Nobody mentions my dad. Nobody says they're sorry or says they're surprised at how well I'm handling it, with a note of censure in their voices. We sit around the circular couches and the others talk about school and tell funny stories, and I sit there soaking it in. Nobody minds that I don't have anything to say.
The fantasy was nice while it lasted. I scrolled down and reached Miss Militia's message, which shattered the dream completely. There is no time travel, no going back to how things were. Things would never be that easy.
Dennis blamed himself for tipping me off; Carlos blamed himself because, apparently, that was just the kind of person he was. Probably even Dean and Missy were taking on some responsibility for my actions, since it was going around.
Why? It didn't make sense to me. How could they feel at fault when they were hardly involved? Dennis had only passed along the truth; Dean had only hidden it. Missy hadn't even tried to hold me back, and I think she could have. There was enough time between my stopping the van and Coryn ripping us out, she could have bent space. Action or inaction, for me it all came down to the Empire and my stupid choices.
I could perhaps blame them if I'd actually asked for help and been denied. But that wasn't what happened.
I couldn't think of anything to say to them, didn't really want to think about it. Instead I browsed the rest of PHO for a while, finding a few interesting topics. People had more information than I thought they would; someone had seen my meeting with Purity, but then missed Alexandria. It was some consolation that nobody had linked Tattletale to me yet.
The way they spoke about all of it bothered me, and I couldn't figure out why until it hit me that they were treating all of this like a super-powered soap opera. The worst week of my life was gossip around the water cooler.
In a dark mood, I went back to the bookmarks and picked up where I'd left off my research.
Actions
↑ Top ← Previous Chapter Next Chapter → Edit Bookmark Comments (3)
Kudos
Apathy_Incarnate, PettyBop, Abaivonin, CinderedShadow, ApollosRaven, Hansledane, arturus, Notzyx, Trason, Starkiller666, Ruffus36, Yarkimp, Pear399, Sherpano, Minny123, Detro, Kharosian, Uru_el, peperlizia, KRIKEY26, Whynotmeforonce, Aeviterna, creaky_crow, Kazeshii, Itisn1tmyname, dizzyspe11, pekarekmatthew, DeannaLatte, jaded_blade, onecentwonder, The_Watcher_With_1000_Eyes, Basil_Terry, L_C_F_R, Jesienny, Wolfmadmax, Narshalla, Reddaemon, TankerOfTheEast, Yuri_Dhjeeyn, Taryth, Laicosnu, AbyssVale, PhenomenalDaisy, ProSkrub, bradztag, leftwards, Kwlll19, whod99, Blockhead30, SwagBro420, and 404 more users as well as 276 guests left kudos on this work!
Comments
Post Comment
Comment as TheBrimmedHat
Plain text with limited HTML ?
Comment
10000 characters left
Footer
Customize
Default
Low Vision Default
Reversi
Snow Blue
About the Archive
Site Map
Diversity Statement
Terms of Service
Content Policy
Privacy Policy
DMCA & TIDA Policies
Site Status
Contact Us
Policy Questions & Abuse Reports
Technical Support & Feedback
Development
otwarchive v1.6.0.3
Known Issues
GPL-2.0-or-later by the OTW