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Mature
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Graphic Depictions Of Violence
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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
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Canon-Typical ViolenceCanon-Typical Body Horrorshard-altered psychologytags to be added as we go
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English
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Timballisto's Curated Works
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Published:2019-05-24Updated:2020-03-11Words:99,568Chapters:29/?Comments:226Kudos:730Bookmarks:266Hits:29,374
(Restricted) The Shadow Over Brockton Bay
Temeritous
Chapter 28: Wraith 3.11
Chapter Text
We were on the edge of the commercial district, right where the more well-kept buildings yielded to empty lots and then to the run-down South Docks neighborhood. It was on the edge of the border Coil shared with the ABB, but the ABB weren't religious about patrolling it; this area wasn't a lucrative business opportunity for them, being so close to the legitimate places. The closest thing they had to a stronghold here was some casino, situated so the daring tourists could step out of the shopping district and dip their toes in the 'dangerous' area.
The underground part was massive and still in progress. Much of it was just framework, rough tunnels dug in and waiting for expansion. I recognized a lot of it in a vague way, recalling a middle-school field trip to see the Endbringer shelters. There had been 'in progress' pictures on the walls, showing similar tunnelling.
The entrance looked like an underground parking garage, set underneath a small and empty office building. The building itself was fully furnished, filled with the clutter of normal people's lives. Cubicles decorated with reference charts and kid's drawings, desk plants, computers humming with their monitors dark.
If you looked at all of it at once, like I was, it was eerie. All the desk plants were plastic, the crayon drawings had all been done by the same hand, every computer chair still set to its factory default position. It was the set of a stage play with a big budget.
Past the usual metal gate drawn across the parking garage opening, there was a short, shadowed ramp leading down. At the end of it was a much larger door, this one thick steel and it was the first visible thing that didn't fit in with the image projected above.
On the other side was a guard post, including camera feeds monitored by two people in Tinkertech armor. I recognized Coil mercenary uniforms. And below them, on the lowest level nearly out of my reach, was my dad.
My Dust was infiltrating every corner of the base that I could find. There was a massive cavern down there, still in the process of being excavated. I wondered what the hell Coil could be doing with that kind of space. Dad was on the third level down, past a retinal scan and palm-print reader. I didn't plan on needing to get past either of those.
There were failsafes; I found gas canisters wired up behind vents in his room, an air exchange that could be sectioned off from the rest of the system to close off his cell. There were nozzles in the wall hooked up to fire-extinguisher-like tanks; one type of tank was definitely containment foam, but I wasn't sure about the rest. A hole in the ceiling connected to a tank of water ready to flood the room.
I was reluctantly impressed. I was also sure that if he could have figured out a way to make the walls close in like an Indiana Jones trap, he would have.
Dad was sitting up on the bed, legs stretched out and crossed in front of him, reading a book. He was holding it too close to his face, his glasses folded up and hanging from the front of his plain white shirt, one lens cracked and the other just gone.
"Lazarus, remember the plan."
I sat back and crossed one leg over the other. "You can keep going now."
Armsmaster looked at me through the rearview mirror again, then nodded and pulled the car away from the curb. The hologram showed the driver folding away a map of the city, a cover for why we had pulled over so briefly.
"You found your dad," Changeling said, sounding confused. "Aren't you here to rescue him?"
"There's a plan. If I want him to live and Coil to pay, I have to stick to it." Purpose blazed in my mind. It felt good.
"Did you at least give him a message?" she pressed, her too-big eyes staring into me.
"Why? It wouldn't help anything. It might even show our hand."
"Lazarus is right, Changeling," Armsmaster said. The car made a smooth left turn with zero input from him. "Although it's unusual to see someone able to make that choice in such an emotional situation."
I smiled and accepted his compliment. "Unless Coil was in disguise and working as one of his own mercenaries, he wasn't in that base. If we don't find him on this sweep, it probably means he's hiding in his civilian ID."
"Watchdog tracked him back to being directly connected with the PRT in some way. They should have it narrowed down in a little while."
I felt more centered now that I knew my dad was really, truly still alive if not in the best situation. With a distraction removed, I realized that Changeling's occasional remark about the landscape outside had been actual questions or efforts to start a conversation. The next time she commented on the pretty colors of a building we were passing, I told her it was one of the neighborhood corner stores, which acted as grocery stores for the city residents who couldn't afford to drive or didn't have their license. She perked up and immediately asked me another question.
Eventually, Armsmaster rolled up a soundproof divider just to get some peace and quiet.
-------------
"Strike One is in position."
"Understood. Both strike teams now standing by for mark."
I scowled and twisted the little comm unit deeper into my ear, vaguely annoyed by the voices while I was trying to concentrate.
"Don't break it," Armsmaster said.
"Don't these come in a smaller size than 'elephant'?" I asked.
"No. If your mask was a helmet, you wouldn't have to wear an in-ear unit."
"Thanks but no thanks." I had a sensor pointed directly at the synced clock on the dashboard. One minute.
"And not a second earlier," I muttered under my breath. In this timeline, if Coil had split them, he was playing Thomas Calvert the civilian PRT consultant, and my dad was being kept in the base beneath us. I just had to hope that we'd also found him in the other timeline.
My Dust was already in the ground, surrounding dad's cell. It was poised to disable every trap simultaneously. Some of them had fail-safes, backups set to go off if they were tampered with, but I'd already described the mechanisms to Armsmaster and he'd showed me how to avoid them. There was, effectively, no threat to my dad right now.
"Changeling, you remember what you're supposed to do?" It was pointless to check; she was amnesiac and cheerful, not brain-damaged. It still made me feel better to be doing something.
"Get to Danny, tag him, and stay with him until he's out."
"Bit late to start changing the plan now, Lazarus," Triumph said.
"Mark!" Armsmaster said as the clock showed 1700 in bright red numbers. I was already out the doors.
In a cell far beneath our feet, several strange noises emanated from the walls. Dad looked up from the puzzle he was slotting together, confused. "Don't worry," I said through the Dust. "It's just me, dad."
"Taylor!" he exclaimed, jumping up and looking around. "You're here? Where are you?"
"Not invisible," I said with some amusement as I watched him walk slowly around with his arms out, like a blinded man or one afraid to bump into something he couldn't see. "I'm just transmitting my voice through my Dust. We're on our way down to you now."
The bunker doors blasted in, courtesy of Armsmaster's tech and my Dust weakening it from within.
"Be careful, there are traps all over this place," he warned. "Coil told me he could make fire or a poison gas come out of the walls anytime he wants."
"Already disabled."
"Who are you with? Is it that gang you've been helping out? They're working for him, Taylor. Shit, am I distracting you?"
"One conversation isn't a distraction." I knocked out two mercenaries on the floor below us, but allowed the third to get to an alarm button. We needed Coil to know that he was burned in every timeline, flush him out like a rabbit. "It's when I juggle two that things get complicated. I know the Undersiders work for Coil, I'm raiding this base with the Protectorate right now. Armsmaster, Triumph, a new Ward named Changeling. You'll see her soon."
She'd gone ahead of us, zipping along at a sprinting pace. She had one arm extended in front of her in the classic flyer pose, and I had Dust attached to it guiding her through the levels. My human body followed slower, protected behind Armsmaster and Triumph's methodical assault. The PRT troopers trailed in the back, picking up and moving out the mercenaries we took down.
"It's going to be so good to see you again." There were tears in his eyes; part of me wanted to give him some privacy, but the rest of me knew that I couldn't take my eyes off him for even a second. If something happened….
"The Ward you're going to see, her name is Changeling. She's a Case Fifty-Three. You might think you recognize her, but don't say anything about it. I'll explain later."
"Case Fifty-Threes are the monster capes, right?"
Changeling knocked on his door, and I cut it out of the frame. "That's her now," I said to dad. "Go push on the door. It'll open."
He went to the door and put one hand on it, giving a light shove. Changeling dodged out of the way as it fell flat into the hall. She looked at him and grinned. "Hiya Mister Hebert. We're here to rescue you!"
His jaw dropped; she darted forward and tagged him with her Pact.
I staggered, feeling like I'd just been kicked in the head. Changeling had had her Pact on me for so long that I'd forgotten it was there, forgotten what it was like to not be powered-up like that. Every movement was swimming through molasses, every perception was filtered through misty grey clouds. I almost panicked for a moment, looking for the other half of my Dust before I remembered that I'd sent Coryn to back up the other strike team and ensure that Thomas Calvert died.
"Lazarus?" Triumph was at my side, helping me regain my balance. "What was that?"
"Emma?" dad asked, agape. "Is that you?"
"Nothing." I threw my mind out into my Dust, focusing on the part of myself that hadn't changed. I did my best to ignore the body. "Don't worry about it. Changeling has my dad. There are ten more mercenaries on the level below us, and one of them just hit the self-destruct."
Changeling smirked and winked at my dad, bringing one finger up to her lips in a shushing motion. "Shh, that's a secret. Come on, we'll explain later. Let's go." She held out her hand to him, still hovering.
"Shit, Armsmaster you hear that?"
"Copy. How long, Lazarus?"
As soon as he took her hand, dad started floating along behind her.
"Two minutes. Mercs are evaccing from an escape tunnel going into the sewers. I can - "
"Don't stop them, if you bottle them up they'll just be trapped here to die." Armsmaster ordered. "Let's go, we need to get out." He picked up the restrained body of another mercenary and I got the last one, dragging it along with us. "Where's your father?"
"Here!" Changeling called. Neither of them set down when they reached us, dad because he didn't know how and Changeling because she preferred floating over walking. As they went around us, she looked back and shouted, "Keep up!" Dad waved at me, thoroughly confused and overwhelmed.
"Her and Clock are going to get along well," Triumph said, breaking into a brisk run with the rest of us.
Without her speed, the base might have destructed itself around my dad. I could forgive a lot for that kind of service.
-----------------
"Strike One was successful. How'd it go over there at Two?"
"Also successful," Armsmaster said shortly. "Is there a reason it's you and not Miss Militia reporting in, Assault?"
"MM took a bullet. Non-vital but she's on her way to Panacea now. Related note, Coil's fucking dead. Alexandria just - wham, took his head off. No other casualties."
There were a few noises as the radio exchanged hands. "Sorry, Armsmaster, I didn't realize he decided to report in already. We're on our way back to base now."
"See you there, Battery. Our ETA is fourteen minutes."
"Alexandria went on ahead, she'll probably meet you there."
I tuned out of their conversation as dad shifted against me, but he wasn't waking up. He had one arm over my shoulders and was slumped mostly on top of me, passed out from exhaustion and the sudden relief of rescue. Changeling was giving me cute eyes, nearly cooing over the sight. I glared at her. She hadn't been too happy when I refused to let her Pact with me again, but apparently got over that fast.
"Since your IDs are burned, we'll have to sort out what's going to happen with you and your dad," Triumph said, trying to make conversation. "I think the usual protocol is something like witness protection and rebranding combined. That is - if you're staying?"
I touched the phone in my costume's pocket, still and silent as it had been for over a day. "Don't know yet."
Dad roused as we crossed the rainbow bridge to the PHQ, staring blankly out over the Bay for a moment. He smiled blearily when he saw me. "Taylor."
"Dad." I smiled back. "Long time no see. Sorry I got you kidnapped."
"Dadnapped," he countered. "You're the kid. It's not your fault, it's that bastard's. Is he…?"
"Alexandria killed him."
"Alexandria?"
"Yeah, you missed some stuff. I'll fill you in later."
"That's not the only explanation I'm going to need." His eyes flicked to Changeling, subtle enough that I didn't think Triumph noticed. He was doing his best not to even look at us, trying not to intrude.
"Like I said, a lot has happened. Once we get to the PHQ,"
Armsmaster interrupted me. "Sorry, Lazarus, but your father should go through a full medical and Master/Stranger checkup first thing. It's possible that Coil did something subtle, and we need to know sooner rather than later."
I didn't like it, but it made sense. "After, that, then. Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."
----------
I was with Armsmaster when he received the notification that the other strike team had returned to the base, minus Miss Militia but otherwise intact.
"They're in the building?" I asked him.
"Yes. If you want to see the Wards, they're on their way up to the usual debriefing room."
That wasn't why I was asking; I had expected Coryn to be with the team, but she wasn't in my range.
"I'll see them in a few minutes. Need to check on something first."
I found my way to the nearest balcony, and once outside I lifted myself up to the helipad on top of the PHQ, vaguely aware that Changeling was following me by cling-hovering against the outside of the tower. I was already calling for Coryn, ordering her to return.
Could she have disobeyed me somehow? My orders hadn't been airtight, but I hadn't thought they needed to be. She'd never displayed any kind of initiative or independence before.
Go with the Wards and protect them. Make sure Coil dies.
Maybe I should have said stay with the Wards. Maybe I should have explicitly told her to come back to the PHQ. I was doing so now.
I sent sensors out to the edge of my range, peering through their eyes to watch for her approach. I saw her as a dark shadow gliding against the backdrop of the city's glittering lights, wings beating slowly. Her form was oddly shaped; she was carrying something tucked up against her chest the way I used to use her to fly. In the next moment, she was in my range and I had control again.
And I hesitated.
I brought her to me, but I could have made her look down at what she was carrying. I could have made my other sensors look, too. I know why I didn't; I know I almost made her drop the body into the bay.
But I had to see. I had to know.
Coryn landed and released the body so gently. Her head lolled to the side, eyes open and dried out.
I went to her and used my hands to straighten out her body. She laid on her back, arms settled on her stomach, one hand over the other; I set the gun she had been holding down to my right. I sat with my legs crossed, holding her head on my lap, and used a hooked finger to slide her hair out of the gore on the bottom of her chin. Blood seeped slowly from a matching wound in the top of her head, dripping onto my dark red costume.
"What happened?" I asked Coryn in a monotone, releasing control of her.
Coryn opened her mouth and my voice came out, but they weren't my words.
"Go. Run, hide, tell no one. The boss is dead. If you listen to me now, you'll all get to stay alive."
...
"She can kill all of us, or they wouldn't have sent her. Go."
...
"You let me say that. You showed me what to do, you know they'll listen to me. They're safe now because you know they're not a threat, but I still am. And you know I'm not going to come quietly."
...
"I can do more than you think. Coryn, kill her!"
...
"You tried your best, Cor. One more order. Bring me to Taylor. No matter what, you take whatever's left and bring me to Taylor. And you!" A brief pause. "Fuck you, I win!" A gunshot.
I drew in a trembling breath and let it out slowly. A gun in her hand, held so tightly that it had locked there even after she was dead; a wound that wouldn't be easy for someone else to inflict.
You might be able to bring other people back to life.
Every doubt erased itself from my mind. The things they told me about her could have been true because Lisa - Sarah - Tattletale - could lie to me. Anyone could lie with their words. Actions spoke louder, and this one shouted. The name she told me didn't matter any more than the past she was running from. This mattered.
"Thank you for trusting me," I said to her corpse.
"What are you doing?" Changeling asked. I ignored her. "Who is that?"
"I won't let you down."
I formed my Dust into ribbons and began to wrap them around her, carefully, starting from the feet and working my way up. It was slower than the way it usually happened to me; I didn't know what usually guided my Dust, but this time it was only me. I didn't even know if it would work.
But Tattletale trusted that it did.
Changeling came up behind me when the ribbons were around her waist, setting one hand on my shoulder and crouching down beside me.
When the ribbons reached her neck, I hesitated, and forged on.
They fell around her face and jaw, concealing the gory mortal wound.
And then she was covered, wrapped up like a mummy. Nothing happened.
Right. I have to let go.
I released the Dust. It shuddered, then contracted ever so slightly and the strands melted together, then soaked under her skin and disappeared. It left her body behind, whole again.
I bent my head, ready to wait as long as it took.
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