Welcome to Worm, a pair of human radio serial. This series is a fan project paying homage to Wild Bo's web serial worm. This series contains graphic violence, strong language, and periodic instances of adult subject matter. Listener discretion is advised.
628, between today a weekday like any other. It took me a few moments of staring up at the ceiling to remember the events of last night. So I wonder I was tired. I'd gotten home, stuck inside, and gone to bed at close to 330, just three hours ago.
With all that had happened, I hadn't slept those four hours either. Good morning, kiddo. Hey, Dad. Little glum?
Huh? Please, I'm down. I'm tired. I didn't sleep well.
You know, you could go back to bed, sleep in for another hour, so you don't have to go on your run. You know I do, Dad. If I don't go today, it'll be that much harder to make myself get up and do it tomorrow. Right, you've got the two with pepper spray.
I'm going to be fine. Oh, Jay? I'll get it. Hey, you remember, Jerry?
You met him once or twice when you visited me at work. Big guy, burly, black Irish. Rumors going around, you found work. Guess with who?
He's going to be one of Uber and lead sentiment. Those two incompetent supervillains with the video game obsession and the web channel? They can make me wear uniform, write primary colors, drawn style? Eh, probably.
We're supposed to talk about how the powers thing has influenced our lives in class today. Maybe I'll mention that. Maybe I'll mention that. I got out of bed and tried pacing, but it didn't help, so I stepped outside and walked around the neighborhood.
Christ, Taylor, this isn't the kind of city where you can walk around in the middle of the night. I have the pepper spray. What if you get caught off guard? What if the guy is a knife or a gun?
What's going on that is you're so anxious you can't sleep? Some friends, black thereof? It's not better. No more going out in the middle of the night, or I'm going to put a bell on the door.
You gave me a smile that seemed almost like an unspoken. I'm sorry too. You going on your run? Yeah, before I go?
Of course, get out. Taylor, are you even smoking? Huh? Your hair is burnt at the ends there.
Stove, maybe? Be safe. I felt a bit nervous as I got to homeroom, having basically skipped two classes the previous Friday, failing to turn on the major assignment. I've heard of me just wanted to miss this class, too, just to avoid the potential humiliation and avoid drawing attention.
All in all, I felt anxious as I made my way to my computer, which kind of stopped because the computer class was one of the few parts of the school that I didn't usually dread. For one thing, it was the one class in which I was too and well. More to the point, neither Madison, Zorfia, nor Emma were in this class. And I was further removed from them because I was in the advanced room with the class.
It didn't do a lot for my already geeky reputation, but I could deal. The teacher was usually content to give us advanced students an in-class assignment and then focus on the more ambitious majority of the rest of the class. This didn't mean it was fine. I usually wrapped up the assignment in half an hour, leaving me an hour to use as a self-fit.
Time for a bit of research. Tattletail came up with very little. Apparently, she was good at covering her tracks. The only thing I found out was that her costume was lavender.
Something, I guess. Regent was even worse, with no lethal, so ever. Green started off as a small super villain. Everyone stayed down.
One in trouble. For those who won the little super-powered mustard. Recently, he had turned to a higher-scale crowd, including corporate and theft and robbing of his team. His power was listed as being able to block out like, creating a darkness, but only he could see a maneuver.
Have a nice day. I didn't search for bitch next. No results. I did another search for her more official title, Hellhound.
I got a wealth of information. Out of the way, I'll smash her with the ground. I'm going to go out and return to a higher identity. I guess I'm at end of the match.
We'll go forward. She was a parrot. I'm going to be able to turn ordinary dogs into the creatures I'd seen on the rooftop. Monster's a side of a car, a muscle, bone, fang and claw.
If nothing else, she was notorious. I looked up long in the wiki, and the information on his powers was pretty in line with my own experience, that there was no mention of super-hanger him being pry-roof. I debated adding it, but slightly against it. His Asian bad boys had been around for some time, taking over gangs and absorbing their assets until they were not mapped on the east side.
His method now was to go after anyone older than 12 and younger than 60. Didn't matter if you were a gang member or not. If you were Asian, you lived in Brockham Bay. Long and his people expected you to either join or defy tribute in one way or another.
Long's attendance were listed as only, only the invacuada. Both of whom had powers. We could teleport, leaving behind a clone that lasted a few seconds. If that wasn't scary enough, there was a reward of him holding a grenade in his hand as your repeatedly duplicated himself, with his short-lived clones acting as suicide bombers.
Except for a bright and bright demon mask, his costume gave off the distinct impression of a ninja, which just added weight to the notion that this was a guy who could end wood, sliding back between your ribs. Back it up on some new entry, added up to the ABV wiki pages 10 days ago. The picture only showed her from the shoulders up, a girl with straight black hair and a gas mask. There were a few pieces of text alongside an audio tape, which I immediately opened.
A good morning to you all, students and staff of Cornell. To those of you who are not yet aware, I have noted that this prestigious institution of yours has not taken to the sufficient time to recognize my incredible talents. How convenient that this little incident has bestowed upon me the insight and perspective needed to send you all straight to hell. Fortunately, for those who weren't in the Commons this morning, I think that the absolute obliteration of the Commons has calmed me down enough to talk about compromise.
Professor Guderian, if you'd be kind enough to step outside, then I'll inform the rest of these idiots where my other masterpieces have been hidden. Elsewise, I make no promises to say that there won't be much left to clean up when I'm finished here. That's rather troubling. The next time I caught my eye was a headline.
Armsmaster successfully ambushes and defeats the leader of the ABV. We came from a reasoning counter with the rival gang. I wasn't sure what to think. I was torn between fuming at that armored jerk who was stealing the credit and jumping up and down yelling, me!
I made that possible! Me! With the renewed enthusiasm, I switched halves to a message board and again looking to see what people were saying about it. A fan or minion of long-threatening violence against Armmaster.
I tried to put the thought of escalation out of my mind. It struck me that there was one person I hadn't looked for. Myself. I opened up the Advanced Search page for the Parachumans.net message board and did a search for multiple terms.
I included insect, spider, swarm, bug, flagging, a mess of other terms that had struck me when I'd been trying to brainstorm a good hero name. The only thing I found was a thread titled Bug. The text was as follows. Bug, I owe you one.
I would like to repay the favor. Me? Send a message. TT.
The post that followed alternated between conspiracy theories and people trying to shut them down. The message was meaningful though. I couldn't interpret it any other way. Titled, I found a way to get in contact with me.
As I gathered my stuff, I realized I had been so caught up in researching on the villains at Matt last night, and then Titled tells a message that I'd forgotten to worry about getting into trouble for skipping class. My seat of choice was the one closest to the door. I spotted a puddle of orange juice on my seat with an empty plastic bottle lying just underneath the chair. Irritated, I carefully avoided looking at Madison.
Took an empty seat if he rose back. Alright class, I'm keeping my word. Break up into groups and discuss the list you made about Parachumans and how they've changed your world. Hurry along.
Call me Mr. G. Mr. Gladley's my dad.
Sorry, Mr. G. I need a new textbook. What happened to your old one?
I lost it. Placement textbooks are $35. I don't expect it now. I'll have it to you at the end of the week.
He handed me a textbook and I looked over the room before turning the only group with room for more. The leftovers and all the friends and clicks have banded together. Fortunately, I made a list big enough for all three of us. Oh, are you a tailor?
I didn't get much done. You got the strike of us, a new game I got. It's really, really good. Let's go space off, ready, play it?
A full minute later. He was still on the same topic, even though I wasn't paying any attention to him, or giving him any feedback on what he was saying. You know, you've got to understand this genre. That's why I've been really getting too late since I started watching this in a make-up.
Oh, hey, Sophia. Sorry I'm late, Mr. G. Can I be a Madison's group?
Well, that wouldn't be fair. Taylor's group only has three people. Go help them. Sure, fine.
Ew. It was downhill from there. Madison's group moves to the four of them. We're sitting right next to our group, and she left Sophia talk with them while she was still sitting with us.
Hey, ladies, how's it going? Greg, here's what I did over the weekend. What do you think? Oh, let me see.
Stop. Before I could stop and break Doodlefully handed my work over to her. Watch your glance over and toss it on a Madison's table. Give that back.
Give that a Madison. Give it back. Sort of running to the teacher and complaining I wasn't going to get my work back, and anyone who considered that an option has clearly never been in high school. Time's up.
Who wants to present first? I'll do it. Very well. What do you have, Greg?
Well, I think the big thing, the really big thing about Capes and the world is the way they affect our public safety. I mean, all the people in these cities that don't really have to make Capes, like those in the small towns, or, you know, like, Ayloph. Most of them are really afraid of their houses being blown up as crazy. They're like, well, I guess the lungs out of, like, hyzer, I guess.
I'm trying to say this. Thank you, Greg. You can sit down now. Madison, do you want to start?
Of course. Every morning I wake up in a house powered by the most sophisticated and environmentally friendly grid system in the world, all thanks to tangers like Dragon and Manatee. I mean, Sphere. I open my wardrobe and try out the latest dials pioneered by the greatest capes of our age from Alexandria to legend to Brockton Bay's own Lady Photon.
On my way to school, I see advertisements for new books and movies about the Protectorate and the Slaughterhouse Nine, listening to Meg Burroughs on the radio about the latest developments of the Protectorate and the wards. I look up high window and see the Protectorate headquarters watching over our city and making sure we're all safe from the latest Parahuman threat. And of course, I see plenty of police officers resting idly at their posts, knowing that heroes will be on the scene if trouble ever comes up. Well done, Madison.
Well done. That little bitch stole every single one of those things from my list. She didn't even get half of them right. Mr.
Globbin even though the winner has never achieved the sheer number of things they had come up with. Though he made a point of saying the quality of Madison's work was nearly good enough. I'm not here. Taylor, I'd like you to stick around for a few minutes, please.
I'm not stupid, you know. Okay. I have something of an idea of what goes on in my classroom. I don't know exactly who, but I know some people are giving you a pretty hard time.
I saw the mess left on your usual seat today. I remember a few weeks back when glue was mirrored all over your desk in your chair. There was also that incident that happened at the start of the year. All your teachers had a meeting about that.
And I'm guessing there's more that I don't know about. Yeah. I asked you after the glue incident and I'm asking you again, would you be willing to go to the office with me to talk with the principal and vice principal? What would happen?
We'd have a discussion about what's been going on. You would name the people you believe responsible, and each of them would be called in to talk to the principal in turn. And they get expelled? If there was enough proof they'd be suspended for several days unless they've done something very serious.
Further offenses could lead to longer suspensions or expulsion. Great. So they might miss a few days of school and only if I can prove they were behind it all. And whether they get suspended or not, they'll be 100% justified in whatever else they do to the rap or revenge.
If you want things to get better, Taylor, you have to start somewhere. This isn't a starting point. It's shooting myself in the foot. When he didn't immediately respond, I left the classroom.
Emma, Madison, Sophia, and half a dozen other girls were standing in the hall waiting for me. Hey, proud of me and Joe. I have a six-year-old buddy in the answer here. I was unable to squeeze half of them without losing.
He took me back so he could be much more than needed to get left. Listening all paid to the close. And listening to the polls in time at school. All the while, Emma stayed in state grounds in the hearts of smiles on her face.
When she couldn't eat the eyes of her face, any of the votes happened. But the most important thing is that she was better. What? They were really thinking about what they were saying.
They walked into the office with a widely-off marked contradictory. They never talked to anybody. The point is, when she was smarter, they wanted to keep her mouth shut. They were never giving her mouth shut.
She's not giving her mouth shut. If I were good at this point, I'd be conclusion that it was easier to sit back to you. Can you imagine? They wanted me to fight back.
Because every day, I can listen to their favorite. If I stood up, I should have seen her. And they still want to be their own. They only started to be their own.
If I came out ahead of the polls. And they got more upset than me for the next smells. Like how much time it is over. I couldn't see Mr.
Colby giving his classroom. The tirade didn't stop us. I walked him back and told her one arm. I'll find his keys along the door.
Watch him as he gave me a sad look. Shifted the file folders into his free hand. And then walked away. I couldn't wrap my head around how he could just be ignoring this.
He had been trying to help me. He had just been covering his own hands. Doing what was required of him in the face of a situation he couldn't ignore. After trying to help, it is a completely ineffective way.
It turns out for help down place. How did he just decide it wasn't worth the effort? I clenched my fist and forced myself to relax it. If we were all guys, it would be totally different.
I couldn't. I couldn't. I couldn't have swung a few punches from the very start. Hustle bloody nose or two.
Maybe. I know I would have lost the fight, man. But things would have ended there. Instead of dragging on like they were here.
It hurt physically for days afterwards. But at least I had the satisfaction of knowing some of the others were hurting too. They wouldn't have to sit through this barrage of insults. If there was enough damage done, the school would have to take notice.
Violence gets attention. But things didn't work that way here. Girls played dirty. If I decked Emma, she would run to the office.
She would run to the office. She would have been there. She would have been there. She would have been there.
She would have been there. She would have been there. She would have been there. She would have been there.
She would have to take notice. She would have to take notice. Violence gets attention. The things didn't work that way here.
Girls played dirty. If I decked Emma, she would run to the office with some fabricated story. Her friend is backing up her version of events. Her most' arriving to the faculty with social suicide.
But Emma was more or less talked on. If she went to the principal, people would have to take things more seriously. Emma would be seemed a victim. Girls would previously ignore the bullying.
We'd join in onbells about half. You look upset. So it seems Emma was now taking part. So upset that you're going to cry yourself to sleep for a straight week?
My words died in my throat as I crossed her words. There were a phone call when we were together. as I crossed her words. There had been a phone call when we were together.
My dad had been on the other end waiting to tell me that my mom had died in a car accident. And the sister had given me a ride to my place and I pulled the entire way there. Remember Emma crying too for some reason or another. I could remember over here and my dad were raiding my mother's body because she'd been texting while driving.
She was the only one to blame. I think Emma's mom figured things out and gave my dad a talking to because he started pulling things together. We'd established our routine so we wouldn't fall apart as a family again. It was a month afterwards that Emma and I had started talking more or less, hoping that we'd be able to move on together.
You know, I admire you. Why? You're so resilient. You were totally in pieces, but you're so together after a month.
I couldn't do that. I'm not resilient. I can hold it together during the day, but I cried myself to sleep for a straight week. That had been enough to open the floodgates right there.
She gave me her shoulder to cry on and our coffee was cold before it was done. Now as I gave to Emma worldless, her smile widened. She remembered what I said then. She knew the memories it would evoke.
She'd been waiting to drop it on me. Oh my gosh, she's crying. It's like you have a superpower, Emma. I had taken off my backpack so I could lean against the wall.
I reached to pick it up before I could have have put Hooked her out on the strap and dragged it away from me. I looked up and saw Sophia, one foot casually resting on top of my backpack. I didn't think it was worth fighting her over. If it gave her the opportunity to continue her game with Keyboy, I left the bag where it was and shoved my way through the other girls.
No, my primary concern was getting out of there. I wasn't going to break the promise I'd made to myself. No using powers on them. It was a line I wasn't crossing.
Perhaps most important, I rationalized, was keeping the two worlds separate. I didn't want to dwell on this subject to school or Emma, so I turned my focus to the recent message from Tattletown. She wanted to meet, presumably to refer or pay the favor that she felt she loved me. I considered the possibility that it was a trap, but I couldn't imagine any angle where it would be.
By the time I sat down, I had a pretty good idea where TT, a reciprocative needed. They replied to him only two or three minutes later. Proof? Last night you didn't say anything until I asked your name.
Big guy had a mess of nasty bites and you pepper straight him and I told my pal G that when he asked. Good enough, GR and me will meet you at the same spot we crossed past last night, okay? Don't have to get gusty to help if you catch my drift. Rest of us will be in casual wear.
If we meet at three, that would give you enough time to get there from library with everything you need, let me know. Tattletown. She knew where I was and she was letting me know. Why, more to the point, how?
I would have interpreted the casual mention of my location as a veil threat. If it didn't run contrary to everything else in her messages to me. I got meeting me in casual clothes. I took that to me, they wouldn't be in costume.
If I blend, best case scenario, I could get enough information to turn them in, get tons of pride from the good guys if I judged arms master right. And I get even more brownie points if I gave him the info and let him or helped him make the bust. On flip side, the worst case scenario was that it was a trap or they'd figure out what I was doing. It would mean a fight, maybe a beating.
If I didn't go, what would happen? This particular window of opportunity would likely pass as far as being able to get the dirt on Tattletown or gang. That was okay as I thought on it. It was a high risk, I'm a war venture anyways.
See you at three. I arrived under the building. One scorch arc is so obvious. None of the three others on the building were wearing masks, which I didn't reason to believe Tattletown had been hung in the truth.
They were entering costume. A curly haired boy, a tall blonde, and a tall heroic figure sized me up. Reach him, Tattletown, and grew. And she arrives, pay up.
Fine. You bet on whether I would show up. We bet on whether you would come in costume and I won. Name's Lisa, by the way.
I like a mask. It's your own fault for taking a bet in the first place, Alec. Even if it wasn't Tattlet it was a sucker bet. Showing how costume makes too much sense to what I would do.
Anyway, I'm Brian. You can call me the bug, I guess. At least until I come up with something better, until I decide this isn't a lever trick. I'm Alec, and bitch is Rachel.
Rachel is sitting this one out. She didn't agree to the aim of her meeting here. Which raises the question, what is the aim of this meeting? I'm a little weirded out with you guys who are feeling your secret identities like this, or at least pretending to.
Sorry, that was my idea. But we'd make a token and you should have trust. Why exactly do you need my trust? We all looked to Lisa, who bent down and picked up a plastic lunchbox.
She held it out to me. I said, we know you. All yours, no strings ditched. Alexandria, she was my favorite member of the Protectorate when I was a kid.
Is the lunchbox collectible or something? I took the lunchbox and opened it. She wasn't kidding. You have two choices.
You can take that as a gift. A thank you for, intentionally or not, saving our ass from lung last night. And maybe a bit of incentive to count us among your friends when you're out in costume and doing dastardly deeds. Between territory disputes, differences in ideology, general power struggles, and egos, there's a rare few people in the local villain community who won't attack us on site.
And the second option? Or? You can take us first installment of this month's allowance. You're titled through it as a member of the Undersiders.
Two thousand a month? No, that's just what the boss pays us to stick together. We make considerably more when we do jobs. The boss, okay.
So, bitch didn't come because she was against the recruitment? Yeah, we voted on it and she said no. On the plus side, the rest of us voted yes. She'll come around.
She always votes against adding new members to the team because she doesn't want to buy us the money. So you've done this recruiting thing before? Yeah, it didn't go well. We tried this girl on the Spitfire and she got scared off before we even got a chance to offer a job.
Our fault for being Rachel along that time. And then she got recruited by Fault Line and her group of freaks. We've made an offer to circus too. She told us no uncertain terms that she works alone.
Tell me a few new curse words while she did it too. So, you're going the extra mile with no costumes as a show of trust and the cash bonus up for him to get me to join? That's a gist of it. One story short, especially with a lung taken out of action and the ABB dimension by who's being gone, there's bound to be some pushing and shoving over territory and status among the various gangs and teams.
A spotlight's crew with a remaining ABB, Empire 88, merchants, the solo villains, and any other town teams are gangs that figure they can wear a man and grab a piece of a day. It comes down to it. We want firepower. We haven't screwed that job yet.
But the way us three feet dirty, it's only a matter of time before we end up stuck in a fight we can't win. And bitch is the only one who... I just don't care why you want me. I control bugs.
That's not going to stop Alexandria our glory girl. You fucked up lung. Good enough for me. Not really.
In case you missed it, you're the ones who stopped him from executing me last night. That just has to prove the point I was making. Honey, entire teams of capes have gone up against lung and got their asses handed to them. The fact that the monster is lying in a hospital bed because of you is the icing on the cake.
I mean, he's... Yeah. You do know which bugs you had biting him, right? Black Widow, Brownlet, Rick Loose, Browntail Moth, Milled Eye, Fire Ants?
I don't know all the official names, but I know exactly what they tend to them. So why are you surprised? A couple of those bugs would be fucking dangerous if they bit just once, but you had them bite several times. Bad enough.
Bad enough. But when lung came into custody, they had him checked over by the docks and the idiot doctor in charge said something like, oh, well, these do look like bug bites and stings, but the really venomous ones don't bite multiple times. Let's arrange to check on him in a few hours. Oh, my God.
I can't believe you didn't know. But he regenerates. Toxins aren't supposed to be even 1% as effective against people who heal like he does. They're effective enough, I guess, or his healing stopped working somewhere along the line.
By the time they got to him, the big guy was just beginning to suffer from large-scale tissue necrosis. His heart even stopped a few times. You do remember when you had the bugs bite him. Wait, why are you?
Let's just say that even with the ability to heal several times faster than your average person, lung is going to be sitting down to use the damage. Okay, that's enough. Lung's going to recover, right? He's already recuperating.
Slowly, but he's on the mend and he should be in the working order in six months to a year. You'd better hope he doesn't escape if someone made my men bits fall off out of the out for blood. Thank you for that, Alec. Were you two or going to pretend to work who's going to run off out of a panic attack for the idea of becoming an underside or even crosses her mind?
How do you know this? Tattle-tailer, Lisa, whatever I'm supposed to call you. How do you know this stuff about lunger, the fact that I was in the library or that cape was on this by last night? Wait, you knew he was in the library?
Girls got to have our secrets. Lisa's half the reason we haven't failed a job yet. And our boss is a large part of the rest. So you say, but what's not going on?
If you want the full scoop, I'm afraid the details on what we do only come with team membership. What I can't tell you is that we're a good group. Our track record is top-notch and we're in it for the fun and profit. No grand agenda, no real responsibility.
All right, then. Count me in. Awesome. So where do we go from here?
Not sure. So like we've done this before, I suppose we could just let Rachel know, but she said she might work today. If the new girl is okay with it, let's stop by our place. See if Rachel is there, celebrate the new recruit and get her filled in.
Sure. It's just a few blocks away, but we would stand out if you came with a costume. All right, this costume is kind of uncomfortable under close. Can I get some privacy?
You want an alley or a phone booth or...? I'll change here. Just take a minute. I doubted anyone on the pedestrian building could see me as more of a figure two, which is tall.
If someone could see me change out of costume and make up enough details to identify me, I'd be surprised. I felt to stop a regret and not having chosen better clothes to wear the moulouse setting sweatshirt and jeans that were too big for me. That regret quickly turned into a pang of anxiety. I think that they saw the real me.
Ryan and Alec were good-looking guys in very different ways. Lisa was on a sliding scale between Flame and Pretty. More pretty than not. My own skill of attractiveness by contrast.
Put me somewhere on a scale that reached from nerd to plane. They were cool, confident, assured people. I was... Are you done yet?
Almost. Hi. I guess I wouldn't work if you kept calling me a bug or a new girl. I'm Taylor.
Good to know. I'm along, y'all. Our destination was an abandoned red brick factory with a rusty metal door. Seeing the cobwebs, I reached out with my power and fell bugs throughout.
Nobody had been active in here a long time. The second floor was complete opposite. It was aloft and there was no ceiling beyond a roof and a skeleton of metal garters ever had to support it. I saw pop hymns or maybe beer cans stacked in a pyramid on the table of the far room.
It wasn't so much that I thought it was offensive, though. It was a mess that made a statement like, This is our space, no adult supervision here. We've got everything you would ever need up here. TV, games, snacks, plenty of comfy furniture for landing around on.
I'm jealous. Dora, what are you jealous for? I meant it's cool. I think what Alec means is that this is your place now, too.
This is a team space and your member of the team now. The rooms far side in order of the closest to far is our Alec bathroom mine. On the side, closer to us, Rachel's room, Rachel's dog's room, and a storage closet. You think she'll...
Obviously. We'll clean out this storage closet so you can have a room. You don't have to do that for me. I've got a place.
Can we just do it anyways and not make a fuss? It'd be a lot better if you had your own space here. Ryan has an apartment and was pretty firm about not needing or wanting a room here. He has nowhere to sleep with the couch, but he gets hurt and there's no place to put his stuff so it gets left all over.
Take the room, you'll be doing us a favor. Okay, thank you. A while ago he came back here and bled all over a white couch, a $900 couch, and we had to replace it. Fucking shadow stalker.
Rachel's not here and neither of her dogs. She must be walking and we're working. Damn it, it's strange when she's out. So here's a deal.
Two grand a month, just to be a member of the team. That means he helps us out with jobs we do, you go on jobs, you stay active, you're available if we need to call. I don't have a phone. We'll get you one.
That's why they were from ten grand to thirty-five grand for a job. Fakes get divided four ways. Five ways out of your own team. It's not a small change.
Nope. Now how on the ball are you as far as no more up against? For other local capes. I've done research online, read the Cape magazine to religious labor for years.
Morrison's getting my powers, but I don't know. If the past twenty-four hours have taught me anything, it's that there's a lot I don't know and we'll only find out the hard way. That's okay, but you know, I'm trying to show what I know so you weren't caught up to art. But don't be afraid to ask if there's anything you're not sure about, alright?
Alright. I can't tell how much of a relief it is that you take this stuff seriously, since some people, maybe, twist their arms together and listen to them, and others think they know everything. I do know everything. It's my power.
You're on this shit? Eh, not quite. I do know things though. My power tells me stuff.
Like, like how I knew you were at the library when I sent- when you sent me the messages. If I felt like it, and if I had to know how I'm sure I could have figured it out, but figured it out by breaking into the website database and digging through the logs to find the address you were connected from, but my power just- let me skip that- step, like that. And why exactly did you mention you knew where she was? I wanted to see how she'd react, messing with her a little.
Damn it, Lisa, do you have any idea how bad it would be for our image? I'm filling the newbie in. Yell at me later. Anyway, my power fills in the gaps in my knowledge.
I generally need some info to start from, but I can use details of my power feeds me to figure out more stuff, and it all sort of compounds itself, giving me a steady flow of info. And you knew that my cape was on the way last night? Call it a well-educated guess. And you knew the stuff about what happened in the PHQ the same way.
I'll admit I cheated there. Figuring out passwords is pretty easy with my power. I dig through the PHQ's digital paperwork, enjoy little reality TV by way of their surveillance cameras when I'm bored. It's useful because I'm not only getting the dirt from what I see, hear, and read, but my power fills in the details and stuff like changes in their routine and the team politics.
It's not that amazing. I'm really best with concrete stuff. Where things are, timing, encryption, yada yada. I can read something out of changes in body language over a team, but it's less reliable and kind of a headache.
Enough information to overload without, you know? And even if she knows a lot, that doesn't mean Lisa can't be a dumbass sometimes. So what are your powers, then? Well, shit, that seems the Rachel's back.
I don't think he's there. We snarked about to be back in the wall, drool flying from their mouths as their teeth gnashed and snapped from my hands and face. The largest of the dogs sees me by the wrist and its jaws. When he's almost buckled in response to the pain, which only worse than what an abruptly snapped head to one side and wrench my arm.
I fell in an armpit. The other two dogs were on me. The German Shepherd had said to barking and snapping at my face pulling out my hair. The other started breaking at me with its claws and nipping and trying to find somewhere in my legs while your back said that I said to him.
Rachel, call out the dogs. Well, those two were at it. The route while I was still had my wrist and its teeth and began pulling as though it wanted to drive me somewhere. I grit my teeth at the pain and tried to think of something I could do that would amount to more than curling up at a fetal position to protect my arms, legs, and face.
AHHH! The call out the fucking dogs! Hearing the noise, the dogs abruptly backed off. The one I teary or cleared of me as I walked away as if it had enough mean left and that it had to let out somehow.
On the opposite side of the room, her home was rubbing the back of one of its hands. The three dogs were sitting on the neat line ten feet away from her girl who was lying on the ground, blood pouring from her face. I recognized her from the picture I had seen on her repeat page. Rachel went.
Hellhound. Bitch. I fucking hate it when you make me do that, Rachel. Why the fuck did you do that?
She didn't reply and said she let up her uppercut clean up blood and smiled. You're like there was such a way this is a habitually horses on your back. I realize I had already reached through your police and out of support across half of the room in a run. All the took was a thought and a bug started floating in.
Cauperches, earwakes, spiders, and flies. Not as many as I might have liked, but it was enough to count. Bitch saw me approaching the rage of her fingers to her mouth, but I didn't give up a chance. I kicked her face and she avoided the whistle to cover her head.
My foot bounced off one of her arms, her entire body became a tough one. I had to use my hands to stop myself from running to the moon. I landed red-hot came right down my arm being passed, starting at the point where the rock went with her being my race. Reminded of the dogs, I glanced to my right, saw the larks of the sanding.
I did come to his master's aid. I got a large share of my bugs between myself and the bees. The last I saw of them was a swarm walking to my view. The dogs were rapidly backing away from the swarm, startled.
Finding myself standing over a bitch, I pressed the attack. Her arms were covered her face and chest, but I saw her expose ear as a target and brought my foot down. Her head bounced against the floor and blood bloomed from the top of her ear. A side of the blood almost stopped me, but I knew that backing down now would give her the chance to set them on me again with the whistle.
We told found her exposed stomach and she drew her knees outward to protect her belly, and I aimed a sharp kick between her legs. A man should get kicked or connect firmly with ribs three times before she brought an elbow down to protect it. But she went over with an elbow from my vision, like a jet-black curtain sweeping in front of me, walking my view of half the rim and the dogs. Dissolved into waste of the black smoke with second later, and I was startled to see where I am right in front of me between me and the dogs.
They looked at their master and then retreated, still edging away from the swarm. I backed away a little as well, being careful to keep Brian between myself and the Mongros. Bit tracer had to look me in the eye. She rubbed her ear with one hand, and her palm was red with blood as she pulled it away.
As the German shepherd approached her, she rested the same hand on its head. The other two dogs moved closer to her, as if they could protect her. But their attention was fixed entirely on me and Brian. No more fighting.
I'm directing that you, Rachel. You deserve whoever Taylor gave you. Taylor comes it down. No, fuck this, fuck you guys!
Stop, we can work this out. You said she wasn't cool with me, you never said she was pissed off enough to try and kill me. If I ordered them to kill you, Brutus would have torn out your throat before you could scream. I gave them the hurt command.
That's great. She has her dogs trained to hurt people. Seriously? Fuck you guys.
This is another field of hurt that I didn't get two steps before that curtain of black appeared again, blocking my way. It was like smoke, but so absolutely black. There was no texture to it. Brian's power at work.
I knew where the stairs and the railing for the stairs was, so I put my hand in front of me. I kept moving. The blackness slid over my skin, oily with a weird consistency to it. Combined with an absolute lack of light that left me unable to tell whether my eyes were open or shut.
It was ominous. It was my hands made contact with the railing, a pair of hands settled on my shoulders. I tried to yell except the boards barely reached me. The darkness didn't just block off the light.
It swallowed up the noises as well. I'd let go of the railing when I turned to face the other person in the darkness. And I had a moment's panic when I realized I couldn't tell where the stairs were anymore. Sensory deprivation.
Brian's power mucked with your senses, sight, hearing, touch. I reached out with my power, identifying where all the bugs were in the building. Using one to ground myself like a sailor might use a constellation. I figured out where the stairs should be and found the railing.
The hands hadn't grabbed me again, so I hurried down down the stairs and out of the oppressive darkness. Taylor, wait! What? You're gonna use your powers on me again?
No, not in the open, not on costume, and not on you. It was stupid of me to do it in the first place. I wasn't thinking. I just wanted to stop you from bolting.
I can barely tell it's there, so I forgot how I can infect other people. Look, I'm sorry, but using my power on you, about what bitch did. You don't have to worry. I won't tell anyone what you guys showed me tonight.
I won't be attacking you guys if I run into you in costume and piss, but I'm not that pissed. You guys offered me a choice. I could take the money and go where I could join. Let me change my mind.
After what your teammate just did, you owe me that much. Well, if you go up to me, I could bitch out and keep you. But you won't. As much as I want you on the team, we count on the boss for our allowances, but you have to get away from all that shit, from assholes like bitch.
Come inside Taylor, please, I personally guarantee you I won't let her pull another stunt like that or I'll quit the team. You're hurt, you're bleeding, you're close or ripped, and you left your bag with the money upstairs. I'm trying to first aid. At least let me patch you up, get you some new clothes.
Not to mention my costume was still up there. Fine, but just so you know, I'm only coming back because she doesn't want me to. Like, which she wins, I'm not fucking having that. I'll take what I can get.
Glad you came back. Can you go get the first aid kit? It might be in the storage closet. That was awesome, you know.
I didn't think you had to kick someone's ass like that. I think we're gonna clean that sidget. At least this power should give us a better sense of what stitches are necessary. Partly just quickening stitches as a bonding experience, but bitch more or less stay quiet throughout the process.
We were both sat down and told to sit still, well Brian, both clean and sold up a hole in my arm, and the tear my kit made in bitches ear. So you have first aid training? We all do. Brian made us take a comprehensive class less than a week after we were gathered as a team.
Such a pain in the ass, believe me. You'll make you do it too. I already did. One of the first things I learned after getting my powers.
Well, somebody thought ahead. I'm gonna go put all this away. So Alec, you were gonna tell me what you do. You go by regent, right?
The name is a long story, but what I do is this. Alec, wait till it's good in front of the new girl, Guimpy. Ow. It's a bit complicated to explain, but basically, Alec can get into people's nervous systems.
This lets him fire off impulses that upset off reflexes or make body parts jerk into motion. It's not a dramatic power, but with timing, he can make someone fall over midstep, drop something, lose their sense of balance, or pull the trigger on a gun. Oh, that ain't the half of it, sweetheart. Once I understand the body well enough, my park is a lot more interesting.
Well, I think I pretty much get what everyone can do then. Correct me if I'm wrong, but bitch in turn those dogs into those freakish monsters I saw the other night. They aren't freakish. Rachel can do it with any dog, actually.
Also, no codenames when they're not in costume pay, get in the habit of using the right name at the right times, and it makes it much harder to slip. Sorry. Anyway, Rachel can use her power on any dog, but only Brutus, Judas, and Angelica are trained well enough that they'll listen to her when they're pumped up. And Brian makes that really darkness that screws up your hearing.
The paracamens wiki is said it was darkness generation. Put that in the wiki myself. It's not wrong, but it does catch people off guard when they think they know what you can do, and there's something more to it. It's not just hearing, it also cots off.
Radio signals and dampens the effect of radiation. Those are power tells are anyway. Haven't had much chance to test that part of the things. My advice is.
What time is that? 19 minutes before 5. No need for a clock, my power always tells me. Guess where you need to be?
Oh, I guess. My double wonder where I am. Call him. Now that the introductions are over ways you can just hang out for a bit if you want.
We could order a pizza, or maybe everyone's sickle pizza and we could order something else. Are you sticking around? A cleanse dip bitch. She was sitting on the table looking like a mess.