by wildbow
It wasn’t Prism who answered. Dispatch, the Texan cape, spoke instead. “I asked the same question. He brings us all the way here, but he doesn’t show himself?”
“He’s handling a small crisis,” Prism said.
“We’re all handling crises,” Dispatch said. “Half of us have no experience as team leaders, we’re dealing with capes in mourning, with government capes auditing our team rosters for Cauldron capes—”
“Leave it be, Dispatch,” Rime interrupted him. “We should get down to business. The sooner this is settled, the sooner we can get back.”
Mrs. Yamada cleared her throat. “What are you thinking, Weaver?”
Suddenly put on the spot. “Honestly?”
“Honesty is good,” she said.
“I’m intimidated,” I said.
“How do you usually handle something like that?”
By being more intimidating in exchange, I thought. It wouldn’t do to say that out loud, to explain how I’d fallen back on being scary and ruthless for so long that I wasn’t sure how to approach something like this.
“I’m not so sure anymore,” I said. It was the truth, and it wasn’t self-incriminating.
Mrs. Yamada nodded.
Defiant spoke. “Let’s ensure we’re all familiar with what’s going on. We’ve had capes with criminal backgrounds join the Protectorate and Wards teams, though that has remained largely discreet, and Weaver’s civilian identity is public knowledge. We’ve had experienced capes join, as well, forcing us to adapt to their experience and retrain them where necessary. Weaver is both. She’s currently serving time in Gardener. Under the terms of her sentence, she’ll be continuing her high school studies independently, she’ll be getting therapy as soon as we’ve settled on a schedule, and she’ll be ferried out to various teams for testing and evaluation.”
“A lot of hassle for a little girl,” Jouster said.
A little girl? I kept my mouth shut, but it took some effort.
Clockblocker, however, was chuckling.
“What?” Jouster asked.
“She beat Alexandria,” Hoyden said. “He’s laughing because you’re putting down the girl who killed Alexandria.”
“Not a selling point,” Hoyden’s boss, Dispatch, cut in.
“She’s an absolute nightmare to fight,” Clockblocker said. “I’ve been on the receiving end enough times to know. So when Miss Militia told me she was in custody, I started asking questions, trying to get a sense of what was happening and when. I don’t even have to be here, and I’m picking up extra patrols later this week to make up for it, but I wanted to come and say this: I don’t like her, not really. But if my word counts for anything, as someone who’s only spent half the time dealing with the shit in Brockton Bay that she has? We want her on our side. Somehow, in some form. Because the alternative sucks.”
“Thank you,” I said, my voice so quiet I wasn’t sure everyone heard me. He was standing up for me, in a way, at a point in time I wasn’t sure how to voice those sorts of things myself.
I could see Jouster’s eyes behind his helmet, as he gave me a once-over.
“She killed Alexandria,” Hoyden said. “And, what, she was there for Leviathan, she was there for the Slaughterhouse Nine, for Echidna…”
“She went head to head with each of those,” Clockblocker said. He looked at me. “Right? Like, you weren’t just there. You were in the thick of it, exchanging blows?”
I nodded.
“Today is numbers,” Prism said. “Power evaluation, interviews.”
“No, no,” Dispatch said, shaking his head. “Ridiculous. You don’t invite us here, then make us sit through that nonsense.”
“We need to evaluate her abilities,” Defiant said.
“Do it on your own time. And skip the interview,” Dispatch said. “Your own notes, Defiant, say she’s a manipulator and a liar.”
“I’ve retracted those statements,” Defiant said.
“And who’s to say she hasn’t manipulated you? You and Chevalier were arguing for a cleaner, shinier Protectorate, didn’t you? Let’s not get off on the wrong foot. We vet her thoroughly, and if we don’t get a consensus that she’s an asset to the team, then that’s that.”
“What would you suggest, in place of testing and an interview?”
“We do what we’re doing with the Cauldron capes, run her by our thinkers,” Dispatch said. “We can get a more concrete assessment of her now, with a field exercise, than by any amount of talking. If I’m remembering right, a notice went out, didn’t it? A New York group of villains is poaching Wards and Protectorate members?”
“The Adepts,” Revel said.
“Two birds with one stone,” Dispatch said. He looked at the collected captains of the Wards. “We want to know how she functions in a team environment, let’s put her in the thick of it. If there’s trouble, or if the mission doesn’t look good, the rest of us can step in.”
Eyes turned my way.
“You’re serious,” I said.
“As cancer,” Dispatch told me.
“I don’t have any of my stuff, and the costume Dragon gave me isn’t my usual. Besides, you’ll be expecting me to follow different rules.”
“You’ve read the handbook, haven’t you?”
I nodded. But I haven’t completely thought of ways around the restrictions. I’d picked the name Weaver based on the idea that I’d be using thread more, but I didn’t have any prepared, not here, not yet.
“I’m sure Prism will let you have access to the New York teams’ supplies. Largest cape groups in America, they’ll have a little of everything.”
I frowned. If I said no, it’d be a black mark in my record, and some of these people were obviously not interested in giving me any slack, unless it was to hang myself with.
“Okay,” I said.
“The Adepts don’t kill,” he said. “If there’s a problem, it’s on you.”
There should be a rule against saying things like that, I thought. I didn’t care that he was putting me on the spot, or blaming me for stuff that hadn’t happened yet. He was implying this would be easy, practically ensuring this would be anything but.
* * *
“Adepts,” Jouster said. “I assume everyone’s up to date?”
Tecton was walking in front of our group, his tank of a suit giving us enough presence that the crowd parted before us. “Don’t be a jackass. You know Skit—Weaver hasn’t read the files. They’re in your city, you fill us in.”
“I know the basics,” I said. I’d read the file in Tattletale’s office. “They’re wizards, or they pretend to be, like Myrddin. Led by a time traveller.”
“They’re led by Epoch,” Jouster said, without looking at me. “Group is very organized. Thing you gotta know about New York is it’s bigger. Everything is. So these guys, there’s a lot of them. They’re organized into tiers, and they compete with one another for placement in the tiers, challenging ones in higher tiers, paying a penalty if they fail the challenge. There’s one tier one, two tier twos, three tier threes… all the way down to the tier fives.”
“Fifteen in total,” I said.
He gave me a hard look, then fell silent.
Am I not allowed to talk?
“This city sucks to move around in,” Hoyden said. “Crowds, traffic… how do you get anywhere?”
“We have different sub-teams for different roles,” Jouster said. “Lancer group for fast response, those of us who can fly or move over rooftops. Another group of heavier hitters who’re old enough to ride the bikes and licensed to travel the tracks.”
“Tracks?” Hoyden asked.
“Subways. You use a computer to help know which tracks you can stay on and when, so you don’t get hit by a train.”
“And the ones who aren’t old enough, or aren’t naturally mobile?” Tecton asked.
“Foot patrol, or sidekick duty with a Protectorate member,” Jouster said.
“Loads of fun,” Hoyden said.
“Am I the only one who likes doing the ride-along thing?” Vantage asked.
“Yes,” Hoyden said. “Definitely.”
Jouster shook his head. “It’s the job. They grumble, sure, but it’s a few years at most before they get to do the bike thing.”
“I’m guessing you’re one of the ‘lancers’,” I said.
Jouster gave me a dirty look, “What of it?”
“Nothing,” I said. “Just made sense.”
“Flechette was one too,” he said. “She was going to lead the squad when I moved up to the Protectorate, with Shelter taking over as Wards captain.”
“I believe it,” I said.
“Seem to recall that she’d defected, joined your old team.”
“I don’t know anything about that, honestly,” I said. “Only that she had romantic interests towards one of us Undersiders, and—”
“The doll girl,” Jouster said.
Vantage punched him in the shoulder.
“I didn’t know if she was ‘out’, so I didn’t want to say,” I said, feeling lame.
“That’s right,” Vantage said. “That’s how you’re supposed to act.”
The earbud I’d been supplied with buzzed with a woman’s voice. Prism? “They own the building up ahead. Cut the banter and focus on the job.”
A male voice. “Talk us through everything you’re doing, Weaver.”
“Focusing on my bugs,” I said.
“Tap the earbud twice to start the feed,” Tecton said.
I tapped it twice, and it beeped faintly. “Focusing on my bugs. I’ve been collecting them as we moved from the headquarters to this spot, so I have quite a few.”
“Lethal and venomous bugs aren’t allowed, you know that.”
Tying my hands. It was fine. “I didn’t plan on using them anyways. I’m selecting the smallest and most discreet, and sending them out. It’ll take a minute at most, but I’ll be able to track their movements.”
“The Adepts?”
“Everyone. I mean, the area’s dense, but once I have tabs on the Adepts, I’ll have an idea of where the civilians are, too. It means we can keep them out of danger, and we’ll know if anyone runs into the line of fire.”
There was silence on the line in response. Were they talking about me? Discussing the particulars? Hell, was I already breaking rules by violating people’s privacy?
I spoke, hoping that I was interrupting them if they were saying something along those lines. “I have other bugs on the periphery, drawing out cords of silk.”
“Show us. We have a camera in Tecton’s suit.”
Okay, this was getting borderline annoying. Second guessed every step of the way.
My swarm moved in front of Tecton, swirling.
“Image, Weaver,” it was a different man who spoke. The fat one… I couldn’t remember his name. “We need to do something about appearances, here.”
“Appearances?”
“The black, amorphous swarm. It conveys the wrong ideas. It’s disturbing to any onlookers, and if photos of you using your power on any greater scale made the rounds, it could be fodder for some ugly articles. You already face an uphill battle, with your reputation as an ex-supervillain.”
“You’re serious,” I said. I tapped my ear to shut off the channel, looking at the others, “Is he serious?”
“Glenn is always serious,” Clockblocker said. “When I first picked my name, Clockblocker, and announced it in front of a live camera so they couldn’t retract it, they punished me with intensive lessons with Glenn.”
“They do that any time you screw up on the PR front, like swearing on camera,” Hoyden said. “And in the sessions, he talks to you about your hair, about redesigning your costume…”
“How to talk so you command attention,” Vantage said, over-enunciating his words.
“How to hold yourself,” Jouster said, straightening his back, squaring his shoulders and raising his chin a touch.
“We can hear you, you know,” a woman said through the earbud. Rime?
“Maybe we need lessons in decorum,” Glenn’s voice buzzed in our ears.
Hoyden made a pained expression. She glanced at Tecton, then ducked low, avoiding the camera, while she walked around to Tecton’s back. She pushed at his shoulder, urging him to turn around. He rolled his eyes and sighed as he obeyed, and Hoyden prodded him forward until he was standing right in front of a wall.
“I really don’t know what you expect,” I said. “It’s my power.”
“By all reports, you’re a clever girl,” Glenn said “Surely there’s a way to present your power in a less threatening way.”
I opened my mouth, but the sheer number of protests that came to mind all jumbled together. I looked at the Wards, trying to see if I was the butt of a joke.
“Lucky, lucky you,” Clockblocker whispered to me, covering his ear with his hand, “You get his attention right from the start, and I’m willing to bet he’s not going to leave you alone. It almost makes me feel better about the time you crammed those bugs into my mouth and ears.”
Vantage made a face at that.
“So worth the extra shifts I’m pulling this week,” Clockblocker commented to Jouster. “Just to see this.”
“I’m not sure what you want, Glenn,” I said, after tapping my earbud, “I could send my bugs in one at a time. That’s not threatening, right?”
“Your sarcasm isn’t appreciated, Weaver,” Defiant informed me.
“I’m willing to play ball,” I said. “I just want to figure out what the he—heck you want, first. Do you want, like, ladybugs? There’s color there, a nice red cloud. There’s only, um, two hundred and twelve ladybugs in my range. But I could use them. Or… butterflies? There’s more butterflies than ladybugs.”
I accessed the butterflies in my swarm, drawing them to me.
“Tekky,” Hoyden said. “Turn around. They’ll love this.”
“Tecton,” he mumbled, stressing the word. “I hate ‘techy’, ‘tech geek’ and all those names. Just like I hate being the camera guy, the guy who the PRT gets to fix the vans when they want to cut work early…”
I drew the butterflies into formation, a stream of them following after one another.
“I just want you to realize that this is what you’d be asking me to—”
“Yes,” Glenn said, cutting me off. “Excellent! They did say you were smart.”
“You’re serious,” I said.
Clockblocker was laughing silently, his shoulders shaking.
“Serious as cancer,” Hoyden mimicked her superior. “All Glenn cares about is the image, the PR. Up to you to figure out how to hold yourself like a ‘lady’ while you’re dealing with street thugs with guns.”
“You would know, Hoyden,” Glenn said. “I’d hoped something would sink in for you, with you having more meetings with me than anyone has in the past year.”
“Stick to business, please. Where did you get all those butterflies, anyways?” I think it was Rime, on the comms.
“Rooftop gardens,” I said. “There was a whole block with older buildings and a garden on every roof, while we were heading this way. Lots of balcony-mounted flower troughs, too.”
“We’d need to get you a steady supply,” Glenn said. “I wonder how we arrange that.”
“They’re really going to make me the butterfly girl?” I asked.
Clockblocker only laughed harder. I was pretty sure he was faking it, at this point. He couldn’t find it that funny.
“If this is a problem,” Defiant said, the earbud’s digital sound only compounding the faint digital note of Defiant’s voice, “We can cancel the job, take a few days to discuss the tools you need to do the job effectively.”
The worst of both worlds. I’d be backing down, they’d probably argue for this as a way to keep me ‘tame’, and I’d look disobedient.
“No,” I said. “You want me to use butterflies, let’s do that.”
“For real?” H
oyden asked.
I nodded. “We’re picking a fight with the Adepts?”
“This is only a branch,” Prism said, over the comm, “They have three primary properties. They don’t hold territory, so the local gangs leave them be. The idea is to discourage them. Fight only so long as you’re confident you’ll win. Communicate what’s going on, and we’ll step in if need be. With luck, this will be a setback for them, and cause to stop headhunting from our side.”
“Okay,” I said. “Who’s in charge?”
“Me,” Jouster said.
It would be weird to not be the leader, after heading the Undersiders. “You okay with me as recon?”
“Suppose you have to be, if you’re limiting yourself to butterflies,” he said.
“I wasn’t going to limit myself to recon,” I said.
“You’ll tear them to shreds with butterfly bites,” Vantage said. “Do butterflies bite?”
“They don’t have mouthparts that can bite,” I told him. “They have proboscises.”
“So are you like, super smart or something?” Hoyden asked.
“No,” I answered her.
“Don’t get distracted by the new member,” Jouster said.
I noted what my bugs were telling me. “There’s three of them inside. Two men, one woman. The men have groupies with them, I think. In their bedrooms. There might be more, but they don’t have costumes on.”
“They should have numbers on their sleeves. Roman numerals.”
“I can’t really see through the bug’s eyes,” I said. “One second…”
I found the woman, sitting on the couch, a laptop on a coffee table in front of her. The bugs traced her sleeve.
“It’s not embroidered, I can’t sense anything raised, and the bug’s eyes can’t make out the letters. Sorry.”
“Check the surroundings,” Jouster said. “Tools? The group’s practices involve using tools, ritual, rites, chants, and all that crap to try to achieve better control over their abilites.”
“Kind of makes sense,” I said. “Abilities get stronger when you’re in a mental state closer to how you were thinking before your trigger event, so—”
“Wait, what?” Clockblocker cut me off.
“Yeah,” I said. “I triggered while I was in a locker. I’ve been thinking, I get just a little stronger when I feel trapped, or when I despair, or when I feel betrayed. My range extends.”