Warlord

Chapter 8

Private message from AllSeeingEye:

AllSeeingEye: Hey miss anarchist, I believe I owe you some information and a favor. I can send the information over in a file or we could meet up and chat. Your choice.

TT

Foxlet: How did you know?

AllSeeingEye: Thinker, also you really like to rant on your own threads

Foxlet: …

Foxlet: People were being wrong on the internet

Foxlet: Anyway, lets meet up, I don't trust your attachments, and also you're this close to having outed me

AllSeeingEye: We can meet in civvies, and I'll out myself right back

AllSeeingEye: But you already know what we all look like under the mask

AllSeeingEye: 8 pm tonight Vinny's Pizzaria

Foxlet: Fine but I wanna know what your power is, you know too much

AllSeeingEye: See you then G

Ta ta~

The laptop screen in front of me left me very… concerned. On one hand she was being very cooperative, on the other, she basically outed me and demonstrated she can tear into someone enough to break them way too easily. I wasn't a dumb enough bitch not to realize I had a lot of buttons to press and trauma to use against me. Not to mention Taylor. If anyone threatened her to get to me I'd do very unwise things. That girl has been through enough. I'd drop a city on whatever asshole wants to murder her right before she got to start having a decent life.

Not that I could lift a city. Leverage issues.

"Something wrong?" and the girl herself chimed in from across the living room. The gifted laptop still having a dozen tabs with law firms and legal codes and state statues and the BBPD website up. However at the moment it displayed PHO. Flute_girl was looking up info on my time at the bank.

Also I noticed I was pouting. "Yea. Tattletale wants to meet in civvies to spill the beans on the empire."

"That's dangerous, she's a villain."

"Yea but she knows I know what she looks like under the mask and her power is good enough I'm pretty sure she could figure out my identity if she tried." Then a sigh scaped my lips. "Also she was nice to me at the bank."

Wow, Taylor did not approve. "To manipulate you. She's a thinker, with possible mind reading. She's trying to use you."

"Well probably, but I'm using her, and I'm also really manipulative." Ah fuck that was the wrong way to word that. Gritting my teeth and clenching my fists, I tried to not dig myself in deeper. "Remember how I have a disability for peopling well? I tend to navigate around that sometimes by going, I want this person to be happy, and then I say things in ways I'm pretty sure will make them happy. If I want them to realize they're being an asshole then I say things to get them to realize that."

"… that's just conversation."

"No its… normal people don't think about why they're saying things, they just… talk. They rarely say what they actually mean. I have to have goals. Usually explaining a thing, or helping someone but if I don't have a goal then the words don't come out. I'm direct but I basically brute force words into accomplishing things."

Tilting her head she asked a very simple question, "What is your goal right now?"

"Uhm…" Hmm, I put on my thinking face in an exaggerated way that was definitely masking so she could read me. "So I want you to understand how my brain handles conversation because I think messed up and tripped one of your traumas and I want to placate that trauma by giving you every bit of information your brain needs to make you feel safe and secure, and I'm also trying to explain I'm gonna meet Tattletale in civvies and she's gonna give me the locations of every E88 cape, and their other important stuff so I can finally rid the city of its nazi infestation. And maybe I can figure out what her and the Undersider's deal is."

Turning her head back to face her computer screen her eyes went a little unfocused. A long moment passed where I sorta just sat there, not nervously, but nervously. I'd never really been that honest with someone before. It was dangerous, people didn't like being manipulated. Something that frustrated me when I couldn't exactly stop doing it. Not intentionally, I guess when the ADHD jumped the autism I fell into giddy ramblings but that wasn't the same.

"You've been doing that the whole time." Taylor's words yanked me out of my head and back onto her. Her body not giving me much and the swarm not holding any of the feelings which left me really lost. "Every time I put my guard up you'd try and do whatever it took to get me to relax and feel safe."

"Yea… Being on guard all the time sucks, and you didn't seem to have anyone else."

"Thank you." And then she set the laptop down and stood up to her full, taller-than-me, height. "Hug?"

I couldn't get out of my chair fast enough. My arms wrapped around her mid-section and I squeezed. She hugged back nice and tight too which due to us both being inviolable meant that it was just a perfectly normal feeling hug. My body reacted like an immovable object to most, but not to her. "Thanks for being your adorable self, and being my friend and putting up with me being dumb and causing problems."

My eyes leaked salty tears all over her oversized hoodie as I sniffled and, the moment she started rubbing my back, sobbed. More of an ugly cry.

Through my aura I'd noticed Danny in the kitchen listening to us the whole time but he seemed to be pretending he didn't. Thank fuck he had enough tact to not walk in.

At some point we ended up on the couch cuddled up. The teen acting like I wasn't a failure of an adult. Especially by comparison to her. She didn't need god-like powers to pretend to be capable, she just did things.

By the time I calmed down, I just laid limp against her, my small body curled up smaller. My eyes finally found her laptop screen and after a long period of errant thoughts I realized. "You haven't looked up any therapists yet."

"We just started on the lawyers—"

"Yea but your dad is handling that, so you should like get that therapist, because legal stuff is stupid slow and you'll need someone to talk to about stuff other than me. I'm not the best at stuff."

"You're good enough." She whispered.

I pouted. "Tell that to PHO."

Without a word she picked her laptop back up, opened a tab with a search for therapists in the city, and then went back to PHO to comment on one of my threads. 'I think she's just trying her best to be a good person.'

My pout deepened. "You're adorable."

"I'm not the one with a blanket fort full of plushies."

Immediately I pulled out of the hug with a dramatic gasp. "How dare!" Then I summoned a duplicate of one to my arms and hugged that.

A moment later I heard the rarest sound in the world. Taylor Hebert started giggling. Success! Another milestone on my quest to make her life great. Also it was cute as crap. Danny better watch out I might adopt her.

"So where are you meeting Tattletale?"

"Vinny's Pizzeria at eight."

And before that could get a reply Danny swore in the kitchen. The timing made me think he had some deep issue with the place. But he'd been on a phone call. We both peeked up from our places on the couch.

"Dad?"

Storming out of the kitchen he found us staring and ran his hands through his hair. "I found out what happened to the case on the locker. A friend in the mayor's office says they passed it along to the PRT."

"Why would they…" I turned to Taylor. Right cape Taylor was a fucking cape, but the PRT didn't know that. They'd have contacted her at some point. Hell they tried to recruit me the first night.

The bug controller tossed all of her feelings into the swarm. Body still as she stared off into space. "Do they…"

"Something smells rotten." Danny seemed determined. "They only handle cape BS. And since Taylor's not a cape one of the bullies."

Not at all commenting on her own capehood, his daughter added, "The wards are supposed to go to Arcadia. And the only girl old enough to be any of them would be shadow stalker."

From my own constant PHO lurking and research she was definitely the only ward. They weren't nazis, and squealer was too old, and Parian was an adult last time I checked, and also she was the wrong ethnicity. "Maybe one of them is?" I thought back on it and there wasn't anything too weird about them except… Sophia had two cellphones. I brought up the item in my catalogue, I'd given two to Taylor but… Wait a fucking second. "Fuck!"

Both of them stared at me as I ran upstairs and found the phones I'd given Taylor in her room and sure enough one of Sophia's was tinkertech. I unmade it immediately. Then ran back down stairs to find them both standing and waiting for me with questioning looks.

"What was it?" asked Taylor.

"Remember how I'm a dumb bitch?" Fuck this is embarrassing. "And Sophia had two phones?"

Taylor paled. "She's not."

"It's tinker tech. Not obviously, but like I'm 90% sure its wards standard." My own fists clenched as every bug in sight skittered with anger. "PRT covered up your bullying because—"

"It was one of their wards." Not even a trace of emotion made it to her level voice. Her empty eyes staring at me. "What if they track the copy?"

"I deleted it… if they haven't come by now maybe they didn't notice… hopefully. If they do I'll." I grit my teeth.

That stern cold fury had reignited in Mr. Hebert the man somewhere between stunned and bloodthirsty. "They won't get away with this."

"No." I agreed. "They won't." Then taking a deep breath before I did another rash thing and tore down the fucking government agency that covered up their ward's repeated murder attempts. Turning to Taylor I asked, "What do you want to do?"

"They're supposed to be heroes." She sounded so far away.

"Taylor, they're cops, they defend the status quo, not people. It's why I'm…" Glancing at her father, he knew, but still. "It's why I'm an anarchist. The government is inherently corrupt, it's why unions fought wars with the police for worker's rights. It's why they never did anything about the fucking nazi infestation. Why villains routinely escape custody."

With a released breath, my friend's father hesitantly tried to place a hand on her shoulder causing her to flinch. "Kiddo did I ever tell you about how your mom used to fight the cops?"

With a blink of surprise, Taylor pulled herself back into her body just a little. "Mom said she got out before things got violent."

"That's the cover story that kept her out of jail. She was pregnant with you at the time, and when they started cracking down. Millie helped her hide while she took the fall."

Recounting his ramblings about Taylor's mom I tried to parse what the heck he was talking about. Something about Lustrum… wait Lustrum was in Brockton Bay. "Wait is Millie Lustrum? You said they dated!"

"Mom what?!"

"She had a way with the ladies. Your aunt Millie was a…" It almost looked painful for him to say. "-complicated woman. But she loved your mother to bits. All of their girlfriends did."

"What?!"

"Mom had girlfriends? Plural?" She seemed successfully snapped out of earlier so I'd have to say Danny did good. Knew I didn't throttle him for a reason.

Leading her and us back to the couches he started explaining Annette's Lustrum days. Threw in a few anecdotes about the Dockworker union's own run ins with the police which apparently he was in charge of contract negotiation and the defacto union head?! Taylor had the coolest fucking parents.

Still while they chatted the clock ticked by and apparently there weren't enough hours in the day.

I stood up, stretched, and Taylor immediately knew where I was off to. So I threw up my stealth before opening the door (yes Danny saw) and flew off. Just me in the open air without anyone who could perceive me. With a slow flight speed I pondered the whole mess with the PRT. My eyes finding its one story tall logo on the distant building. It'd be so easy to level that whole thing, maybe a minute or two tops.

I was so fucking powerful and somehow I could barely leverage it. Hell that's why I wanted the reputation. Something that I had and was a somewhat useful so far if only to make people not even try to attack me. Bare minimum, but it worked. I could probably walk up to and into the Rig and they'd just posture and tell me to leave/am under arrest but only follow through with a token effort.

Doubling back after accidently flying past I landed in an alleyway near the place and then walked on in. My aura drank in the restaurant. Tight, low lighting, not the best sanitation (but I fixed that up for free which caused a few folks to do a double take), and not at all a big restaurant chain.

Before reaching the hostess a blonde girl waved from a booth in the back. Something that took me a second to double check was for me and not for someone else. My aura didn't reach that far and I relied on it for identifying people a lot more than my eyes.

Still it was her and I sat down in the booth opposite her and found some water waiting for me. "I'm Lisa nice to meet you." Wow after so much time with Taylor it was weird to hang out with someone closer to my height.

"Uhm…" Right, I'm in civvies, and I gotta use my chosen name. "I'm Aster."

The waitress came and Lisa somehow knew I liked meat lovers and ordered it with zero input. The waitress walked off and she pulled out a manilla folder. "As promised, and there's also a usb with video files and audio recordings."

"Thanks." and I pretended to stow it before scanning it with my power to duplicate and unmaking it.

"No, thank you. You saved my life from Glory Hole's incompetence." A moment later her expression stretched into a rather vulpine grin that left me imagining her with fox ears and a tail. That got me imagining myself with fox ears and a tail and suddenly I needed to go find a fox for gender reasons. Either way apparently I got good vibes from her because of her fox-like nature. "But you have a habit of saving the lives of teenage girls, don't you?"

For a second I almost missed the part where she paused her line for me to go off on the brain tangent and then continued the second I started paying attention again. Thinkers. Also that was a clear jab at Taylor, and I did not need that button pushed. "Maybe." My voice only carrying a hint of malice. "and if they get threatened I tend to not take it very well."

"I promise not to touch her. I don't even know her name." She'd held her hands up like I had a gun. Heck she probably knew my power- "Yes I know you could kill me with a thought, I'm still here aren't I?"

"Because you want something." A frown formed on my face. "It's been a long day, I'm fucking pissed, and I don't like dancing around things. Say it."

The fox girl deflated, muttering, "takes all the fun out of it." and then continued more normal and not fake cheery like before. "Anyway, I got recruited at gunpoint by a crime lord to run a cape team for him, and I've tried to run but he always finds out. Luckily, you have that fancy make you invincible crap, and while I'm near you I'm untouchable. That was the safest I've been in a long time. I want you to keep doing it until we find the guy who's threatening me and take him out."

"And the PRT can't help because they're corrupt, incompetent, or both?" It seemed to be a running theme around here.

"Both. So can I go back to not having to look over my shoulder all day every day for the rest of my life? Pretty please?" Fuck she nailed that cute begging look. Too many adorable teens that needed a big sis.

Lowering my head to bap the table, I groaned. I'd made her inviolable before she'd even finished. "Fiiiine, but you're gonna have to track him down because I'm a dumb bitch, and you're gonna have to get real good with keeping my secrets, and you gotta stop doing that whole tearing people apart with words thing unless they're real bastards… speaking of which I know way to many of those."

"Deal." And she held out her hand which I shook because reasons.

The pizza arrived and I lowered my sound filter so it wouldn't look odd, while we dug in. She only had a little bit, but I ate like half the large and then waited for the to go box.

Then I looked at her typing away on her phone and realized she had traceable tech. Also I still didn't know what the heck her power was. "What's your power?"

"Super powered guessing." She didn't even look up from the text to someone called Brian. "Give me a few bread crumbs and I can piece together anything. Like for instance that your aura lets you perceive under people's masks, and you already knew what all of us looked like." And then she set the phone down and stared at me with the most serious expression ever. "So tell me, is Circus a guy or a girl?"

"Can't your power guess?" Still I thought about it and realized that Circus's presentation was contrary to their genitals. Probably Trans like me. Heck maybe gender fluid or non-binary. "I don't know. Gender identity doesn't always equal body parts."

"Oh… oh! Fuck, wow that was- sorry." And she probably figured out I was trans. "I did."

I sighed as I got up with the togo box, thankfully she paid for the food. "Don't out people. Don't ask me to out people. Maybe read up on stuff."

"Will do, now I need to grab my stuff from my place."

I stared at her as she led the way outside. "You're manipulating me."

"Yup! Now come on big sis." and her hand grabbed mine and dragged me out to an alleyway.

An alleyway where I turned us invisible, stowed the pizza in my power, and then she practically leapt into the bridal carry and gave me a wink which she knew I could see despite not looking at her. I sighed. "Tell me where."

And she did. We arrived at what I could only assume was the Undersider's base. I put my cape gear on and invisibly followed her in. A boy on the couch looked over and only saw the door opening and closing… wait. "He can detect us can't he."

"Yup! But he can't affect us." She turned back to smirk at me. "Your power is the best."

Despite the transparent manipulation I blushed. "So uh…"

"Drop the stealth." A moment later she gave him a friendly wave. "Hey, I'm here to say I quit and get my things."

"Sure whatever. Unmask us to the scary nazi killer." He sat back down on the couch and continued playing his game. "Also thanks for earlier, scary lady. Think you can kill my dad?"

"Is he a nazi?" That was my go to murder thing. My other standards for murder were, "Or as bad as slaughter house 9?"

"Yea. He's heartbreaker." Oh fuck, that definitely put him in killable range. Wait… he was heartbreaker's son?

Lisa dragged me upstairs because apparently she knew the range limit on my aura. Still from the balcony overlooking the main area I told him. "I'll put him on top of the list, along with fucking Kaiser, and the endbringers. Though they all keep hiding, fucking Ziz."

He glanced up. "Little miss hope killer is hiding from you?"

"Yea I've flown around the earth like six times looking for her in orbit, and she's hiding. Precogs. I'm hoping the other two aren't as scared." If they ran away too I'd be pretty mad. I could fly at relativistic speeds and I still couldn't catch her.

"Yes yes, you're terrifying, now story my stuff in your power." In the time I'd spent chatting with, I assumed, regent, she'd managed to make a pile of all her things.

I noticed the laptops and phones. "No tech, I don't what your spooky boss finding me. Since apparently you'll be living with me."

"Store it separate? I have stuff on those I might need later." With an exertion of will her stuff vanished into my catalogue of stuff. "Perfect."

And with that we said bye to her teammate and left. Somehow I knew this would come back to bite me in the ass but whatever. "you know if you're double crossing me…"

"I'm not." And then she sighed. "I'll tell you the full story when we get to your place. Since you need that to fully trust me. Deal?"

"Deal."