"And one of the bad things that could happen is exposing our operation too early. Because many would want what we have. And people are egoistic and stupid. So you understand why I can't let you leave this room alive. But if you're an actual time traveler, and if you mean what you say, I guess you deserve a chance to do better than we did." She sounded almost hesitant, which was very out of her usual sure-of-herself character. It was freaking me out. Guess she wasn't the only one experiencing a dissonance today.
"You can't talk to any of us, ever, because, yes, you're an anomaly, for a Thinker power. It's an offense, an attack. I can't stand sitting here, opposite of you. I suspect Contessa couldn't path you, and Eidolon saw you as a direct or indirect threat, depending on what power he looked at you with. You can't meet any of us. We will kill you, or we will try.
"No, I think you should talk to Legend. And you should tell him not only about Eidolon, but about all the other things we did, assuming you know everything else?", I nodded. "We've kept him in the dark because we needed our face to be clean while our hands are deep in blood. He probably suspects some things, but he's not sure and he partially trusts us to do the right thing. You need to tell him everything, and you need to shut us down. Quietly. Without destroying the PRT and the Protectorate. I have no idea how you'd do it. And then you should deal with the big threat, as you called him, to make everything we did not be for nothing.
"Did you know you've already ruined one of our central plans? Project Terminus." She paused.
I did what, I thought? I recruited, part-time, Panacea, Stalker, the Undersiders. And ....
"Coil? You've actually had plans for this fucker?", I asked.
"Yes, he was supposed to prove that Parahumans could form feudalistic societies. And you just de-powered him? Panacea?"
"Correct. You see, I killed Coil in my past life, and I kind of took his place. I ruled this city until I turned myself in to save the world. And then you came and started messing with me", I supplied.
"This plan was to learn how humanity would survive after the final fight is lost, without governments, with Capes leading them."
"You see, that's the problem, you stopped believing victory was possible. You prepared to lose. That's how you lose for real."
"We have plans to fight, but we don't know if any of them will be enough, you're right. How did you beat him?", she asked.
"You know, for one who doesn't believe a word I'm saying, you're very curious about what I've got to say. But, in case you manage to kill me after all, I will tell you. Was that your plan? For me to tell you more? It doesn't matter. I Mastered everybody, and I've bullied Scion with the body of his dead partner into a nervous breakdown, sort of, and then we found the powers combination that finished him off. It was never a single power, it was precise, orchestrated teamwork. Something you idiots never learned to do and have never even tried."
She thought about it and nodded. And then she moved. One moment she was relaxing on the guest chair, the next, her fist was approaching my face at a nearly sonic speed. I barely managed to Reload. Fuck, that was close, I got careless. I knew she could accelerate, I saw her do it in fights. I was stupid and overconfident, again.
But it was also satisfying to talk to her as an equal, tell her all these things. Her final advice made sense, she seemed sincere when she gave it, and I now had what looked like a beginning of a new plan.
I updated Dad and Lisa about our great talk to Alexandria. Dad hugged me.
I felt… conflicted. I got used to hating the bitch, and with her trying to kill me, I had little reason to change my mind, but her advice sounded sincere. If I didn't know her, I would think she was regretting the path she took in life. Nonsense.
Was she leading me to a trap? If she didn't believe me, she was sure to kill all of us right there. If she did, though?
Anyway, I didn't think Legend would start shooting at us right away; he wasn't the type. So, I decided I didn't have much to lose, and the risk was acceptable.
As usual, I set up a new Save point, called Amy, and asked her to send an email to Legend this time, stating that her Thinker friend had critical information about Endbringers with sensitive connotations and could we meet in a park. I saw bigger than zero chances of this timeline doing somewhat better than the others, so I took the minimal measures to somewhat conceal our activities from the neighbors.
Legend agreed to meet just after dark. I was very impressed with Amy's reputation, allowing her to meet any member of the Triumvirate on such a short notice. Of course, the subject of the discussion was helping too.
Dad, Lisa, and I all suited up and rode there in silence, probably all processing what Alexandria had said. Amy was meeting us there; she insisted after I hinted on the phone what we were about to talk about.
Legend arrived 30 seconds before the agreed time, without much fanfare or light shows.
"Panacea", he greeted, and looked questionably at the rest of us.
"Legend", I said, "this is Tattletale, um, the ... Unioner, and I'm the Boss."
"The Unioner?", Dad asked. I shrugged. How did I not think of a name for Dad yet? It didn't matter now.
"I've asked Panacea to arrange a meeting as I have a rather explosive subject to raise with you." I turned back to Legend and directed us to a pair of benches put at a right angle to each other. Amy and Legend took one, the rest of us the other, me in the center, Dad to my right, and Lisa on my left.
Legend looked at Amy and asked, "How's your sister? Parents? The rest of the family?"
"Same same, thanks, Legend." She replied.
"What I'm about to tell you is going to be hard to swallow, I'm afraid, but it was Alexandria's advice, and she seemed sincere when she gave it. Just before she tried to kill me, so she had little reason to lie, but I digress." I started.
"Kill you? Alexandria? Why? You look fine. Panacea?" He started guessing. I made a timeout sign.
"Let's start from the beginning, sorry. I'm a time traveler. I've been to the end of the world in two and a half years from now. I know a lot of things, and I'm trying to make things better this time. More specifically, my immediate goal is to prevent the next and all the following Endbringers attacks. My power allows me to go back in time if things go badly. For this matter, I've met Contessa and the Number Man..."
"Am I supposed to know who's Contessa?" He stopped me. He didn't know her? How? At least he didn't ask about the Number Man.
"Um, aren't you a part of their organization?" I asked. What was I missing?
Legend startled, looked at Amy, at Lisa, and then at me again. "What makes you think that?"
"Look, I'm from the future; things blew up, everybody knew about Caul... the organization I don't want to name, in the end, and I've already met all the other assholes, so can we cut the crap and focus here? My next meetings are with Nilbog and Jack Slash, if you don't cooperate."
"Nilbog, Jack ... why? OK, I'm with you. But still, who's Contessa?"
"Suit, fedora? Doctor's shadow? Rings a bell?"
"Oh, her, I was never introduced. She's just her bodyguard, isn't she?", he said, confused.
"I'm starting to see how you've missed all the other shit they did. She's some sort of a combat Thinker, she never loses. I think she's the scariest bitch in your little cabal, actually. Anyhow, she took one look at me, listened to what I had to say, and started shooting. Eidolon - same shit. Becky at least was patient enough to explain what bothered her about me before she attacked. Are you going to attack me too, or listen?"
"What exactly did they do that I missed?", he looked like he didn't really want to hear the answer.
"I'll get there. First, the guy who made the Endbringers. Probably didn't do it on purpose, but his power and/or his subconscious did. Your pal, Eidolon."
"What?", he got up from the bench. I prepared to Reload, but he just started pacing back and forth.
"Disable his power or the guy, his toys go dormant. He died in the future, and the Endbringers just stopped. We even convinced them to help against the real threat to the world. Not talking about that now, or it might attack right away. Not our immediate problem", I continued.
He stopped, looked at me, at Dad and Lisa, who shrugged, then at Amy, "Is your friend serious?"
"Afraid so. She knows things nobody does. I'd listen to her", Amy supplied.
"Yeah, sorry about the bad news, but the worst is yet to come", I said. "When I tried making this Lexi's problem, she said she's divided between not believing a word I said and humoring me. So she gave me advice in case I was really a time traveler, and then tried to kill me in case I was not. I've Reloaded of course, so it never happened for her, or Contessa and Eidolon. In this timeline, only the people I trust and you are in the know.
"So, her advice was to talk to you and also tell you about everything else they've been doing behind your back. And, let's see, they make and sell powers, that part you probably know. You got yours from them too, right?", he reluctantly nodded. "Do you happen to know how they test their formulae?"
"The Doctor keeps saying the Number Man can calculate the odds?", he said, unsure of himself.
"Maybe, but not well enough. Heard of Case 53s? These are the miscalculations. And besides the ones they drop into the world without memories, they also keep a large bunch on premises, as a stink bomb against the big threat, and also as a possible cannon fodder for the final fight. Good intentions, sure, but zero morals". He was just staring at me.
"I had some suspicions, but they assured me ... Reb.. Alexandria assured me. I trusted her. She knows too?"
"Of course she knows. The bitch knows everything."
"They said Manton was traveling the world and making experiments with a stolen stash of vials..."
"Nah, he's too busy being the Siberian operator", I supplied.
"What? How? My god...", he sat back on the bench and took his head in his hands.
"Look, I was told I'm being intense sometimes. Maybe I overdid it again? I will make you the same offer I gave the … Union Man? Unioneer here..."
"Unioner", Dad corrected me.
"Right, if this is too much, I can Reload and look for another solution. I didn't mean to get you a heart attack or something. Right, we have Amy here just in case..."
"You mean, you can Reload and I will not know any of this?", he looked up, somewhat hopeful.
"Exactly. If you're not up to it or don't want to know, no biggy, just need to figure out how to take out Eidolon and then we have 2 years plus to figure the rest out.", I said.
"No, no, what kind of hero would I be?", he looked like he was convincing himself. I wasn't sure of what.
"The usual kind, photogenic, good with kids, useless when things get dirty", I wasn't helping him. Maybe I was too harsh. But the guy was acting somewhat like a douche right now.
"No. You're right. I'm staying. Alexandria told you to tell me all this?", it looked like the hero part of him convinced the douche part. Was he staying because Alexandria suggested it? Even now?
"Yep, right before trying to crater me, us. Becky said something along the lines that they kept you in the dark to keep the face clean, while their hands are deep in blood. I bet she chose her costume color so the blood doesn't show, the bitch."
"You know even that?", he said, shocked. What did I know, exactly? Whatever.
"As I said, I know a lot of shit. Now, the question is what are we doing about Eidolon? We have till February the 20th, let's say. The next attack is a few days after, in Canberra. I prefer not to add another quarantined city after Simmy attacks. So, ideas?"
"I can confront him, I'm sure he would want to help...", he said. He didn't seem to believe himself, though.
"Maybe you will have better luck. When we tried, he decided I'm attacking him. Or his Thinker power did, so he threw a table and I Reloaded. But the idea I had then was, maybe you can get Eidolon into therapy? Like, can you order him? You're his boss, right?"
He seemed to consider it. "You know, it might be a great idea. And, I even know who I will ask to see him."
"Yamada?", I asked.
"Of course you know Yamada too", he said, defeatedly.
"Look, I think it's a long shot, but we have 3 weeks to try. Think up a reason, get him into therapy, let's see where it gets us. If nothing changes, we need to think of a more drastic solution, though, I hope you understand?" he nodded.
"I ... thank you for telling me and I... I'm in shock. This is so ...", he trailed off.
"Like your best friends stabbed you in the back?", I helped. He nodded. "Except they did it for years. But if it helps, I don't think they're evil. Like you, they meant to do good. They just made too many compromises. I think Becky understands this. That's why she gave me that advice."
He nodded and got up, "Thank you. I will go arrange some therapy marathon for all the Protectorate leaders, I think. I don't see another way to make it not as obvious. I can't separate him out."
"Do that, and maybe don't otherwise confront him or your other ... friends... until we have a more clear plan. Let's not get distracted before we eliminate the Endbringers problem."
"About that, could I ask the help of your power for me to try and confront them, after that? I want to try, but I don't know how it will go", he asked.
"We can definitely try that, maybe get you a camera or something so I know what happens at the meeting, because you won't. And if they kill you and I Reload, you'd need to know what to do differently."
"Right. Food for thought. Thank you again. And sorry for my reaction. It was ... still is a shock", he said. He looked older by a few years compared to when he arrived.
"No problem, take care. Ah, and before I forget, if you ever do a pep talk to a large group of capes before a big fight, maybe don't tell them how many of them will die? Just a friendly advice", I said, remembering his pre-Leviathan speech.
He nodded, didn't ask for details, we exchanged phone numbers, then he lifted off and disappeared into the dark skies. I turned to Lisa, "What do you think?"
"I don't think he will sell us out, but I don't think he has the balls to do much against the ...organization either. I would keep this timeline and see what happens for a few days. Maybe don't talk to Nilbog and Jack Slash till we get an update from Legend or otherwise?", she advised.
"Yeah, I got the same feeling. Dad?"
"Unioner? That's all I am?"
"Sorry. We never came up with a name for you. Why didn't you raise it?"
"I'm not the experienced cape in the house."
"Fair. So, think of something. I don't think Legend will care if we change it later. I suspect he's too in shock to notice."
"Amy, want a ride?", I asked the silent biokinetic.
We kept brainstorming Dad's Cape name all the way back. We haven't reached a consensus.
AN: In Lexi's canon interlude when they meet the first time, she sarcastically says "it's easier to get the blood out" about her black costume, which made an impression on Legend. Taylor hits that nail by mistake and freaks Legend out even more than he already was.
Was I too harsh on Legend? The guy sometimes seems a bit spineless to me, overall, considering his position, at least. Am I off-base?Last edited: Jan 25, 2026189alkostDec 27, 2025NewView discussionThreadmarksChapter 18 - The Vacation, Episode 1: The Stranger ThingsNew View contentalkostDec 29, 2025#266As I wanted to give Legend a chance on the one hand, but wasn't ready to trust him 100% on the other, I decided not to make any new Save points for as long as I could. If this turned out a waste of time, I would Reload back to before our talk and start over. Which led me to a big dilemma: what was I to do with myself for up to 3 weeks, or till Legend fucked up?
I didn't go to school; I passed my GED and I had no plans to go to college till after we'd have dealt with Scion. I didn't want to mess with the local gangs to avoid changing the 'natural' history and bringing Simi to our home instead of Australia, before Legend had a chance to do something about it. And I couldn't deal with any other serious threats without the ability to Reload and retry stuff.
So, after some thought, I convinced Dad that now was the best time to take a vacation. The last time we did so as a family was when there were still the three of us, and we went to New York City. I went to the summer camp just before Emma … went bad, but that wasn't the same. Now we were loaded, Dad'd accumulated years of unused vacation days, and we had about 3 weeks to kill.
And so, after a couple of days, I called the rest of our gang, updated them on the progress with Legend and on our plan, made sure nobody was counting on our presence and that everyone had our cell numbers. Bitch commented that it could have been an email. Which was a nice progress and meant she could maybe read an email now. Or maybe somebody showed her how to use text-to-speech.
Otherwise, nobody objected.
We decided on a road trip since we could travel armed in case something came up on the way and we weren't in a hurry. We bought a second-hand SUV with cash, loaded it up with a few days of supplies, our costumes, and weapons, and got ready to go. We were bringing the food bags from the fridge as the last thing to pack when I noticed a girl standing by our new car, holding a large backpack, compared to her miniature size.
"Hello, Dinah, what are you doing here?", I asked. I was hoping she'd not come up with some new set of instructions for me. It was annoying enough the last time, and by removing Coil long before he could kidnap her, I was perfectly happy to not cross paths with her for as long as possible. Besides, wasn't I a nightmare for Thinkers and especially Precogs?
Dinah was indeed freaked out a bit, but she looked me in the eye and asked, "You know who I am?"
"I am, but you haven't answered me. I am off for vacation, please don't waste my time."
"I don't know who you are, but I … was told to be here now."
"Was told by whom? Can you tell me?"
She just shook her head. I looked around; it was almost noon, with no neighbors in sight to overhear.
"Your power told you?", I asked, resigned.
Her eyes dilated. "But I haven't told anybody about my power…"
"Yeah, it was a good strategy till you decided to show up here. So, what exactly are you doing here? The power told you to show up and…?"
"I don't know!" She was almost crying now. "I got a really bad headache when I tried to ask. I was hoping it would become obvious when I am here. I don't know you, or you", she looked at Dad.
"Inside", I said, and led us back home.
"Did you ask many questions today already or can you do a few more now?", I asked once we were seated and I got Dinah a glass of water.
"I asked 3 questions so far. In the morning, first, it said 97.383% chance that billions die in the next 2 years if I don't show up here today. Then I was told there was a 78.45% chance the clothes on me will be too stinky to wear, so I packed some with me. Then I tried to figure out who you are and got the worst headache of my life. Who are you, people, and what's happening? Please?", she had tears in her eyes.
I sighed and looked at Dad, who was just listening and not saying much. He raised an eyebrow.
"Alright, I am Taylor, this is Danny, my Dad, and we're about to leave for a vacation. Don't ask your power more questions and I will try not to do it by accident. Dad, this is Dinah, she's probably still coming to terms with her new power?", she nodded. "Which gives her percentages of success or failure for the things she asks?", she nodded again. "She can answer only a limited number of questions a day. So, don't form a sentence like a question that can be answered with chance percentages and we should be fine, right?"
"Pretty much, thank you!", Dinah was calming down.
"Let's think about it. I am assuming this whole deal wasn't about us returning you home to your parents, so I am not proposing that." She nodded. "So, either you're supposed to come with us, or we're supposed to stay and do something about whatever it is we're supposed to be doing. Dad, what do you think? Any other options here? Before we waste questions?"
Dad scratched his head. "I am way out of my depth here. I am assuming you know how her power works the best out of the three of us. But, if she's coming too, we need to figure out what to tell her parents, or we become her kidnappers in a few hours."
Dad was on the ball as usual.
"OK, Dinah, can you check with your power whether you're supposed to come with us?"
She closed her eyes and thought for a second, "Yes, the numbers are the same if I don't come with you. Where are you going?"
"We actually haven't thought that far ahead yet. I was thinking South, maybe Florida if we get that far. Never been to Disney World", I said.
Her eyes lit up, "Can I come with, please, I have $212 with me!"
"Yeah, if we just pack you in and go, I think we will get as far as the first state trooper, and then we end up in jail for kidnapping you."
"87.62% chance we arrive in Florida alive and well and the police doesn't stop us even once", she said, smug. Right, Thinkers were a nightmare to argue with.
"Stop wasting questions!", I told her, she shrunk a bit, but didn't look very sorry.
"Do you have a cellphone? You're calling your parents now and convincing them it's a good idea, and you will be calling them every day at least twice. I don't know what you tell them, use your power or whatever. Or tell the truth,… nah, probably a bad idea. Figure it out. You have 10 minutes. And make sure they talk to Dad, I want to be sure we are not hunted by the police before we leave."
Then I looked at Dad and figured out what I was forgetting. "Uhm, right, Dad, do you mind if Dinah joins us? Not exactly a family vacation, but…"
Dinah was now talking on her phone, hopefully to her parents and not to an empty line to get me off her back. It sounded genuine. Dad and I got up and went to the kitchen.
"I am going to take a wild guess here, is she the girl Coil was going to kidnap?", Dad asked.
"Very good! Are you sure you're not a Thinker?", I was impressed with the insight, "she's world-class Precog, her predictions were spot-on, though annoying. She made me turn myself in, kind of."
"So, we don't really have much of a choice here? I am guessing the billions dead thing is the end of the world you're preventing?", Dad wasn't really asking.
"Pretty much. I just don't want to end up in jail again. I am not setting up new Save points till we're back. Please remind me, before I do something dangerous", I smiled.
"Yeah, I am sure it's going to stop you", he said deadpan and we went back to the living room.
Dinah looked up, "yeah, here they are, Mom, hey, Mr. Danny, can you talk to my Mom a bit? I explained that my friend Taylor has invited me to come with you for a vacation and I forgot to tell my parents about it", she made a pleading gesture with her hands.
Dad looked at me. I shrugged. He picked up the phone. "Hello, Danny Hebert is speaking… yes, from the Dockworkers Association …. oh, you're Roy's sister?…Great, please send him my regards….I was as surprised as you are. Apparently, the kids decided about this all on their own and then remembered to inform us today … yeah, first time with mine too. She's usually more responsible… I don't mind much. We have a big car. Sure, I will make sure she calls and I guess Taylor and Dinah will share rooms in the hotels... Sure, I will write down the expense and will send you later. It's not a problem...Yes, I will make sure she does her school assignments too", he raised his brow at Dinah, who was holding a couple of books she took out of her backpack before he started asking. Fucking Precogs.
Eventually, he gave his number to Dinah's mom, wrote down hers, and we were off, after I went to the basement and took an extra load of weapons and our radios.
We picked up pizzas on the way out of town and stopped at a picnic area to have a quick lunch. When we opened the upper box, we discovered there was one slice missing. Same in the second box.
"Oh, did the cook take the 2 slices out?", Dinah asked. "That's disgusting."
"I've checked. All was fine when they gave them to me", Dad said, puzzled as well.
"Where the pizzas on the back seat beside you, Dinah?", I asked.
"Yes, but I haven't touched them. I swear", she thought I was accusing her.
"Hey, it's fine, I think I know what's happened and I know it wasn't you", I said, taking a slice, inviting the others to do the same. I looked around, ensuring we were alone in the area. "I am going to teach you to use your power to figure such things out. Do you know about powers' classification?"
Dinah finished chewing and said, "Sort of, there are Thinkers, Tinkers, Changers, Blasters, Masters…, I don't remember them all."
"OK, do you remember how the powers that allow the person to infiltrate or hide are called?"
"Strangers?"
"Very good, like the Nice Guy was, from Slaughterhouse Nine. So, could a Stranger steal a slice of pizza right under our nose?"
"You think there's a Stranger that stole our pizza?" Dinah asked.
"Pretty sure. And I even know her name. What I want you to do, if you're up to it and have some questions left, is to think how you can use your power to catch her. Without saying anything, because she's sitting right here at the table, eating another slice and probably laughing her pants off. I counted the slices and there's another one missing already", I said smiling.
"You're both pulling my leg, aren't you?" Dad said.
Dinah closed her eyes, then opened them, took a plastic fork from the table, and suddenly stubbed it into the table just beside the pizza box.
"Ouch, mother f... what the… it's just pizza!", Aisha said, appearing at the table, rubbing her hand.
"Very good, Dinah, you're learning. Hello Aisha", I said, "Dad, Dinah, meet Aisha the Stranger with no restraint or patience. She could've waited till we got here and just eaten with us, and nobody would have known she's here for a little while longer, probably."
"But how did you figure me out? People just forget me or don't see me!", she cried, blowing at her hand.
"Story for another time. Since when were you listening? When did you get into the car?"
"I followed Bro to your house last time he was there, after I figured he was in a new gang, so I knew you were going today. I figured, I will come with and nobody will notice."
"Great plan, I am calling your brother to come pick you up", I said and deleted the smirk from her face.
"Uhm, Taylor, my power says if she doesn't come with us, people still die, almost the same numbers again", Dinah said. Aisha's smirk was back.
"That's just great. Can you ask your power whether more people are coming and do we need a bus?", I asked sarcastically.
She closed her eyes, "No, that's it, this car is fine, and my head hurts now, though", guess Dinah didn't catch my sarcasm. Oops.
I took out my phone and dialed Brian, "Hi, in case you're looking for your sister, apparently she sneaked up to go with us on vacation using her new Stranger power."
"What do you mean, Aisha has powers?", Brian screamed into the phone.
At the same time Aisha screamed, "Not cool! Nobody knows! How can you out me like that?!?"
"Well, Aisha, you should have thought better before sneaking up on us, and Brian, yes she does, and she's even more of a pain in the ass now than she was before. Still want to adopt her? Anyhow, we're too far out to come back already", I lied, "and we don't mind the company, so we'll be back in a couple of weeks or so?"
Brian made the noises of a worried big brother, but I wasn't really asking his permission at this point. He made me promise to make Aisha call him every day.
After we finished the pizza and were back in the car, I said, "Well Dad, welcome to the Cape life. Ready for the vacation? Looks like it's just the 4 of us, saving billions of people. No pressure."
AN: New mini-arc, new click-bait title.
I was too lazy to double-check this, but Google AI claims Dinah triggers sometime in January and then misses a few weeks of school. Which made this a too-perfect coincidence to pass up.
Aisha originally triggered after Leviathan, but since we're changing history, and she's too great a character, I decided that removing Coil butterflied things enough to speed things up for her. Let's say the Empire was less busy fighting ABB without Coil stirring the pot, so she got attacked earlier and triggered. Not going into the details. Not important for the plot.
Friendly, advice for the more serious authors, don't trust AI for serious research. While it's mostly correct, when I asked Google more questions about who Dinah knew or didn't, it mentioned as a side note that she "was kidnapped by Coil, real name Roy Christner" (who's actually the mayor and her uncle), so...
And a question for the US East Coast dwellers, if we have any here, I saw that driving from Boston area to Orlando is about 20 hours total, so it could be a family roadtrip for a few days each way, plus a week or so there. Is it something people do? Or would do on Earth Bet, you think? Or would they just fly? I mean, does the idea of driving 1.5k miles each way survive the suspense of disbelief here? If not, tough luck, they're going on the roadtrip, the fate of the world depends on it.Last edited: Jan 27, 2026179alkostDec 29, 2025NewView discussionThreadmarksChapter 19 - The Vacation, Episode 2: The Detour NewView contentalkostDec 31, 2025#279As Dad drove us South, I brought both Dinah and Aisha to speed about my power and goals. I figured that if we survived this vacation or whatever it turned out to be, they were on the team already. And if either us or Legend fucked up, I would Reload and start over, already knowing what this trip was about and maybe being more ready for it.
I explained to Aisha that her power worked great and I couldn't remember her, just like everybody else. But I remembered my old teammate Imp that had the same power, so when I saw something odd, I recalled her. Which probably was enough for my mind to overcome her Stranger effect. I wasn't sure why it worked like that, but it did. Free horses with teeth and all that jazz.
I also had my suspicions about what, or who we'd be meeting on this trip, but I hadn't shared them with the others. No point in freaking them out too early, we weren't looking for trouble and when it happens, it happens. Besides, if my suspicion were true, I wanted to prevent any parahumans from thinking about it. Since I wasn't one, I had the advantage I wanted to keep for as long as possible.
We played the road games, and we told each other stories. I wasn't sharing too much of the future to not scar our new young members. The girls were about the same age and had some common interests too, so they chatted between themselves a lot. I also made Aisha at least try to do the same school assignments Dinah had. Naturally, Aisha didn't pack any books, but she did have some clothes. No costume, though.
We stopped at motels in the evenings and used 2 rooms: a triple one for us, the girls, and a single for Dad.
We stayed out of the bigger cities to avoid traffic and cape fights; we had enough of these at home. We stopped at the local attractions here and there.
On the 3rd day, we were passing through some small town in one of the Carolinas. I wasn't sure which. The broken sign we just passed only had the "...ville" part intact and the population number in the hundreds.
Just after the 30 miles speed limit sign, I felt it, before I heard it. The sound I was dreading, but expecting for the last 3 days. I pulled the hand-brake with my left hand, grabbed Dad's glasses with my right, shouted "Get down now!", pulled my own glasses off and bent down, all in under a second. I was hoping it was enough of a warning for the girls in the back. At least they didn't have glasses.
The car jerked to a stop, while its windows violently blew up. I waited till Shatterbird stopped singing, then undid my safety belt and looked around.
"Sound off, who's alive?", I asked.
Dad looked up, some blood coming out of his scalp, but he looked mostly intact.
"What the fuck was that?", Aisha asked.
"Shatterbird", Dinah replied.
"I take it everybody's alive, out of the car and run to the forest on the left side. Meet you there. Dinah, don't waste questions, we're going to need them all, now!", I commanded.
The tree line was just about a hundred feet from the road, so we met there and I took stock. Just some minor cuts, nothing serious. Then I observed the surroundings for threats. I saw nobody, not people, not the Nine. Guess they were in the town proper. Or, my poor eyesight just wasn't good enough to spot anybody.
"Can anybody see anybody from the Nine?", I asked. Nobody could.
Dad and I went back to the car and retrieved our first aid supplies, costumes, weapons, and plastic water bottles. We left the rest in the car, including the now useless broken phones. We did take our SIM cards with us.
We equipped ourselves under the trees and put on some plasters. I gave knives to both Aisha and Dinah.
"Alright people, as you might've noticed, we're going against the Nine", I started the briefing.
"We do?", Aisha and Dad asked at the same time. Dinah was silent.
"Of course, why did you think I'd let you all come after Dinah's explicit predictions? Alright, Dinah, chances that the Nine find you here?"
"3.78%"
"Great, it means this is our staging area and you are guarding it", she nodded.
"You knew this would happen? Why didn't you tell us?", Aisha asked.
"Would you enjoy this vacation till now if I did? Now, Dad and I are going after Jack. He never loses against Parahumans, but we aren't ones. Dinah, you're not Thinking about Jack at any circumstances."
"Taylor, remember how you asked me to remind you that you're not Reloading for a few weeks and that I should stop you from taking risks?", Dad inquired. I was hoping he'd forgotten.
"Yeah, I meant, with the police and stuff. This is just the Nine. We'll be fine. Dinah predicted we all get to Florida safely. No, Dinah, don't recheck the numbers now!
"Anyhow, the next part of my grand plan was always taking out Jack. He's the catalyst of the event Dinah predicts. She did in my past life too. So I'm not surprised. It's just a bit earlier than expected. Also, yes, I'd prefer the Save and Reload crutch. But I figured there's no too much harm in checking things out now, learning the details, and giving it a try. And if or when things go badly, I will Reload and next time we're coming more ready. OK?", I asked. Dad shrugged and shook his head.
"Aisha, you're going to take out Siberian", I continued.
"Are you insane?", she shouted.
"Shh! Don't make noise! It's a projection, you're to avoid it. You're going after its Master. He'd not expect it. Nobody knows it's him except for him and us, now. Once you enable your power, nobody will know you're there. Under no circumstances are you to disable your power till you're back here. You're looking for an intact pedo-van that's probably just getting into town. Inside there's a man with tattoos on his hands, one of them looks like a "C" letter. You're going to cut his throat. It must be an immediate death, else Siberian will appear there, make him invincible, and Bonesaw might save him later. With me?"
"Fuck, why did I come to this trip?", she grumbled.
"Well, let this be a lesson. But right now, think of all the reward money you will be getting for this", I encouraged her.
"Well, if you put it like that…", she conceded.
"Besides, in my time you tried to stab Bonesaw in the eye, in their hideout. I know you're ballsy enough for this. It didn't do more than inconvenience her, so don't try it now. Focus on the Siberian's Master, then come back here. Watch out for traps and don't try to harm anybody else from the Nine. And stay away from their power nullifier, the big guy with the big axe!"
"Fine. Avoid anybody who's not in a pedo-van with tattoos, slit his throat, get back here", she said.
"Good. Now, either you stab him in the neck here or here", I showed on my neck, "Or you cut his arteries on both sides, here and here, but make it real quick, Siberian will be there in no time once you start. You sure you can do it?"
"The sick asshole behind the Siberian? You bet!", she said. That was more like the Aisha I remembered.
"Dinah, chances Aisha takes out William Manton and comes back safely?"
"78.51%"
"I think it's a great chance, now, can you narrow down the part of the town the van with Manton will be in 15 minutes?", I asked.
"Most chances - near the Western end, close to the police station", she said after a short pause.
"You have your target, good hunting, Imp", I told Aisha.
"Which way is West?", she asked.
"We came from the North, so, the right side of the road?", I explained. This Imp wasn't well-read yet. "Oh, and while in the van or around the town in general, look for working cell phones and bring them here, please. Need to call Legend when we're done with Jack."
"Thanks, Boss, see you later", she said and disappeared. I was hoping I hadn't just sent her out to her death.
"Get back here when you're done and wait with Dinah for us or for the heroes", I called after her.
"Who are you talking to?", Dad asked. I gesticulated for him to wait a moment.
When I was sure Aisha was far enough, I said, "Remember Aisha? I gave her a mission."
I found our radios and checked them; both still worked. Guess old Army equipment was hardened enough against Shatterbird after all. Lucky.
"Dinah, take this radio; you push this button, wait for 2 seconds, then talk, but not if I'm talking to you at the same time. Don't touch anything else on it, please. Keep it on and keep listening; I might ask you to do some math for us as we go. Don't ask your power any questions by yourself, unless your life here is in danger. Keep your knife at hand, just don't kill Aisha when she's back."
She looked at the radio, nodded, and put one headphone into her ear. I talked into my piece and made sure she heard and could reply.
"Now, Dinah, I want you to tell me where Bonesaw, Mannequin, and Crawler are going to be in 10 minutes."
"Bonesaw will be in the clinic on the Eastern side, most probably. Crawler and Mannequin - more to the South, near the fire station. I'm getting the headache now, but I can try one more question", she said, touching her head.
"No need, this is good, thanks. Keep your question for an emergency or if I ask you over the radio. You're staying here, waiting for us. If you see cars going into the town and stop to look at our car, and if they look like normal people, try to stop them and ask them to call the PRT, but only if you're not endangering yourself. Let me know over the radio if you see anything or anyone around - when they can't hear you. If you see any cars going out of town, hide and let them pass. Don't Think of them. Ok?"
"Good luck", she nodded.
We set off through the forest, trying to get closer to our goal. I was assuming Jack was with Bonesaw, so I was looking for the Clinic. We spotted the building through the trees. There was smoke coming out of its broken windows, which meant at least some of the Nine were already inside.
We left the safety of the trees and approached the building, then followed its walls around to the main entrance. Dad held his shotgun at the ready, his hands white on the grips. I stopped him and gesticulated for him to slow down, breathe, and stay calm. We didn't need a friendly fire incident. I held my knife in my right hand.
We stepped around the final corner and I entered the building first, coming face to face with Jack Slash. His eyes widened while my knife drove under his chin and into his brain. He didn't have time to make a sound or finish taking out any of the knives hanging from his belt. I slowly lowered him to the floor, keeping my other hand over his mouth.
I left my knife inside and signaled Dad with the freed hand to keep watch and cover me. He looked a bit sick.
I took out one of Jack's knives and cut both of his carotid arteries with it. His heart, or whatever Bonesaw upgraded it to, was still pumping blood, spraying everything around, including me. I didn't care. I cut more and more arteries around his body to make him bleed out faster. I didn't try stabbing him elsewhere as I was pretty sure his organs were reinforced and not located in the usual places. Then I noticed a fire axe on the wall, took it, and struck at his neck. The axe sunk about an inch and a half in and got stuck. Probably Bonesaw's improvements. It took me 3 jumps on the axe to make Jack's head fully separate from his body.
It's been too easy. It was time to go. Of course, that's when I heard a faint sound of small claws over the tiled floor, and two of Bonesaw's spiders entered the lobby.
"Shoot them!" I ordered Dad, stepping out of the building. Something landed on my shoulder, and I felt a slight pinch on my neck. Before I had the time to raise my hand to remove whatever it was, or to think about Reloading, I lost consciousness.
AN: My first real cliffhanger, well timed for the New Year.
Time to take a couple of months' hiatus, right? Then, 7 interludes for each of the people left in BB, 10 more for each of the heroes we know, Eidolon, Scion, and Legend, 15 more for each of the Butcher's personalities, and finally, 8 more for each of the remaining Nine members. And then, in 2029, we'll be back with Taylor. Or Danny, if Taylor doesn't make it. I will determine it with dice.
Otherwise, no plans to drag the Nine arc too much.
See you next year!