Duellist 36 (Patreon)

AN: The other half (22K) of the last update. Didn't quite make my once-a-month schedule, still got some catchup work to do... I'll keep trying to bring the average up.

Arranging a meet-up with Arachne and Shadow Stalker is quick and simple. Practically every school in the city has been shut down for some combination of student safety, gang activity and the difficulty of getting through the roads with PRT forces and bomb disposal teams sweeping the streets searching for 'unexploded Tinker ordnance'. I doubted they would find much from Oni Lee, even anything that failed to explode should have faded to ash with his clones - but with the way that Bakuda had armed the rank-and-file of the ABB? They were probably smart to be cautious about declaring the streets safe.

But that isn't the only reason that it's so easy to arrange a meetup with my 'team'. Usually, there's no great motivation or urgency to go on a new patrol. They have other arrangements, other priorities to line up - finding a single time that we all had in common wasn't always easy. Today was the exception. Both of the other members of the team had been furiously messaging each other, arranging an earlier and earlier meeting and then bluntly telling me the time and location instead.

Oh. They were both fuming. I could see it in them a mile off, as one shadow glides from roof to roof towards me - while the street below is mysteriously barren due to what appears to be some very localised wasp swarms pretending to circle aggressively around some discarded trash and one black-and-yellow shadow slips unnoticed through the streets to approach the building I was standing on. I'm tempted to declare a race to reach me first, but I think I'm the only one that would see the humour in it - and Shadow Stalker would win anyway. As much as Taylor has the brooding edge-lord aspect down nicely, there's simply not much you can do for clambering six flights of rooftop-access stairs while maintaining that dark, dignified look. I know she wants a mobility option so badly, but we don't all win the power lottery like me.

I pause at that thought. Actually, come to think of it - didn't one of her ill-fated middle challenges have a gigantic bug for her to fly on? I hadn't really paid it much thought of the time because, well, the challenge lasted just a few seconds because my bug control trumps hers and that is very, very important when one bug is given that much importance. But that thing was huge. And flight-capable. It would be a strange second-trigger. Was it Amy's work? A hypothetical scenario where the two teamed up? Maybe it wasn't so impossible for her. I might be able to do it myself with another challenge completion, or maybe when Amy decided to link up with our team - it could be an interesting experiment.

"Hey." Sophia grunts as she drops onto my rooftop.

"Morning." I nod in greeting as she steps up to look over the edge of the roof with me, peering at the scurrying figure below. "Missed me so much that you couldn't wait until school to see me?"

"I don't think Winslow will be open for the rest of the week. The PRT doesn't like to fuck around with Tinkertech - especially with how that crazy bomber bitch was handing out samples to every random in the gang without a care in the world. Guaranteed that none of them know anything about safe disposal and any leftovers were probably just tossed into trash cans or random alleyways just waiting for someone to stumble onto them." She shakes her head. "Besides, what the fuck are we going to do there? Maybe I'd drag you with me to beat up some ABB and Empire thugs, but we both know that wouldn't really achieve anything. The only real way to hit back is out here. You get how it works, you've got a plan - and I want in."

"Got some ideas." I concede. "Got to move pretty fast though."

"On who? The Empire, or the ABB?" She rests one hand on her hip. "Personally, I'd like to rip into whoever's likely to win - drag out the coming gang war as long as possible. We could pretty much wipe them both out if we managed it right. Only trouble is that I don't even know who's stronger right now. The Empire has numbers, especially with how many ABB grunts are sitting in a lockup right now - but I'd put all my money on Oni Lee and the bomb-bitch as a duo against any five Empire Capes."

"The ABB." I state decisively. "Normally I'd agree, to an extent. Not with the aim of dragging it out, but pincering the stronger gang? That would make sense. But Bakuda- well. She's more of a problem than you would think, looking at her work last night. I'll explain when Arachne gets here."

She nods, accepting the delay of the conversation. "Waiting around while the sun is out, not sure how to feel about it." She mutters to fill the silence. "Usually we only see each other in costume deep into the evening."

I shrug. "I think it's a bit later than our usual, actually. And I don't know if 'in costume' is a good descriptor for you during most of our recent meetings-"

Her mask turns to glower at me. "Not that kind of meeting. Forget Winslow. Us. The- you know. Team. Patrolling."

"The Void Rangers." I nod wisely, batting a fly out of my face.

"No." She declines.

"I have more. Team Cow-"

"Keep them to yourself." She grunts. "And we didn't come here to argue about your poor talent for naming things."

I'll let that slide. This time. "No, we didn't." I cross my arms. "But there isn't any point starting with just the two of us. Give our third member a moment to join."

"A moment? She should already be here, she probably got lost." Sophia scowls.

I shrug. "Verticality is difficult for her. You didn't fancy an alleyway meetup or a park somewhere?"

"No. It's daytime. And I, a respected member of the Wards-" I snort, and she pauses only long enough to glare at me. "-am not supposed to have any dealings at all with any vigilante groups. That means we stay away from any nosy members of the public that might happen to stroll by. Especially as early in the morning as this. I don't exactly blend in as well as I do at night."

"And you thought people wouldn't question why Shadow Stalker is leaping from rooftop to rooftop in the midday sun?" Not particularly close to midday, and not quite sunny - but the idea was there.

"I have plenty of legitimate reasons to be out in my costume. I have a patrol starting in an hour or two, people wouldn't think twice about just seeing me move around. But there's not much I can do to justify a video catching me walking around with you two, when I've supposedly never spoken a word to you before. So here we are."

"I feel like they wouldn't object as much now that I've saved their bacon last night." I offer. "They can hardly take advantage of me for a team-up one day and then avoid me like the plague literally one day later."

"Maybe." She sounds doubtful. "But that only applies to the dorks, who the suits trust to be obedient and do nothing on their own initiative. I'm on probation, they'll definitely assume that I'm here to crack heads more than I'm here to extend the hand of friendship to a prospective recruit."

"They don't know you like we know you. The violence is just a bonus, you're really only here for the company." I grin at her, earning a mutinous side-glance. The most annoying thing for her is that I'm not entirely wrong. She's here for me. If this was a clothes shopping trip, she'd have complained bitterly the entire time about how we could be doing better things - but she would have been here anyway, modelling every new bit of lingerie I picked out for her.

That's the best part about Sophia and her messed-up little ideology. I'd half-expected her to be a real hypocrite about it at first. Refuse to acknowledge my victories with some excuse or another. It was, after all, just an excuse to place herself above other people right?

No. She was a true believer. And yes, it did extend both ways. Ignoring the way she squirms and the verbal jabs she makes constantly, looking at just her actions - it's easy to see that. The way she just accepts the role I've chosen for her at the time. Battle-companion, teammate, power mentor, trophy-girlfriend, sex-pet - she'd do it all. Yes, she was always probing for weakness - always looking to prove that she still had some kind of edge over me, trying to reclaim some trace amount of pride and dominance in the relationship... but I couldn't begrudge her that. This was who she was. And I respected it, respected the commitment to her ideals - even when she found herself on the other end of it.

Mind you, it wasn't like she made it difficult to like her attitude from my position. It was incredibly hard to dislike the idea that a fit, attractive superheroine strongly believed that it was your right and duty to sexually dominate her just because you could beat her in a fight.

"The company is better than the Wards, barely." She mutters. "Where the hell is Arachne, anyway? Taking her sweet time."

"I'm here." The heroine in question calls out, finally coming into view just a few moments later. She faces us for a moment, an aloof expression on the visible part of her face as she considers Shadow Stalker. Then when she turns to me-

-she steps forward and pulls me into a tight hug. "Void! What were you thinking yesterday? Fighting Lung like an idiot, we should have been facing him together. Why didn't you tell me you were going on patrol? I'd have been with you! Why were you with the Wards, are you joining- no, you wouldn't. What did happen, then?" Whatever hesitation she had earlier, it doesn't extend to her words - she unleashes a barrage of rapid-fire questions and statements without allowing herself even a single breath between them.

"Wasn't planning on picking a fight. I was just in the area, nothing more to it." I deflect. Shadow Stalker makes a noise of understanding at my words. She probably understood exactly what I meant by 'I was in the area'. Blatant power-leeching at a PRT event. If it was another hero, I might have been concerned at letting that information slip. With Shadow Stalker, I just won some more approval in her eyes. Take every advantage available, something like that. "Besides, I heard you found yourself in a bit of a scrap yourself if the rumours I heard were right."

What is visible of her expression darkens. "I suppose. Even if it ended up being pointless." She breaks away from our hug reluctantly, then glances to my side. "...Shadow Stalker." Her voice is cool. Icy, almost.

Right. It did seem like Taylor had recognised Shadow Stalker and Sophia were the same person during the Emma incident the other day. I'd put it out of my mind because, well. I don't really care. But to Taylor, that was probably eating her up inside in some way. Or, maybe not? I don't know, Taylor likes Shadow Stalker. Quite a lot, even. Rivals, of course - but, there's a definite respect there. What would she do now, knowing that the two were the same?

The answer to that is still intensely relevant to my own situation. That outcome wasn't as critical as it was even a week ago, I'd definitely taken some good steps towards defusing the bomb in this case already - if everything came out today... Taylor would be upset. But, she'd get over it - I think. Right? Or, did I have my read on her wrong? Would she even be upset? It's not like I was 'supposed' to know her identity, if she sat down and thought about it - this was all a huge coincidence from 'my' perspective.

Shadow Stalker, of course, is oblivious to all of that background information. Knowing her, she probably likes Arachne more from the fact that she's sounding more antagonistic. "Arachne." It's impressive how she manages to inject a sense of superiority and contempt into a single-word greeting. I don't even think it's genuine, but she forced it in there just to be antagonistic in the hope that a fight would start.

They stare at each other in silence, and for once, I'm not inclined to interject immediately. I wanted to see what would happen, or if nothing would happen. That was data too. Would Taylor try to expose Sophia? Or would she set her anger aside because she gets along with Shadow Stalker, suppressing her civilian grudges? Ignore it, for my sake? Stay frosty and minimise contact on the Cape side of things? Probably not quite that last one, judging by how they'd arranged this meetup with almost zero prompting from me - but this standoff wasn't exactly normal either.

Of course, I could just finish off her challenge and the question would be moot. Taylor's sixth challenge should be trivial after my recent upgrades. As many tricks as she has, I've already managed to close to melee range with her before. Now that I had a Brute power, that alone was enough to claim victory. But, it's just a relationship upgrade - it doesn't really make me stronger. On the opposite end of that spectrum, while Shadow Stalker's fifth challenge would be a nice power upgrade, I'm not really in a position to complete it yet. I wouldn't be able to catch her in the massive, multi-layered, donut-shaped arena the fight takes place in with my current powerset. It wasn't that she was strong, but just that it was so, so difficult to catch her - or even spot her at all. Then even if I did catch her, I didn't have a power that could actually contain her and would have to pull some trick with the environment, her own equipment or just somehow get a lucky knockout. I'm not averse to just gathering experience, but I don't really see the benefit this time.

Besides, I'm still feeling the ache from yesterday. Better than I was, certainly - and I definitely wouldn't hold back if I had a rare opportunity stumble into me, but I didn't want to be wasteful targeting people I could see whenever. Not when these challenges could be the difference between success and failure against the ABB. Not to mention life and death. Like they had yesterday. I don't think Vista even realised how bad the situation was when Oni Lee had encountered us. Coming fresh off of a fight where simply being in a twenty-metre radius meant death, I'd understandably assumed the worst.

And the worst was bad. That might have been the most dangerous moment of the night for me, for all that I came out of it completely unscathed and it had later become apparent that the bombs Oni Lee had requisitioned were significantly worse than Bakuda's personal stock - a pleasant surprise, finding out that the bombing spree and takedown of nearly a dozen heroes and more civilians had resulted in zero deaths. Particularly after the bloodbath I'd just witnessed first hand. But I hadn't known that at the time. At the time, I'd sensibly assumed that he held all - almost all - of the cards.

He had been willing to mutually retreat because my powers were unexpected and new to him and his opening move had once again been 'predicted' and dismantled, just like it was at our first meeting. And also because he was in the same boat as me - unsure on how he could actually protect and escape with his ally if I were to target the restrained Bakuda out of spite. Once I froze his initial grenade and manhandled him in his opening attack, he was forced to err on the side of caution. I have no doubt that he thinks I have either a pre-cog power or some other combat-Thinker ability. Which... wasn't entirely wrong. Actually, my challenges don't usually work that well at predicting people's exact moves - unless I get to know them really well, like against Sophia. Everyone reacts differently to different stimuli, after all. Learning their go-to responses in certain situations was always useful, but it wasn't infallible.

But Oni Lee was different. Maybe it was a lack of creative-thinking. Maybe the rumours about his lifeless personality extended to his combat style. Maybe it was just that he had a strong preference and tells for his opening move, that his power ensured that he didn't need to react - he forced others to react. Maybe my power was doing me a solid for once, mirroring his actual intentions in real life into the challenge rather than the other way around. But whatever the reason, the reality was the same - Oni Lee in a challenge and Oni Lee in real life were practically mirror-images of each other at the start of a fight.

That hadn't mattered at first, Oni Lee's second challenge was largely effortless and not at all noteworthy after how far I've come - but narrowly beating his third, then failing against his fourth had been far, far more enlightening experiences when it came to understanding the new threat he faced with Bakuda at his side. Hell, that last challenge was half the reason I was even hunting Bakuda - or I would have left my tracking bug on one of the Wards or New Wave and would be plotting how to sweep them instead.

I shake myself from my tangent. Where was I? Right. Staredown. It doesn't seem to be going anywhere so... I clear my throat loudly. "Is there a problem?"

"Of course there isn't a problem." Taylor smiles. "Why would I have a problem with her? It's not like she did anything of note last night for me to have a problem at."

Sophia twitches. Nice one Taylor. Hit her right where it hurts. I know the fact that she was sitting watching screens last night is absolutely eating her up inside.

"Sure, I got unlucky with console duty - but you can bet that if I was there, I'd have gotten better results than simply sitting on my ass and watching the Empire break everyone out." Sophia hisses.

"I find that hard to believe. More likely, you'd sit there and watch when the order comes in to let everyone go. Isn't that all your organisation does? Cops and robbers, then everyone gets to go home in the end?" I blink. Whoa. That was loaded. I'd gotten the broad gist of what happened on the other side of town last night, but clearly Taylor had a strong opinion on how things went down. She'd been upset enough about the Merchants, I'm guessing it had ended up in a similar kind of scenario with the Empire breakout. Except this time, instead of a lack of evidence and manpower - it was just a straightforward question on whether to escalate to bloodshed or not. Taylor's power was well-suited to swarming a fair number of Empire Capes, so it was easy to imagine her capturing part of the attacking force on her own.

But the Empire had no shortage of known murderers, and that reputation had value. If it came to a hostage standoff, the PRT would reliably choose freeing some prisoners over human life if all it meant was a return to the status quo for them - and while Taylor would seethe at the injustice of the villains getting away with everything they wanted, she wouldn't refuse that trade herself either. I didn't blame them. The real mistake was not immediately sending prisoners out of town entirely - except, that isn't a mistake. It's the system working exactly as intended.

I've posted about this liberally on PHO, as an organisation - the Protectorate doesn't want to win. Or even be in a position to threaten victory against crime. A city with no supervillains doesn't need heroes, not to mention that without supervillains to fight - the remaining superheroes will tend towards being complete combat amateurs and become fodder for the next S-Class attack. You could say a lot of things about Brockton Bay's current state, but if something huge happened tomorrow and every power in the city aligned against it? That was an insane level of force concentration. On par or surpassing entire capital cities for most other countries. And, while nobody liked the fact that the criminal element was so well-entrenched - it was hard to argue the fact that, until recently, the gangs hadn't really done anything notable for the last few years. Individual incidents, flashpoints of conflict... but it wasn't exactly war in the streets.

Until now. Bakuda was probably the worst thing to happen to the beloved status quo in years. The current balance was just so reliant on the balance between 'Lung can't be beaten' and 'Lung can't be everywhere'. The possibility of Bakuda hunkering down for a month and emerging with every ABB soldier swinging around a rocket launcher that could one-shot the likes of Hookwolf, the giantesses and Alabaster? I had zero doubts that the Empire wouldn't pre-emptively launch an attack of their own even if the ABB didn't do a thing to them.

"That's exactly why you've got to skirt the rules a bit. You think I get anything real done in this city by going on cute patrols with Vista and calling in every potential mugging I see, waiting for police support to step in - with people sitting on the line reminding me about the rights of the criminals and worries about excessive force? No. I get things done by working outside the system." Sophia growls. "A fact that you don't seem to grasp. You thought it was the exception? That the bullshit with the Merchants was just bad luck? No. It's normal. You should have known that. You think I'd sit here complaining about them all the time if they were a bunch of badasses making a real difference? Fuck no."

Here we go again. Sophia ranting about the PRT and the Wards once more. Her favourite topic.

...I'm not going to stop her though. Taylor seems like she's in a ideologically-vulnerable state right now, and having Sophia highlight how useless the PRT is might be a good thing long-term. It sounds petty and controlling - because it is - but, I just think it would be generally better if Taylor didn't have any other optimal team options to go to other than me. There's multiple reasons for that. If we do end up having an argument and splitting up for a time, it's much less likely that she finds herself in a permanent arrangement with her most likely destination if she thinks they're a bunch of lazy good-for-nothings. Plus, I just want her for myself. I want her growing pragmatism in her actions and powers to be nurtured rather than restrained.

And I'm particularly interested on where her mindset goes if she aligns fully with the idea that giving criminals to the PRT is generally a pointless endeavour. What would she be willing to do? Just use more force? Wage war to try and annihilate the entire gang in one go so that nobody was even left to break them out? Try and take captives herself rather than risk them being freed again? Or, if the truth of my power came out - would she start bringing the defeated to me, offering them up with a look of righteous conviction in her eyes, sure that she is doing the right thing? With my power at work, flexible morals meant morals that could bend more in my favour. I wanted that for Taylor. I wanted her to fully commit to me, to my team - and to the idea that we were the force that Brockton Bay needed right now. And if that meant letting Sophia voice a few harsh, admittedly biased truths about the local hero institutions, so be it.

Not that Sophia was in on my plan or even thinking about it that much. She was just taking the chance to complain. She was reliable and consistent like that.

Sophia continues. "The only reason I'm complaining and they aren't? They've gotten used to it. They just accept being neutered. They're fine with being useless. You? You don't have that. You should be doing everything I was doing before they caught me, and instead - you're looking at them with stars in your fucking eyes and putting the collar around your own neck to prove that you're an obedient little puppy that's never going to be a threat to their plans to never upset the criminals too much."

"Like you, you mean. A small bit of ineffective vigilantism in the spotlight before getting hauled in by the Protectorate when it all blows up in public view? That's what you want for me?" Taylor squares up to Sophia. "No. And you don't want that either. That's why you're here, coming crawling to me - to us - knowing that we're your only chance of actually getting something done around here."

"We? I don't think that's right. Him." She jerks a thumb in my direction. "He understands what needs to be done. You, as you always have been, are just the cheerleader - incapable of getting results on your own." She leans forward. "That's why you wanted this meeting so badly, rather than just running off and doing something yourself. You need him to tell you what he's going to do to scratch that itch of yours?"

"As if that doesn't apply word-for-word to you." Taylor bites back. "All those complaints about the PRT, then you rush right here to ask Void to tell you what to do like a good girl. I'm his teammate, of course I want to discuss the next steps with him. You're a- a parasite. Muscling in on a friendship that doesn't need you for your own satisfaction."

That last bit might have been a mistake. I know Sophia pretty well by now. Very well. More than anyone else in the city.

And that's why, despite the blocky, concealing costume and the mask that gives nothing away - I can sense the exact moment where Sophia's interest in the conversation is actually piqued. The moment she goes from arguing because she wants to rile someone up, to actually being engaged. I know for a fact that Sophia just sensed blood in the water. Weakness. A hint that something about this was hitting a little too close and personal for Taylor. And, while I remain pretty sure that Sophia isn't even that bothered by the actual conversation - I also know that, above all else, she believes that weakness deserves to be pounced on for no reason other than the fact that it exists.

"That's exactly right." Sophia purrs, an air of malice present in her words. "I am here like a good girl, ready to do ab-so-lute-ly anything that he orders me to do." She visibly savours the wording, pressing herself into my side as she enunciates herself clearly. "As for muscling in, why do you care? Are you worried I have something to offer him that you don't?" She makes a mock sound of pain. "Ah, hang on just a second. Carrying around this whole costume in this heat, just for a conversation - it's just so unnecessary." Half of her body and costume erupts into shadow, then settles again just as quickly - with the outer layer clattering to the rooftop around her, exposing the tight bodysuit beneath she wears under the pseudo-armour. She presses into my side once more. Squish. Much softer than before. "Much better. What were we talking about again? Your inability to hold onto your friends when they find someone better?"

Really, Sophia? I would have called it out of character for her, if not for the simple fact that this act is just a weapon to her. Some mild embarrassment later is worth winning the 'fight' now. But as petty as it was, it was also - going by Taylor's outraged expression - super-effective.

Now, usually - I would think that a move like this wouldn't be that potent from her. Sophia isn't flat by any means, but she is toned. As size goes, she's perhaps a little lower than average for our year. But absolute size isn't important compared to relative size. It wasn't about being big, but being bigger. And these two competed in different leagues. Despite being very attractive as a complete package, in the chest department - Taylor's competition was... Vista, maybe. I think she wins that. Probably. Maybe? Thinking about it, Vista's outfit was quite restrictive - I shouldn't write her off immediately. Anyway. The point is - purely compared to Taylor, Sophia is... pillowy. And Taylor knows it.

As much as I like to think that my mere presence has done wonders for Taylor's self-esteem... Sophia was unwittingly hitting across multiple sore spots here beyond just the physical ones, even though Sophia had probably interpreted this as pure jealousy and a territorial catfight over me - Taylor was looking at this like the Emma thing all over again. Twice-over, actually. Both Emma-stealing-me-away, but also Sophia-stealing-Emma-away - and since she did actually know that Sophia and Shadow Stalker were the same, that second one is probably twice as grating.

Taylor glowers at her. "We were trying to work out if there was any value to involving you with our next move against the gangs. It's alright. I don't blame you for losing track of the conversation when you have nothing to contribute and your priorities are obviously elsewhere."

"Nothing to contribute? That's rich, coming from the dead weight that's yet to do a single thing with lasting impact on the city. Oni Lee is free, the Empire fucks are free, the entirety of the Merchants gang is free - what was the point of anything that you've done? Showing up and looking helpful? What did you want out of it, a participation trophy?" Sophia drapes herself over me. "Truth is, the only impact your 'team' has made... is when Void and I confronted Skidmark and- well. Scared the daylights out of him. That's a lasting scar on his psyche, but - wait. You weren't even there for that, were you? You don't even know what I'm talking about. I suppose that's what it means to be irrelevant." Sophia shakes her head in faux-sadness. "Never mind. Why don't you run along, the two of us - as close partners -" She presses harder into my side. "-can work out a plan to actually do something that matters. I'll have one of the dorks in the Wards sign an autograph for you, so you can keep stacking up those brownie points that you're working so hard for."

"And all of those people are free because of who, again? You. And your team. I'll admit it. I'm sorry. I thought too much of you. I thought you could handle it if we did your entire job for you, and now I know that even that isn't enough. We'll have to do something else - and we will. Now, we-" The way Taylor stresses the verb implies that there are only two people included in it. "-haven't decided on our exact next step yet, and if you want to be involved then a good first step would be taking your thieving hands off of my partner before I make you."

"Ooh, scary." Sophia mocks. "Thieving? But he's already my partner too. What makes your claim to our mutual friend here so much greater than mine? Did you ask for his opinion about this? Personally, it looks to me that he doesn't seem to mind - don't you think?" Elevated levels of buzzing around us is the only response she gets. "Go on then, why don't you make me? Show off those elite skills that you were using to sit and watch as the Empire cruised through to free their Capes. Did you form a little honour-guard for them with butterflies? Or make some pretty signs telling them which way to go?" She tilts her head. "Enough performances like that, and they'll get the wrong idea and send you a job offer-"

"That's it-" Taylor squares up to Sophia, her energy immediately matched by her rival in both identities. I can practically feel Sophia's exhilaration at getting the exact response that she wanted.

I sigh audibly, earning a slight side-glance from both of them before they resume glaring at each other.

I'll admit. It's tempting to just act as the dense harem protagonist here. Be indecisive. Set myself up as 'the prize' rather than an active participant. It was the path of least resistance, let them hiss and spit at each other as they fight over me and continue to enjoy the benefits that I always had - multiplied by the simple fact that the competition was out in the open now. It promised to be an enjoyable experience, watching them do their best to one-up each other by throwing themselves at me in increasingly blatant ways - speedrunning their own moral corruption for the sake of claiming me as their own and defeating the other. And even this feud that they were starting anew now was just an exercise in picking a fight and making an outlet for their frustration at recent events. They were both too practical, too dedicated to actually making a difference to actually part ways here or refuse to work with each other. They just wanted to soundly beat the other and 'fix' the hierarchy, especially when it came to me. I didn't need to intervene. It would sort itself out.

But, that wouldn't move things forward. I'd collected a lot of powers over the last few days, and was on course to collect even more. As my ambitions of becoming the strongest Cape in the Bay started to materialise, my ambitions of having a proper harem needed to solidify as well. And while some would argue that my harem aspirations are going great, I would disagree based on pure semantics. Fucking several girls at once, even having relationships with multiple girls at once - was not a harem. Not by my standards of the word. Not the real deal.

Fortunately, the solution here was relatively simple.

A ringing crack echoes across the rooftop, with a shrill, half-aborted yelp of pain emerging from Sophia as she whirls on me in a mix of surprise and fury - hands already shielding her ass from a second strike. Taylor, for her part, just pauses mid-sentence - lost for words for a moment.

"Shadow Stalker, stop being a bitch for no reason. Arachne, stop falling for her bait - you know she's only doing it to get under your skin." I address them both in turn. "All of us are here for the same reason, we all have the same goal - and we're all frustrated that the PRT has pretty much undone our recent hard work. I know - and you both know as well - that there's nothing reasonable either of you could have done better without getting heat for it that we don't need right now. Shadow Stalker, you know that especially well - if Arachne started killing people in front of the heroes, or compromised their negotiations at a time like that, she would be lucky to even make it to probation next to you. Arachne, you know that Shadow Stalker can't get out of console duty that easily - and even if she had, anything significant that she did do would be at the cost of going to juvie. That's why you're both here - because this is where we can plan things where the heroes don't get to have a say or objection."

"Are all of us here for the same reason? Seems like she's only here to spread her legs." Taylor mutters sourly.

"Why do you sound so upset about it? You're fucking him too, right?" That wording choice seems to electrify Taylor's spine as she stiffens and grits her teeth in response, but she doesn't seem overly surprised to hear the confirmation.

"Yes. We are in a relationship." Taylor stresses. "One that I actually take seriously. I'm not some, sex-addicted floozy abusing his trust while spreading her legs for fun whenever his back is turned. I love him. You can't say the same. All you're doing is using him for sex, there's no loyalty there - take that mask off and you'd fuck the next prettiest face to come along as long as you thought someone would be hurt by the fact that you were doing it." She pauses for a moment. "Probably." She adds, belatedly.

Taylor, you can't just say 'probably' at the end to hide the fact that you're throwing everything you know about someone's civilian identity in their face for your argument.

Shadow Stalker throws her hands up in the air. "Huh? What the fuck are you talking about?"

Thankfully, Sophia isn't much of a Thinker. In either sense of the word. She's just reading this as a few blind insults thrown out against her character, not something that her bullying victim might think. It doubly helps that Taylor is, unwittingly, completely wrong both about what is happening and what Sophia's mindset is. For Sophia, it's just too much of a logical leap to jump to the conclusion that Taylor is talking about her civilian life but that she still doesn't know that Greg and Void Cowboy are the same person, and that's without including the fact that Taylor is Arachne. That last tidbit, on its own, is something Sophia probably can't even conceive as a possibility right now.

The vigilante-turned-Ward jabs a finger forward. "Really? That's what you think of me, that I'd just bend over for the first twink to flutter his eyelashes at me? Hell no. The only reason I'm not beating the shit out of you for suggesting it is because you obviously don't have a single braincell to spare. Get this straight, nerd. The only man I ever have, and ever will ever accept is a real apex predator. The kind that sits at the top of a foodchain and knows it. That guy." She points at me authoritatively. "I'd never accept someone that would even consider allowing me to have somebody else, nor would I even want to look - there's no need to settle when you already have the best."

"Liar." Taylor calls out. "And stop pretending that he's anything like you."

Sophia smirks. "Why do you think I'm not mad about the pity-fucks he's giving you? You would probably expect me to be the jealous type, right? Simple. Any man good enough to have me, is good enough to take any random girl he looks at with ease too. In fact, I think him fucking you is a good thing - even if it only started as a reason for him to put up with you holding him back all the time. Look at you now. All that dicking must have injected some semblance of a spine into you. Maybe being shown your place in the hierarchy did some good for you in the end, and all it took was you drooling on his cock for a few weeks while he whipped you into shape."

"...was that supposed to be a compliment?" Taylor looks lost for a moment. "And you've completely missed me the point again. I didn't get in a relationship with him for payment, or training or anything as- as transactional as that. I love him, as simple as that. Maybe that's completely alien to you, but that's your problem - with your- your fake relationship because he can beat you in a fight."

"You know what, I actually believe you. It does sound like the kind of sappy, idealistic bullshit that you would go for." Shadow Stalker waves a hand as if to waft away a bad smell. "However you think you ended up as his costumed little cumsleeve, the real answer is that he wanted to fuck you from day one and followed through on that. And if you're going to sit there in denial about that, you don't really know him at all." She straightens up. "And if you think I would do anything to jeopardise a once-in-a-lifetime catch like that, then you don't know me at all either."

The visible portion of Taylor's face transforms through a series of complicated expressions. A barely restrained denial and accusation, a grimace, a considering look and a deep, indrawn breath that almost seems to lock up her entire body as the swarm around us swirls with added intensity.

When she finally speaks again, it's lacking the heat of the earlier conversation. "...strangely enough, I believe you on that too." Taylor begrudgingly answers, as if the words were physically painful to utter.

Why was she looking between Sophia and I with that strange, considering expression on her face. Contemplating how I'd ever landed someone like that?

I clap my hands together once. Lovely. That all ended better than I thought. I was expecting a fistfight at the very least. "All done?" I ask.

Both of them nod, relaxing into a more casual posture. Then, slowly, both of them seem to shrink in on themselves - suddenly unable to meet my eyes.

Ah. There was the embarrassment. Oh, both of them caused a scene - but both of them had been happily highlighting how I was their perfect partner for a moment there, as if forgetting that I was actually listening rather than just being a cardboard cutout for them to defend from the other.

"You can keep going if you like." I assure them blandly. "There were a lot of ego-boosting things in there for me. Almost wish I had recorded it."

"For once, I think you need it. I'm amazed you even have any ego left, after abandoning your dignity to babysit a bunch of brats and also come away with nothing to show for it." Sophia retorts.

"I'm not getting baited as easily as Arachne, and if we do get into a fight you know exactly how it's ending - audience or not." I warn her once. "And stick to a complaint that you actually believe in, I know you were flicking yourself off watching me fight Lung while everyone else played cheerleader."

"You mean the bit where you threw everything at him and he laughed at you without slowing down at all? Or the one where you put everything into one dramatic attack with everyone else helping - and he just walked it off and roasted you without even looking, then went back to fighting his real opponent?" Sophia asks helpfully. "I'm serious, I need to know which one so I can insult you properly."

Bitch I cut him in half and it was the coolest thing you've ever seen in your life. Do not test me on this I know you're just trying to piss me off.

I will not be baited. I was raised in the fires of PHO flame wars. I was above responding to such a weak attempt at trolling. Still. I had to set a line somewhere. "Last chance."

"Fine, fine. We'll ignore the Lung thing. How about Bakuda?" She tilts her head at me. "Honestly, I can't criticise you there. You did a great job playing support to the veteran Ward Gallant to take her down."

"That's too far." I sputter. "I was babysitting that guy, I don't even know what his problem with me was or what he thought he was going to achieve without his armour but I am not accepting even the implication that it was a team effort."

"Oh? That's not what I saw. Or, that's not what I wrote down in the post-mission report." She pauses. "Or on that PHO thread that was asking for details earlier." I narrow my eyes. A dark figure stirs to life behind the unaware Sophia. "You know how those threads are, so starved for any details - don't worry, I made sure to highlight the sexual tension that sparked between you the first time he saved you from those bombs-"

Absolutely not. I rear my hand back, lock eyes with my waiting ash clone lurking behind her and activate Oni Lee's new upgrade-

WHACK

"-maybe I got a few details- Ow! Fuck! Fuck you, you little shit. How did you even-" She turns, wounded fury in her voice as she swings her leg to hit me in my shin. I look past her and-

WHACK

-swap with the ash clone that was standing in my original location and immediately repeat my attack as the ash clone takes the hit where I was standing just an instant before, dissolving into the wind. Sophia swears, backing up to the edge of the roof and placing both hands behind her to shield her ass from further assault.

"You should take that blocky armour of yours off more often, it's very convenient for me. You look better like this too." I grin at her.

She glowers at me. "I didn't do it for you." She lies, then considers me for a moment. "...Oni Lee, then?"

"Mhm. Still more limited than I'd like, but teleportation is teleportation - even if it's just a swap with an already-active clone." I extend a hand out to her. "Now - let's get out of the sun and start talking about the gangs."

"Hold on." She doesn't take my hand. "You think you can just brush over that and think I'll take it? I will kick your ass. You can talk while you're fixing up your bruises."

"I know you want to look tough for Arachne-" I don't move my hand away. "-but I'm not going to act out a nice little play so you can save some face to stop her from realising how things really work between us. Come." I tilt my head. "Or we can fight about it, if you really want that. You'd better be ready for the usual outcome though - audience or not."

She pauses at that, understanding the threat for exactly what it is. After all, our spars only end in one thing. And after all her time in the Trio, she should know that I had no issues with sharing the degeneracy in front of others.

Of course, she could, technically, choose to stand her ground. Or run away, or just refuse to entertain what I was saying and doing. I wouldn't care to force the issue like that if she was truly uninterested. But that just wasn't Sophia. She wholeheartedly believed that I did have the right to do this. To do worse. Just because I was stronger. Attraction and our relationship was obviously easing the way, but this was something fundamental to her beliefs - in her eyes, everyone should be acting like me. Not necessarily the perversion, but the might-makes-right attitude. If you asked her why Eidolon didn't basically rule America, she'd confidently tell you 'because he's a bitch and a loser' before any half-hearted moral reasons against it.

So in situations like this? She doesn't run. She doesn't leave. She accepts the situation - and, just like it had with the Trio - she just accepts that this is a new part of her life now. It's not even a huge leap for her - after all, she wasn't too unhappy about the rest of the Trio watching - and participating - in her getting fucked into a screaming mess. She already liked Arachne, even if she didn't realise that the returning feelings were more complicated. She'd adapt to this just fine. And before long, she'd be back to her usual self - scrambling for dominance against the people far closer to her level. Which was fine. It wouldn't be Sophia if she wasn't picking a fight with somebody.

I watch with a bemused expression as she bristles, but begrudgingly accepts my hand - looking away as if something in the distance caught her interest. Taylor just watches, taking in the exchange with her full attention. Good. I'd settled on this route for a reason. Sophia needed a reminder that in this relationship, what I say, goes. That the obedience she'd learned from our more private sessions extended to this company too. That her only choices here were falling in line, or being made to fall in line - right in front of a witness she was trying to look tough for.

And Taylor? Taylor's problem wasn't that someone else was in the picture. In fact, I'd wager that in some dark part of her heart - this was exactly what she'd wanted when she'd muscled her way in as a sidepiece while openly acknowledging that there was another girl in my life and she didn't care. Think about it. Was she hoping that she was stealing me away from some bookish library girl that she'd never met before? No. She was probably thinking at the time that the move was pitting herself against some imagined equivalent of Emma, Madison or Sophia - and I'm pretty sure that the more she thinks about the situation, the more she's going to have a dark thrill of satisfaction at how she'd wormed her way in despite Sophia's presence in my life.

But, she still needed assurance. Not just about her own place in the arrangement, but also on where Shadow Stalker and I stood. I needed to show her that this wasn't like the trials of her civilian life versus the Trio. That this wasn't another case of the Trio seducing away the things she loved again. I was in control, visibly wielding the metaphorical leash no matter the embarrassment it caused the dark-skinned girl. I hadn't done that on the civilian side, I'd had a full understanding of the truth and a progress bar of sorts via my challenges - but Taylor couldn't see any of that and made a rational, but flawed assessment of how things really were. I needed to put the evidence right in front of her to stop her arriving at the same conclusion.

And didn't that make everything so very, very simple for me? Sophia needed to be cowed, and Taylor needed to see it. Maybe, weeks and weeks ago, Sophia might have rebelled at this. The idea of her pinned down by her own ideology, her subservience being seen by someone else. She would have fought tooth and nail, denied ever so much as kissing me until her breath was utterly spent.

Back when she thought my victories were a fluke. When the gap between us just felt like a matter of skill and luck, something that she could overcome through her own efforts. But these days, that belief was gone. At some point, she'd realised that nothing she did would overcome the ever-growing gap in strength - and accepted her new reality. If I had to pinpoint that moment, I'd say it was the time I arrived to one of our before-Winslow meetings - only to find her already naked and ready for me. She hadn't admitted anything, of course. Said that she was busy, had to discuss something with a teacher soon and that I should just get the inevitable over with. But that was it. The moment she knew the fight was pointless. Decorative. Nothing but a small plaster on her wounded pride, comforting herself with the knowledge that she went down fighting - that I'd had to take it from her. Every fight from that point on was purely performative and we both knew it.

But this Sophia? This Sophia had had that dream beaten out of her multiple times a day for weeks on end. Every time her pride had flared up, every time she'd thought that this time she could eke out a win - she'd ended up face-down in the dirt, naked and stubbornly trying to not let any noises of pleasure escape her throat as I claimed her as my prize again and again. It was like training bad behaviour out of a pet - in a way. Teach a dog to not make a scene in front of people at home well enough, and when you take a walk outside - they don't go into a frenzy at the sight of the postman when they step outside.

I pull Sophia towards me, holding her against my torso and relocating my hand down the back of her undersuit, before seizing a handful of her ass as I hold her close. And Sophia...

...squirms and looks at the ground, muttering something about how I was lucky that she was willing to put up with my antics just for the sake of the meeting. Good girl.

Almost a shame though. A fight - and the subsequent fucking - would have made a good, thorough demonstration to Taylor on exactly how things stood. I'm pretty sure I could have lured her into the long-awaited threesome and played them off each other by complimenting the other... but, this works too. And I can't let myself get too distracted. The Bakuda problem is the priority, even if my current plan doesn't involve hitting her until later today.

"What-" Taylor attempts to vocalise. "Void, what- what?" She whispers at me, failing to even complete the question - simply making a vague gesture at Shadow Stalker as if that motion conveyed everything that words could not.

"You know how Shadow Stalker gets about how the weak should serve the strong. Predator. Prey. Might makes right. Rules of nature, all of that?" I explain. Taylor nods emphatically. Probably thinking of Sophia more than Shadow Stalker, but she's never put any great effort into differentiating her personality between identities. "We both considered ourselves stronger than the other, so we fought - with an appropriate penalty for the loser every time. It was one-sided enough for so long that, well. She doesn't see the need to constantly fight about an obvious fact any more."

Sophia inspects the floor with interest, doing her best to convey an absolute lack of interest in the conversation.

"Just like that?" Taylor questions, sounding a little lost - and a little... something? There was a definite hint of something else in her voice there that I wasn't used to hearing from her.

"Just like that." I echo. "Come on Arachne. I need you too." Taylor is almost too busy staring at this new side of Sophia to react as I extend my other hand to her, mirroring the move and pulling her to my other side. For a moment, I hold both girls against me. No fights. No drama. Both of them seem momentarily out of sorts, Shadow Stalker coming to terms with the fact that her domineering image in front of her junior has all but evaporated, and Arachne stunlocked at a Sophia who has 'learned her place' in the way she so often talks about. "Let's get out of the sun and head inside before someone really does fly over us with questions. I've used this building before, nobody lives or works here so we can talk all we like."

Sophia half-heartedly pulls away. "Wait, I can't leave half my costume out-"

I tighten my grip on her. "I'll fetch it." My ash clone rises and walks back to where Sophia's blocky armoured layer had been discarded onto the rooftop. "I prefer you like this." The lithe undersuit was just a better look. Sophia's armour may be practical, but god it was ugly. Same with her annoying full-face mask, hiding away her cute expressions of indecision, anger and shame at times like this should be a crime. I couldn't say that though, Sophia would be far too pleased with herself if she realised that her mask was having its intended effect on me. Even with her relative lack of resistance against my goals, I'm certain she'd fiercely resist any of my efforts to tweak her costume for 'aesthetic' reasons. Not that I'd suggest it even if she agreed - I wouldn't want to attract any attention or M/S screenings on her when she walks into the marketing team and declares she wants to look sexy. Something to do after I've taken over the local Protectorate.

"Of course you do." A hint of fire re-enters her voice, she was going to get used to this new-normal fast - I could tell. "Fucking pervert."

"I'm not the one who stripped down to try and win an argument in the first place, though don't think of that as a complaint - I'm more than okay with having our conversation like this." I glance to the side at Taylor. "And of course, Arachne's outfit is already perfect."

At that quick statement Taylor's expression goes from a spirited-but-confused glare to pleased in an instant, and her expression remains enthusiastic - increasingly so - as I continue to molest both her and Shadow Stalker. I kick open the roof access door and guide them through, pretending not to see her smirk at Sophia's continued subdued attitude. Ah, Taylor really was perfect. Easily pleased, dedicated, lacking in self-worth and possessing a budding interest in seeing other girls humbled and put in their place by her boyfriend... Taylor really was built for being part of a harem.

We eventually find a seating arrangement that suits us all. Or rather I do, neither of the two are unwilling to separate from me without the other leaving first - so now I'm half-reclined in a worn couch abandoned years ago with the two girls straddling a leg each and alternating between curling up into my torso and trying to out-stare the other. "Now, as much as I'd love to be distracted by both of you beautiful ladies - I'd be setting a poor example if I told you both to stay focused on task and then let you lead me astray right away. We're all here for a reason, so let's take this seriously and save the distractions for later." I smooth my expression as Arachne adopts a serious look, and Shadow Stalker... well. She's probably serious as well, behind that mask. "Safe to say, we all agree that the gangs are out of control - and even with our help, the PRT keeps fumbling away any advantage that we give them."

Taylor nods at that. "Oni Lee, Skidmark, Mush, Squealer, Krieg, Victor. Practically half of the Merchants membership - and I know that they aren't a strong gang but they're still criminals terrorising people. And never mind what happened yesterday if even half of what I read about your run in with the ABB and, uh, the other guys-" "Undersiders." "-Undersiders is true. If they did things properly, they could have doubled, tripled, the number of Capes in a cell, not dropped it down to zero!" Taylor ticks off. "Look at what we did alone. When was the last time someone - anyone - did something equal to taking a haul like that off of the street? Years ago. And they just- threw it away! We did all of the hard work for them, all they had to do was throw them into a dark room and keep them there! At this rate, we would have had the Bay cleared up by June!" She pauses. "Or, at least down to just Lung. And maybe we could have worked something out for him too."

"Guess that's a lesson learned for you. Could have saved yourself a lot of trouble if you took a brick and caved their skulls in while they were down." Sophia snarks.

"Very heroic of you." Taylor drawls.

"Very effective." She counters. "And you know it too. Think about how you feel right now, knowing how it all ended up. Imagine a big red button in front of you, press it and all of those Capes just dropped dead right now - you're telling me that you aren't taking that deal over the current situation? The Empire, back at full strength as if you were doing knitting classes instead of being a Cape? The ABB, stronger than ever - and now Oni Lee paired with his new partner might genuinely be a threat on a similar level to Lung. The Merchants, laughing right at this very second at the heroes that came in so dramatically to crash their party only for - Every. Single. One. - of them to get away with the blessing of the police and a gift bag?"

A dark look crosses Taylor's face. "I'm not a murderer. We did the right thing. It's the PRT that let us down." She tweaks her mask.

"Exactly like I told you they would." Sophia snorts. "Actually, this was a little worse than their usual performance - but not by much."

"There's a difference between incompetence and losing every single villain they have in a single night!" Taylor snaps. "You're going to get mad at us for your own team to mess up like that? Sorry that we didn't predict that gift-wrapping them wouldn't be enough."

"That's their issue. I never expected anything better from them. I'm interested in you. And you're not answering the question. The city would be a better place if they were all dead right now. Yes or no? Actually, for a moment - take your own agency out of it for a second. You don't have to personally press the button, just choose which world you like better. The world with a crippled Empire, the Merchants dissolving as a functional gang and an ABB that gets the full force of the Protectorate, Wards and New Wave dropped on top of them when they try that stunt at the gala and gets reduced to literally just Lung. Or, this one." Sophia settles into a comfortable position against me, straddling my leg as I lean my back against the wall. "You already know the right answer. You just know it makes you look like a coward who was too afraid to make a tough decision for the right reason."

"And you're missing the point entirely. I'm not a precog, and that kind of results-based analysis is ridiculous. And, might I add, the exact reasoning that led to you getting that leash stuck on you in the first place." Taylor snips back.

"Coward."

"Bitch."

"Ladies." I pinch lightly with both hands, both straighten as if stung - already looking to admonish me in their own ways, but I've already moved on. "We can talk around this point all day, but at the end of the day... it doesn't matter. We don't have a time machine. All we can do is change what we do going forward."

"And what does that look like, oh glorious leader?" Sophia challenges sardonically. "Are we sticking a note on them saying 'please don't let this one go!'?" She leans forward, lightly grinding on my leg as she does so. "Or are we going to do something that actually matters?"

"We're not killing people if we can help it, Shadow Stalker." I shake my head before racing to continue before I lose too much respect in her eyes. "For a few reasons. First of all, Arachne is right - we don't want to end up like you, with the PRT waiting to toss us in a cell the moment we step out of line and not being able to do a thing about it as the city backslides again. Secondly, I want their powers. Nobody important actually cares if Krieg is alive or dead, but I can do more good if I have his power compared to the bad he does just sitting around LARPing." Thirdly, Krieg will become way more sympathetic and understandable when she has tits larger than her head and a talent for putting them to use around my dick. Ahem. "Thirdly, I'm not going to just put all of the gangs in a position where they think they have to fight to the death. And lastly, why do you even think we need to kill them to win? You should know better."

"But she's right about one thing, arresting them doesn't work. If they killed us, nobody would even bat an eye. But we can't do the same to them. And we can't send them to jail either. If the only benefit to even doing all of this is so that you can get powers... what's the point in us?" Taylor speaks up, voice bitter - whether at the situation or just at having to agree with Sophia on something.

Sophia hesitates for a moment, then speaks. "Idiot. You missed the last one. He's saying we beat them within an inch of their life. Cripple them. Scar them mentally. Ruin their business. Scare them so badly they run to the PRT or another city rather than stay and fight us." I blink. Was Sophia... actually being nice? Maybe I'd been too harsh on her. Maybe she needed to lie down for a minute? This was probably just motivation to keep her doing 'useful shit' as 'one of the good ones', but it was another example of the fact that Sophia really did respect Arachne - even if she thought that she was wasting her effort. "Just don't cross the line into actually getting a body count, unless it's absolutely bulletproof that it wasn't your fault."

"We already do half of that. It's done nothing. We've broken open weapon caches, drug stores, the Merchant party, every ganger I've ever faced has had a faceful of bugs at the very least - but they're still just... bugs. There's only so much I can do without- you know. Poison, disease and mass murder." Arachne lets out a frustrated sigh.

"What do you mean, 'just bugs', do you have any idea-" Sophia cuts herself off, then clears her throat. "Listen. I was- maybe exaggerating a little earlier because I was pissed off, but you're not that useless. I bet there's a few Merchants that are never touching a needle again after their last party ended with spiders pouring down their throat. That's intimidation. Fear. That will last, for some of them. You need more of that. Things that the PRT can't throw on an angry press release painting you as someone that they need to target and stop. I mean, think about it. What do they even say? The bug Master is using bugs to attack villains? They'd get laughed at all the way home for trying it. Lean into what you have. You're never going to be Legend, all sparkly and heroic. That's not your power. You're like me."

"I'm nothing like you." Taylor hisses.

"Yes, you are. We're both as much about fear as we are fighting. Except with me, criminals are scared when they walk into a dark alley thinking that I'm going to walk out of the nearest wall looking like the bad guy from the last horror flick they saw, or emerging from a dark shadow and beating the daylight out of them, or that I'm listening on their secret deal up in the rafters - but for you, it's not shady alleyways that they're worried about. It's bugs. You could be anywhere. Anytime. If you leveraged your reputation right, you'd have every would-be crook flinching at the sight of a housefly and racing back home to change his ways. You never have to show your face, you never have to give up on a target because there are too many guns or you couldn't scout it well enough. You can just sip your coffee a block away as an entire swarm creeps in through the gaps in the windowsill, empties out the safehouse and calls the police for you."

I nod in silent agreement. I had better experience with that than most. Taylor was definitely at her best when she was difficult to even find. If she'd been smart enough in some of her older challenges to just hide, and effectively mask her range to stop me from triangulating her position over multiple attempts - it would have taken forever for me to get as far as I already had.

Sophia keeps ranting. "A constant threat. That is what you are. Where you are. In the back of every single criminals mind, wondering if that one buzzing thing that won't go away is a sign that their entire operation is compromised by someone that they can't even begin to fight - or even find." Sophia waves her hands, sounding more and more animated as she goes. "Stop putting your power down just because it doesn't sound cool and you wanted to be Alexandria instead. Your power is fucking amazing. I'd swap for it in a heartbeat if I could. I would have been unstoppable. I would never have gotten caught by the PRT. I'd have ran the Empire out of town months ago. Villains would go home one night and find themselves waking up with ten black widows dancing on their face, just to prove the point."

"You'd swap powers with me?" Taylor's voice is quiet. Stunned, almost.

Sophia throws her hands in the air. "Is that the only thing you got out of that?"

"Sorry, I was just- surprised. I never-" Taylor trails off. "I didn't expect you to be jealous of me." Her tone is pleased. Very pleased.

"Jealous? Who's jealous?" Sophia snaps. "I was purely talking about the fact that in pure effectiveness against crime, I'd do a way better job than you. Which was always obvious. Your power is still weird and ugly as shit, which obviously suits you perfectly by the way, and if we swapped? Any gains that I'd make out of using your power better would be drowned out by how pathetically you would do with mine. It's one thing to just sit back, ordering your bugs to do everything for you - but my power actually requires skill to use effectively. Timing. A talent for close-quarters-"

Taylor recovers from her revelation. "You're right. Someone with your power but who was also more skilled would destroy you. We already knew that though." She glances at me deliberately.

Sophia gets riled up instantly. "Oh fuck off. He doesn't count. He's hiding some bullshit combat Thinker shit somewhere even when he's pretending it's just him with no powers because it's impossible to actually prove he's a cheater. Nobody is actually that good."

"Maybe you just aren't as good as you think you are?" Taylor smirks.

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up. See how funny it is when he steals your little butterflies out from under you." Sophia mutters sourly. "At least two people with my power are twice as useful. Who needs two people controlling the same swarm? Your power sucks, actually. Irrelevant in a week or two, guaranteed."

"If you say so." There's a smile in Taylor's voice. Then a note of hesitation. She looks at me, then back at Shadow Stalker. "And-" She swallows. "...thanks, I guess. You're right. There's a lot that I can do. That we can do." Was it just me, or was that edge in her voice - that hostile tone - entirely absent now? It was almost hard to believe that Taylor was talking like this to Sophia. Had the mutual, begrudging respect for Shadow Stalker won out in the end over the negative feelings towards Sophia? "Maybe you're not quite as much of a bitch as I thought. Or-" She trails off, then side-glances at me then looks back and forth at the two of us with a considering expression. What? "-hm."

Sophia undoubtedly notices the change in tone too, and immediately gets annoyed. "Don't thank me, I didn't say anything for your sake - I just got sick of the pity party coming from you and wanted it to stop before you complained my ear off. I'm here for that guy, get it straight." She jabs a thumb at me, then pauses. "That guy that I am fucking, in case I was unclear earlier. That guy who you thought you had a lovey-dovey relationship with was actually railing me the entire time. Got a problem with that?" Now she's back to spoiling for a fight. I don't know why she can't just ask for a spar like a normal person rather than trying to bait people into attacking her. Should I shut it down again? It doesn't seem as-

"No." Taylor smiles serenely under her mask. I blink. Sophia blinks.

"No?" Sophia echoes. "Oh, please. You are very clearly not okay with it at all. What, you just gave up when you realised what the competition looked like?"

"I'm fine with it." Taylor nods beatifically. "In fact, you two have my full support."

"You're giving up? Just like that?" Sophia scoffs. "And here I was under the impression that you two really had something going on."

"I didn't say that. I'm not giving up on anything." Taylor's smile doesn't fade in the slightest. "I love him. And I'm going to continue doing that. But, something you said earlier - it stuck me with me. You're right. Being with him has made me better. More confidence, more courage. But you know, I think it's making you better too. Even a bitch like you can be domesticated a little." She leans into me. "I originally thought that you were just a violent thug and could never change - but I think he's bringing out the best in you." Her voice sharpens. "And all it took was for him to treat you like the rabid bitch you are, put a collar on you and teach you to bark on command. Fixed by the right guy with the right dick. All of this blustering you do every day, this constant talk of strength and predators - it was all a cry for help all along. Calling for someone to really listen to what you were saying when you said 'might makes right' - it's really just code to say that any strong guy should treat you like the cock-hungry slut that you are. Isn't that right?"

Maybe I spoke too soon. Definitely still a grudge against Sophia in there.

"You seem to have misunderstood something." Sophia growls. "I'll take that kind of talk from him, because he's earned it. But you? You haven't. Deadweight doesn't get to speak or have opinions about her betters. I'm not the kind of person to sit here and listen to your fanfiction, I'll just put your ass in the dirt and leave you crying in the hospital for a week. And maybe Void will be a little sad to see us fight, but I'll be sure to comfort him while you're out of the picture. Who know? Maybe he'll have forgotten about you by the time you get out."

"You only have this attitude because you don't think I'm stronger than you, right? Because when we spar, we only do the rules that favour you - because close quarters is what I'm weakest at." Taylor retorts. "Well. I think we need to correct the record a bit. Because you're right, there is a hierarchy here - one-" She points at me, then herself. "-two-" Then Sophia. "-and three. You don't seem to understand that, so we should correct that. Not now, because we've got more important things to do. But, after whatever Void has planned - we're going to fight. A real fight. The same kind of deal that you and Void seem to have had going on. You can use your powers. Your weapons. Anything. And I'll prove that it doesn't matter. That I can beat you at your best easily. And then? When you're beaten? I'm going to tell you something - show you something - and I promise it will hurt you worse than anything you've ever felt. After that, there'll be nothing that you can do but accept your new role as the bottom bitch of the group."

"Bravado and empty words." Sophia laughs, making a dismissive gesture with her hands. "Trying to look good in front of Void? If I were you, I'd wait a few months - work hard enough and you might win one in twenty matches... if I hold back enough."

Taylor's grin widens menacingly. "Why don't you back that up if you're so confident? When I said just like you and Void, I meant it. A little bet, just between us. Seeing as we're settling who's on top with this, why don't we make it a bit more official? Winner owns the loser for a day. No complaining, no hesitation, no questions asked. No restrictions, as long as it isn't criminal. Whatever the winner wants, they get." She pauses. "Within reason, let's say Void gets a veto for things that cross the line - seeing as how we both agree he's already number one."

"Not afraid with what I could do with that?" Sophia probes.

Taylor adopts an imperious tone. "Why would I be afraid of anything you'll use it for? The favour goes to the winner, remember?"

Taylor has a pretty good handle on what buttons to press to make Sophia tick. The way she can't back down from a challenge, the way she resents even the implication of having her position disrespected. I'm pretty sure she's been angling for this the moment she realised the truth about her identity. Bait her into a fight as a Cape, increase the stakes and reap the rewards by getting the revenge on 'Sophia' that 'Taylor' would never be able to achieve on her own.

"Fine. Deal. I'm looking forward to it. Crushing this newfound ego of yours should be a fun way to cool off from beating on the gangs."Sophia wouldn't back down from a challenge. But... this probably isn't a smart one for her to take up. The assassin against the battlefield control mage. Omniscient in the area, capable of blinding every sightline without being blinded in turn, capable of attacking every spot in the area simultaneously... Shadow Stalker was thinking that she could close the gap and have a knife at her throat inside of a few seconds. If Taylor had a real swarm, visibility wouldn't even last a third of that long - and that was assuming she kept it politely grounded and on her side of the chosen battlefield.

...thinking about it, I don't know if Shadow Stalker has a real reference for what fighting Taylor with a serious swarm looks like. She usually keeps it pretty limited, the kind of buzzing nuisance that would irritate and blind you and a metre or so around you. Sure, the Merchants had gotten it bad - but it was already dark then and Shadow Stalker had split off to fight Mush by that point, she's only seen individual interventions and takedowns - not the absurd, biblical flood that blocked out the light, took away all sense of direction and sensory feedback and never gave you the slightest respite no matter where you ran or how you fought.

Whatever. None of my business. If they wanted to settle the pecking order, that was fine. As long as they didn't try and take the decision of ousting them from my life for me upon victory, I'd be fine with either of them winning.

But all of my money was on Taylor. No doubts. Taylor was probably at the level of her 4th-challenge self right now, based on how she was developing with her string manipulation. But that level had been tough for me, with a far more flexible kit than Sophia. Thinking about it, Sophia needed to be me going into Taylor's first and second challenge - customising costumes and protective equipment, going in with a concrete strategy, a known route and full knowledge of the target's fighting style. I had won then, it was possible.

But only possible in the theoretical sense. Sophia could pull it off with a good plan, preparation and a healthy respect for the capabilities of her opponent - but I suspected that she would have exactly zero of those things going into the duel. And I doubted that she would have the presence of mind to fix that until she is simply forced to internalise that - just like against me - her defeat wasn't an unlucky fluke.

I clear my throat gently. "Glad you have a date set. Make sure I'm around for healing in case either of you needs it. But let's get back on track. No tangents this time." I pause for a moment. "So. Anyway. PRT, useless - we already didn't think much of them. But also, as Shadow Stalker said - unusually useless this time around. The Empire throws all of their force at the one specific jail holding their Capes, the ABB dodges every bit of security plus every patrolling Cape while setting up their biggest show of force since Lung first arrived, all while directing their temporary minions to one, extremely specific location on the other end of the city to break out Oni Lee and all of them have the confidence to say that none of this will go wrong. It all happens at the same time, the heroes are too stretched to respond properly and everyone gets away clean." I look at Shadow Stalker. "Last I heard, the specific holding cells that are in use aren't public knowledge. Pretty interesting, don't you think?"

"You mean, they're working with them?" Arachne sounds offended at even the idea of it.

"A mole. Or, multiple. It would explain a lot. Not that the Empire and ABB would work together like that willingly, the timing suggests that a third party knew both of their objectives and synced them up without either of them knowing." Sophia states darkly. "If I get my hands on them, I swear-"

Naturally, neither of these two care much for the people working against them for profit and power. I don't really care myself, but I do appreciate the easy excuse to reinforce why simply arresting everyone again isn't going to work.

"We can't rule out either possibility. There's nothing we can do about it now, but we just need to accept that prison is probably going to continue to be a temporary solution. But more importantly than that - more urgently than that - we need to do something about Bakuda and Oni Lee." I have both of their attention now. "She wasn't much of a threat yesterday, bomb threat aside - but, when I start to get a connection with someone's power, I get an... impression of what the true scope of their power is. Bakuda's tech can be far more devastating than what she displayed back then. There's no true Manton limit, the fact that most of her bombs had that restraint was just a matter of limited time on her part - and possibly Lung keeping her restrained to not bring the entire city down on them. But that won't last. With Oni Lee able to make a temporary copy of any high-quality bomb that she makes, she won't settle for mass-produced garbage for long. It's going to be a huge problem if we give her time to settle in and do whatever she wants. Mass bombings, civilian casualties and collateral damage galore. We need to nip it in the bud."

"So, we hit her now. Take them out before they get the chance." Taylor concludes. "But there's no reason to think Lung won't just break her out immediately. And maybe even just Oni Lee could do it now. We have to take out all three at the same time-" She shakes her head. "-but what can we really do about Lung? Even if we managed to ambush him... people have tried that before and all failed."

"Well, that's the trick. We don't. Lung isn't relevant to our plan." I hold a finger into the air. "Think about this - what do we actually want as an outcome here?"

"To beat the shit out of Kaiser and Lung and all of their shitty friends so hard that they never show their faces again." Shadow Stalker offers.

"To stop the gangs and fix the rot in this city." Arachne reasons.

"Right. Sure. We all agree that the outcome is the most important thing, not how we get there. We tried doing it the right way, and we've paid the price for it - now all the gangs in the city hate our guts and know that we're serious about gunning for them." I make a gesture. "But there's more than one way to reach our goal. Look at the Undersiders, for example. Aside from their recent escapade, which was just because they got bomb-collared by the ABB - they barely even commit noteworthy crimes at all. Not even a single percent of what the police usually deals with. Small-scale thieves. Faultline's crew - criminals, technically, but the PRT can't bring themselves to care about their comings and goings in town because they aren't messing with civilians. They leave town, get paid to break into somewhere secure and then come back and kick back to relax quietly. They don't fuck around with the Bay, and the Bay doesn't fuck around with them." I lower my hand again. "If every gang the Bay had that kind of attitude, that kind of restraint? We'd be living in a paradise right now."

"Pretty speech, but the Empire and ABB aren't like that." Shadow Stalker counters. "They aren't in it for money or thrills - they're in it for power, and the only thing they respect is force."

"I agree." I nod. "I'm getting there. I'm just saying that, if we had a way to neuter a gang - to curb their worst aspects, to give them a healthy level of fear that if they cross the line we're going to make them pay for it - that would achieve what we all want. Right?" Two slow, hesitant nods. "Well. Good news. Because I had plenty of time last night to have a good talk with Bakuda. We didn't leave on the best of terms, but I have a very good idea on her personality right now. And I can confidently say that she is a cowardly narcissist that will never allow herself to be seen as a loser."

"And that helps us... how?" Sophia asks, not seeing my angle at all.

"It's probably harder for you to grasp without being exposed to her directly, but let me explain." I cast my mind back to the egotistical maniac and our confrontation. "She's got an ego astronomical enough to consider herself as the true leader of the ABB, only kept in line from declaring that fact by Lung's strength. She doesn't consider herself as a subordinate, just a temporarily embarrassed leader gathering her strength for a takeover. She'll do anything for her own reputation, but that anything includes begging for her miserable life so long as nobody sees her doing it. If somebody does see her, or she thinks people will find out? She'll never back down no matter how much she wants to, she'd rather die. Actually, I'm pretty sure she tried to trigger her bomb under the building during the attack but Clockblocker was already there - all because she didn't want to lose in public."

"So she's a dangerous psycho with a towering ego that won't ever surrender even if it was the smart thing to do." Taylor summarises bluntly.

"Close." I allow. "But like I said. She's a coward. And she won't back down if other people were to see her lose. If we attacked the ABB guns-blazing, there'd be no chance of a peaceful resolution or intimidating her into compliance. But, if nobody was there to see us confront her... she'll do whatever she needs to do to survive and thrive. Whatever else she is, she's also a pragmatic survivalist, the kind that looked at Lung and fell in line to keep on living - and that can work for us too, as long as we keep her ego and reputation out of it."

"You're saying we slip in to the middle of ABB territory quietly, catch her when she's alone and threaten to gut her in her sleep if she doesn't play nice?" Shadow Stalker hums. "I like parts of the idea, sure. But someone like that will say whatever she wants to live in the moment, then start plotting revenge the moment we leave. We'd need something a little more permanent to make an impression. And, on top of that, just getting in and somehow finding her alone... that's a tough ask."

"Carrot and stick." I explain simply. "On one hand, a threat. A promise that, if her bombs start killing people and throwing the city into chaos - that we can find her anywhere and take her out easily. And on the other? The possibility of cooperation."

"I'm not working with villains." Sophia spits.

"Weren't you just talking about being willing to get your hands dirty to get the right result? Blaming Arachne for her morals and hangups getting in the way of results?" I challenge. "I'm not saying we join the ABB. Absolutely not. We just, offer a personal understanding with Bakuda. We help pincer the Empire at the right time, we attack parts of the ABB that would never accept a change in leadership and eventually - offer our assistance when she finally comes to blows with Lung."

Oddly, Taylor doesn't sound as against it as Sophia. "Explain to me what we get out of this."

"You can't be seriously considering this." Sophia rounds on her.

"Can't kill them, can't beat them all at once, can't send them to prison." Taylor shoots back. "If you have solutions instead of complaints, you're free to speak up. You probably had a briefing with your team, did they have anything to say about their plans other than wringing their hands over how bad their PR looks right now?"

Sophia doesn't answer that, she simply turns back to me woodenly - gesturing for me to continue with a sharp gesture.

"First of all, We're aiming to stop the city from turning into a warzone. If we just fight the ABB, or leave them to fight the Empire - Bakuda will have no reason to hold back. The PRT won't dare to crack down on her because Lung will protect her, she'll just escalate the situation until it gets completely out of hand. She's too flexible for everyone else to tolerate if she shows off anything impressive, now that people already know that she can mass-produce some of her tools." I shake my head. "As the Tinker, her output completely decides the intensity of this conflict. If she starts pumping up out hyper-lethal grenades to the entirety of the ABB, the Empire - and the Protectorate - will come down in force out of desperation to stop her. She'll probably get a kill order by the end of it. If her work is a force multiplier, but not enough to scare the other big players in the city that it's a threat to the status quo - everything will settle down after the ABB reclaims their old territory. Nobody else knows the full extent of what she is capable of, nobody has a catalogue of everything she can do or build - everyone knows Tinkers are beholden by their power and can't explain their work, if we get through to her she has all the deniability she needs to stick to the plan of laying low."

The worst part about not being able to explain my real plan - get somewhat friendly access to Bakuda, mind-whammy her with my power and eventually convert her into an obedient, drooling sex doll - was that I had to spin up bullshit like this and try to make it sound credible. I think I was doing a fairly okay job given the circumstances, but I'm pretty sure the only reason I haven't been shot down is that the PRT have fucked up too many times for either to trust them with the normal alternatives. Even if they're doubtful, they seem somewhat willing to give me a chance to fail.

Or rather, if it failed - Sophia would consider that the perfect opportunity to sink a crossbow bolt into Bakuda's brain and call it a good day's work. And Taylor... honestly, I don't know what she's thinking. This plan is terrible but she seems willing to follow my lead here.

I continue. "Secondly, we get access to her power. Both as part of a general collaboration if we succeed, but also because the more time I spend around her - the better my own version of her Tinker powers will get. As much as I like to downplay her effectiveness online, if I had some of her grenades instead of my regular ones I'm pretty sure Lung would be dead or in a cell right now. Thirdly, Bakuda is an egotistical bitch but she doesn't really care about anything apart from her ego. If she was in charge of a gang, she'd be perfectly happy to sit there and do nothing with it as long as she had the reputation of 'too dangerous to fuck with'. That goes double for the fact that she is a Tinker and her default state is going to be locking herself into a lab rather than trying to corner the drug market or seize more territory. Lastly, we get influence. We prove our strength and reach one time and get access to a voice that controls the direction of half the ABB. Oni Lee doesn't have opinions, and Bakuda seems more outspoken than Lung. We direct their focus towards the Empire, let them soak up the rewards of behaving and cooperating - staying within our rules, and getting a bit of assistance here and there when needed. And before long, we have a power bloc of our own."

"Sounds like you want to be a gang leader yourself." Sophia comments.

"I do." I say bluntly, catching Sophia by surprise. "Not like the Empire or the ABB, I'm not interested in flooding the streets with guns and drugs or pimping out hookers. But, power? We can use that for good. If we can't rely on the PRT, whether that's because they're incompetent or compromised - we need to find people who we can work with. You already know what happens when a city wipes out its gangs entirely. The Boston Games, and here too when the Teeth left or Marquis got taken down - something always fills the gap. But if there wasn't a power vacuum once we were done, just some new faces in leadership and a secret alliance of people comfortable with how things are - that suits everyone. Fifteen years ago, the gangs teamed up one time and sent the Slaughterhouse Nine and the Teeth running out of town for their lives. Nobody could have done that alone, but together they did something that the hero teams had been utterly failing at for months."

Sophia stews in silence for a moment. "Even if it works as you imagine - and that is a huge, huge 'if' - is that really what we want? Long-term? Surrendering the city to the gangs, just for the sake of peace?" She smacks one fist against her palm. "That's exactly the logic trap the PRT fell into against Lung. These new 'friends' will just keep pushing for more and more leniency, keep gathering power and grow to become stronger than ever. We're better than that. You're better than that."

"That isn't going to happen." I deny.

"Why not?" Sophia challenges. "The power of friendship? You think they'll feel bad about using you?"

"Because I'm here." I state simply. "There is no long-term to worry about as long as I'm around, gaining more powers every single week. You know this, but they don't. And by the time they realise, they won't be able to do anything about me anymore than villains in Houston can do anything about Eidolon. At that point, they won't be able to risk turning on us even if they are every bit as rotten as you imagine. And that isn't a guarantee, I think some of them will get quite used to the benefits of an arrangement with us."

"That only matters if you don't get yourself killed running through ABB territory to find a Tinker in their lab." Taylor murmurs.

I wave a hand in the air. "Don't worry about the 'how' for the moment, I have that handled too. Let's focus on the 'why' until we're all happy." I keep my gaze fixed on the pensive Ward in our midst.

She lets out a deep sigh. "Fine, fine. Sure. Maybe you're right on that front. If your powers don't cap out, or run into a limit - then, yeah. We don't need to worry about what the city looks like in five years if you'll bend the whole thing over the kitchen counter in one." What a turn of phrase, Sophia. Highly accurate too! "But, what if this all comes out. Huh? You spill your plans to some loudmouth bitch, and she tells the next guy and the next thing you know - Armsmaster is at your door with handcuffs asking why you're a criminal now."

I roll my shoulders in a so-so gesture. "Is talking to people and working together a crime now? Well, maybe it technically is - but we both know that normal standards don't apply to Capes. Heroes work with villains all the time. I mentioned Faultline's Crew earlier. Didn't they raid some parahuman asylum a while back? Criminal behaviour, but I don't remember the PRT trying to break down the bar to get to them. Why? Because they're too much trouble to bother, and don't cause trouble themselves. Because the PRT doesn't want to make enemies where there aren't any. Even if a villain did say that a deal with us was keeping them in their position, that only makes us look more influential - and weakens their own relevance if they can only keep that position by our will."

I pause for a moment. I think I had them here. They were onboard, not objecting to this - could I take it further? Their frustration at the PRT was at a rare peak, the wound still fresh in their minds. And that... presented an opportunity. A chance to broach a subject that I hadn't planned on voicing until I was close to clearing all of their challenges.

My eyes drill into Sophia's mask. "More to the point, why should we care what the PRT thinks? Incompetency or corruption - are we going to let them stop us from making life better in the city because someone bribed them to pick a fight with us? If we're strong enough, they won't be able to do a thing. That's especially relevant to you, I think."

"Me?" She tilts her head at me. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, that if they knew that you were here - or that you had helped us before, or were planning to help us again - they'd call your probation up. Right? Straight off to juvie, or maybe some shithole assignment where you can watch monitors all day with an electronic tag around your ankle." I keep my voice steady. "Unless you had somewhere to go. A team that wants you around. Strong enough that the PRT don't dare to start a fight for a problem that isn't even theirs anymore. Still heroic, still doing good for the city - but with morals flexible enough that they're happy to give the PRT the middle-finger when they ask if they can hand over a genuine hero doing her best to make things better. A team that doesn't want to put you on a leash, but wants to set you loose on the absolute worst that the city has to offer. Doesn't that sound appealing to you?"

"I-" Sophia hesitates. "I mean, there's some appeal to the idea, but I don't want you going to war with the Protectorate for my sake. This probation is my issue, I got caught in the first place and they'd need to catch me again to actually-"

"Someone taking you away from me is my problem. I'd do the same for Arachne. And, well - there's some others you haven't met yet-"

Sophia twitches. "Stupid, sexy manwhore-" The words are almost inaudible. Almost. "-bitches keep feeding his ego but I can't even blame them-"

"-but I don't intend to lose any of my girls for the sake of a PRT working for the highest bidder. If they want to throw you in jail, you better run straight to me. That's an order." I tell her, ignoring her muttering.

She gathers herself, her body language almost looking a little embarrassed at my words. "Fine. Sheesh. If you're going to be that needy about it and you really couldn't do anything without me, I'll just have to freeload with you guys if it comes to it." She rolls her shoulders experimentally. "I notice you didn't really consult your teammate much on that. You sure she signed up to fight Dauntless for my sake? We were just plotting a scrap you know, I might have to use the favour I'm owed on my victory just to get her to look the other way when I arrive."

"I'm with Void. And he's right, the PRT tolerates so much worse for everyone else - if they really came to fight us with the city the way it is-" Taylor's jaw sets firmly. "Then the only explanation is that they're being puppeted by a villain, unknowingly or knowingly - it would only prove Void right." She smiles tightly. "And don't worry, you won't find me objecting to your presence on the team - favour or not. Your place is here, with us." She adopts a taunting tone. "Just beneath us, to be specific." One last parting shot.

Super-effective. "Fighting words, hope you can back them up." Sophia's competitive spirit blazes as strong as ever. "And don't worry, same goes for you too. I'm keeping you around, whether you like it or not. You're almost tolerable in a fight these days, I couldn't abandon all the effort I put into you now." Nice. Both of them committing to keeping each other on the team even after their planned... conflict to settle the score. That was my only concern from it, especially with my hopes of bringing Amy and perhaps - if she followed through - Spitfire to our gatherings. I didn't need people that were so jealous of me that they would sabotage my harem, my survival chances or my power bloc just to try and 'win' at love more. I think my power was probably smoothing the way for me there, smothering a few jealous tendencies and negative opinions towards polygamy.

With that said, just because it didn't look like I would have any problems with the result - that didn't make it true for everyone here. I almost feel bad for Sophia's inability to note that the light at the end of this particular tunnel is a train, but this is probably karma for her. She did do the whole bullying thing for a while, even if it's not something I really care about on a personal level. Besides, even though her highly-likely upcoming loss to Taylor might just be the worst thing that's ever happened to her from her perspective - she'll get over it. After all, the same humiliation applied when she lost - and kept losing - to me too and she still hasn't really changed her attitude to the world. She's flexible in defeat. Just comes right back with the same energy, like a rubber ball. Or a boomerang.

She turns to me. "And... fine. I'm out of arguments. I don't know if it will work, but... I'll hear you out. Do what I can. If it all falls to pieces, just make sure you get a good version of her power and I'll blow her head off then we frame the Empire for doing it. I'm in."

The important part - the thing I cared about - was that they'd accepted this. All of it. Each other too - as teammates, rivals and fellow harem members. More than that, the possibility of aligning with criminals - or rather, aligning criminals with us - and opposing the PRT if it came to it. That once seemingly insurmountable obstacle - to get them following me above the law - had almost been effortless in the end.

I hadn't even completed their challenges to brute force the logic through. If this wasn't utter vindication for my slower approach, for taking the growth of the real-life relationship every bit as seriously as the challenges, then nothing was. These girls were mine already.

Arachne bobs her head in agreement. "I was in already. You know Bakuda better than us. If you think she can be reasoned with... I'm with you all the way." She pokes me in the chest. "Alright. Spill. You said you had a plan?"

"My bug control power only works on one bug, but when I make it an administrator - it doesn't care about limits on things like distance or duration. I'd originally placed it on Tattletale, but I needed to bring my administrator power back to fight Oni Lee properly. When we agreed to a truce, I placed a new insect on Bakuda. And my power tells me exactly where my current administrator is at all times." I point my finger unerringly at the opposite wall. "That way, a few miles. In what I'm pretty sure is a basement. She took a power nap, woke up five hours ago in the middle of the night, moved across the street, had what I'm pretty sure is a meeting - or at least, she was sat down the entire time not moving much - ate some food and just an hour ago moved to what I believe is her current working area."

"You know exactly where she is, that's why you're so confident you can get her alone. We're not going to start fights in her territory until she shows her face and then try to talk, we're going to drop in on her when she thinks that she's completely safe." Sophia realises.

"Straight through the roof. Me, you if you're up for acting as my mute ash clone again. I'm pretty sure Arachne could get her bugs in anywhere if she's within a block or two. Lurk on a rooftop, hide in an alleyway, find a coffee shop or hotel and go out of costume. We can all make our presence known in any makeshift laboratory or dorm room that we need."

"Breaking into a Tinker's lab though, they always say that's dangerous. Who knows what she has there." Shadow Stalker hums. "If the walls are electrified, we could put ourselves in a terrible spot. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't bother with bomb-collars, they'd just shoot us dead and hide the bodies."

"Don't fall for the Tinker propaganda. This isn't Armsmaster with twenty gazillion dollars of government funding we're talking about here. This is a back-alley Tinker who's been in the city for a few weeks at best, and one who is most likely having her resources and output limited by Lung as a power play to keep her manageable, unless he's an idiot and doesn't realise that she hates his guts for recruiting her the way he did. Think about what the usual drug labs we bust look like. She's got a few worktables, some heavy machinery and some chemicals and resources stacked in boxes and shelves." I shake my head. "Our problem isn't what she has now, it's what she'll make if we leave her alone long enough. Her stockpile is depleted, her drones are busted, her weapons of choice are smashed and weren't good enough to beat me - she'll be brimming with ideas right now. We can't wait for her to start ticking things off of her list."

"I'm guessing she has a guard wherever she's working. Or at least people coming in to provide her resources, and take away the completed products." Sophia considers. "And who knows what her schedule is, if she misses a meeting with Lung or whoever and they come looking - only to find us with a knife at her throat, the whole plan is a bust. We'll never get her alone again, assuming we get out fine in the first place."

"I'm thinking we wait for the evening." I agree. "It was a late night for her, and she got up early as well - most likely she's going to bed early too. I don't picture her as the type to let people watch her sleep, unless Lung didn't give her a choice... but we can handle it. If there are guards, we can take them down as we arrive. We'll decide once we're there. I can barely see through my spy bug. I'm relying entirely on it positioning itself in a good enough way to get an idea of what she's doing through pure movement without getting squished - I'm running on guesswork. But, Arachne can scout the entire place in seconds and monitor any approaches full-time. We'll have to rely on her intel before jumping in."

"That gives her a full day to work with." Sophia grits her teeth. "Nothing we can do about it. As much as I want to go for her now... there's no way we could do it quietly. And, you know. My patrol. I won't get away with skipping out on it."

"Believe it or not, I've got my own idea for that. Just to keep her moving, and make sure she isn't in a super-well defended lab." I wave my phone at her, open to PHO with a draft already written and ready to post. "What do you think she'd do if someone on PHO leaked her exact location on her thread?"

The Ward flicks my mask. "Realise that you are tracking her? Use your head. That bug is the only way we have to trace her, we can't afford to spook her by you letting her know that you've got something on her."

"I didn't say Void Cowboy was going to post it. Or anything quite so absurd. I've got some old sockpuppets I used to use-" Still use. "-to troll people on PHO while my main was banned. Clean post history, made-up backgrounds and interests and nothing to really tie it back to me in any way. If someone with a post history saying that they lived near ABB territory said that a friend of theirs called, uh, Yu, mentioned he was working with the ABB's new Tinker that had set up shop in the basement of-" I check my phone. "-Rex's Motors - that seems pretty believable to me."

"Feel like you might be setting some poor guy up to get smoked by Lung." Sophia comments. "Not that I'm complaining about that."

"Joining a gang, or living with one, has some inherent dangers." I shrug. "But that's got to be a common name, there's probably dozens in the area - and if they go on a manhunt trying to find leaks or a grunt with loose lips, so much the better. The important thing is that there is no way in hell that they're not going to move their hottest asset once any hint of her location gets out. The Empire wants her dead too much to risk staying in a known location. I can space out some posts, some wrong, some right - keep her from getting settled in all day. They can only upend the lab so much. It will all slow her tinkering down to a crawl, and that makes things easier for us tonight."

"That's actually-" Taylor starts.

Sophia interrupts. "Don't. Don't give him the satisfaction." She crosses her arms. "Have you seen the shit he posts on there? Don't encourage him."

"You know I can hear you, right? I know that you think this is a good idea and you're mad about it. Not saying it doesn't change anything." I tell her.

Taylor shifts, closes her mouth and keeps her silence.

"Petty." I direct the comment at Sophia, pouting and hitting the POST button on screen.

"Not as petty as caring for the validation in the first place." She sniffs. "We're all agreed then? Send me the time and location. I'll bring my full kit, and change my costume around a little. If that's all - I'm out of here. I'm not sticking around for small talk, some of us have an actual job to get to."

I check the time. "It's still a while until your patrol, you can stick around for a bit if you like."

"So you can try and con us into competing over who gets the 'honour' of getting you off?" She pushes herself to her feet. "At which point you 'magnanimously' suggest that there's plenty of you to go around, so why don't we share?"

"Didn't even cross my mind until you said it." I lie through my teeth. "Nobody said anything about sex except you."

"Seems like you're projecting." Taylor agrees. "You were the one stripping off earlier and throwing yourself at him, I think you're just pent-up."

She flips the two of us off. "Fuck you both. I'm gone. Don't you dare start anything tonight without me, you'll fuck it up without me."

She phases through the door and vanishes from sight.

I glance at Taylor, Taylor glances off to the side - and silently picks up a hardened chestpiece with utility belt loosely hanging off from it. "How long do you think it will be until she-"

Sophia bursts back into the room, crosses the floor in three quick strides and grabs the discarded outer layer of her costume from where my ash clone had dropped it, snatching the last piece from Taylor's hand without ever meeting either of our eyes. Three steps later, she's gone back the way she came.

I snicker. "Is she just sitting outside, putting her outfit back on as if we don't know what she's doing?" Taylor nods, the corner of her mouth curling upwards. "She could have just put it on here, I think we really hit a nerve about her nymphomaniacal tendencies."

"She was probably thinking about it the entire time, waiting for you to stop talking so she could get on with ravishing you." Taylor says, slightly louder.

"If I'd only known, I'd have happily given her what she wanted." I shake my head forlornly. "Maybe-"

Something hits the door hard. "Dumbasses. Shit at acting too. Stop trying to be funny and skip straight to the fucking, it's the only thing you're kind of decent at." Footsteps sound beyond the door, fading into the distance before Taylor gives a slight nod indicating that she's gone.

"Couldn't keep her mind off sex until the end." Taylor sighs.

"It must be hard for her." I agree. We look at each other. "But we're definitely-" I don't even need to finish the question.

"Oh yes." Taylor doesn't hesitate, undoing her upper costume in seconds to expose the bare skin underneath.

I start shedding my costume as well, the majority of both our outfits ending up in a messy pile in the corner. Taylor stands over me, nude except for her half-mask.

"Maybe you were wondering earlier, what I was talking about showing Shadow Stalker once I beat her." She traces a finger along the curves of her own body, as if admiring her own physique. "I was talking about my identity. Civilian identity. I- I actually know hers. Reciprocation feels fair, but also... I've got a score to settle with her - and when she realises who exactly she lost to? I think that goes a long way towards closure for me."

Oh, shit. Admittedly, a part of me did wonder if that's what she meant - but the only reason she would bring it up now is if she was going to reveal to me first. Should I clear her next challenge? This isn't the time for a huge feud between us over why I was lying all this time. I've already had this with the Emma thing, I can't expect her to be fully rational when the reveal comes out - but not revealing my identity back when she reveals her own would be a huge problem as well.

Still, if she hasn't flown into a rage about Shadow Stalker... maybe I'm fine? Let's hold off for a moment. "That's a big decision." I squeeze the words out in a normal tone.

"Right? She could cause a lot of problems for me if she wanted, but - the more I interact with this side of her, the more I realise... she wouldn't. I really, really wanted to hate her. For her to be irredeemable, a monster no matter what mask she wears." She smiles softly. "Should have known that anyone you were willing to spend so much time around had a good side to them." She straddles my legs, bare thighs brushing against my exposed cock but not actually starting anything just yet. "But I don't want that reveal to be a surprise to you then. You deserve to know."

Before I can protest, she pulls the loosened mask off her face in one clean motion.

"I'm Taylor Hebert. Also known as Arachne. Pleasure to meet you." There's a hint of nerves in Taylor's eyes.

I open my mouth. I have an attack line here. I know that I'm the liar here, knowing the truth for weeks and months and drawing it out for my own benefit - misleading and manipulating her in the way that suited me best at the time, looking for the perfect result where I could bag the Trio and Taylor without any real complaints. But even if that's true, those facts - and the truth about my power - aren't anything she could know. That anyone in the city could realistically know. What I should know, what I have verifiable proof of - is that I tried to get Taylor to add me on PHO before I ever revealed myself.

I mean, I wasn't really thinking much of it at the time. I hadn't even had the idea that I would use that name as my Cape name yet. But, to an outside observer? It certainly looked deliberate.

As far as an unbiased judge is concerned, Taylor is the one who's been lying and gaslighting me. Hiding this one-sided knowledge the entire time. Now, I know she just isn't into internet things at all and probably just shovelled my request into her spam inbox like all the other game and community invites I've sent her way. But, it still looks like an immense expression of trust on my part - showing the account just days before it's revealed as my Cape identity. I'd be completely blameless if I pointed it out, accused Taylor of holding out on me - of knowing the entire time. Rather than a furious attack aimed at me as the whole Trio thing and rant about lying and hiding things and being stolen away happens again, she'd have to cope with her own guilt and regret at her past self's actions - having to accept that I'd entrusted such an immense secret to her when she'd done nothing to deserve it, only for her to discard it as trash.

So, so easy.

...fuck. It's objectively the best option. It defuses everything, puts me in a strong position, saddles her with the need to make it up to me and repent for either admitting that she routinely trashed all my attempts to reach out or just never felt the need to tell me she knew who I was.

...I don't think I can do it. I like her too much. I'll just... roll with it. I can't tell her I knew the entire time, obviously. But turning this expression of trust into a weapon against her just to win an argument feels a little slimy.

"Taylor?" I affect surprise. "No, actually - I can see it now." I scratch at my chin, then pinch at my mask. "This might be awkward-"

"It's okay Greg. I worked it out already." I still in surprise. "Honestly, I had some suspicions about the two of you before - I just didn't really want to think about the implications then. I was mad at Greg, hopelessly in love with Void. I liked Shadow Stalker, hated Sophia. I didn't want to ruin it by thinking too hard. I just ignored the fact that sometimes some of my bugs on you guys went missing when you were near walls, just like Void and Shadow Stalker. Told myself that there could have been other explanations, bugs get knocked away sometimes and don't find their way back - it happens a lot. After that whole fight with Emma in the toilets, when we made up, I started considering it again - although, actually, I was more focused on Sophia being Shadow Stalker for a while - I worked her out first. Helps that she's exactly the same person in and out of costume. Fights the same too."

"I-" Am I getting away with this? She really doesn't seem upset. I relax my tense shoulders a little. "You're taking that better than I expected. I thought Sophia being Shadow Stalker would make you absolutely livid."

"It probably would have. I wanted it to. Like I said, I came here looking for a fight as much as anything to do with the gangs. Any excuse. I don't even know what I wanted, be rude to her a bit and she shows her real, ugly self? Probably embarrassed myself." She looks sheepish and I promptly shake my head.

"You probably made her day picking a fight like that. You know how she is." I gesture in the direction she left. "She probably is wiping away tears of pride over you right at this very moment."

"I do know, exactly. And I hate it. This is the real her. They're both real. If Shadow Stalker had just been acting, lying to everyone - the PRT, you, me - I could have lived with that. I'd have loved that. Everything would have been great." Taylor groans. "That's the thing. That isn't the case. I know her too well now, I've had a lot of good experiences with her too. She's a fellow hero. She gets it. Even in her twisted little fucked-up world, she thinks Arachne is great. I genuinely think she'd put her life on the line to fight with me. And I'm supposed to sit here feeling bitter about the locker and that Emma liked her more than me? I've got a lot of issues with her, and I still fully intend to get her back with interest for everything she's ever done to me - but I like Shadow Stalker. And you like her too. I've got to be rational about what I want, and how I want to get it."

"You're a better person than me." I admit. "I find it hard to look past grudges."

"I don't really believe that, after how patient you were with me. If I'd trusted you from the start, we'd have saved a lot of time. I mean, I didn't twig it was you for sure until Shadow Stalker started calling you the reincarnation of Jesus and a god among men and that nobody would ever match you-"

I flip my mask off and scratch at my hair. "That was a little embarrassing to listen to. She really does believe in that stuff though, it's not an act."

"-and realised that, yeah. She was right. She's not the kind of person to fuck whoever she likes on a whim. In fact, she wouldn't want to go out and be the girlfriend of anyone - she'd think it was a thing that weaklings do or something. If she somehow actually liked two guys, she'd definitely make them fight to the death somehow and go with the winner. The only way to reconcile Sophia's actions with Shadow Stalker's was that Void and Greg were the same person too. And then, it all makes sense." She shifts her weight, one hand reaching out to stroke my dick slowly. "You told me right from the start - you were going to bring the Trio in line for me. I didn't trust you. Didn't believe you. I thought you were abandoning me to hang out with the popular kids, doing what Emma did last year. And then you just pulled it off. I thought they were using you to hurt me, but you really managed it. Even the Cape. Especially the Cape."

I shrug. "I was motivated. Just because you could put up with the bullying, didn't mean that you should have to."

"And seducing three beautiful girls was a heroic sacrifice for you." Her eyebrows quirk up, an amused glint in her eyes as she says it.

"Well..." I deflect.

"It's fine. I can't be too mad about it." A second hand joins the first, a gentle touch turning into a true jerking and massaging motion. "I... rejected you not too long before that. If I'd said yes then... maybe this whole sharing thing wouldn't even have come up."

I grimace. "Taylor-"

"Don't. It's a little embarrassing to say, but there is a certain appeal to it for me. Don't tell Sophia that though." She keeps her gaze fixed on the task at hand, a light flush appearing on her cheeks. "I mean, the picture of my boyfriend walking up to those egotistical bitches and turning them into nothing more than his personal sluts-" Taylor's grip tightens around my shaft and she pumps harder and harder. "-that's really something, you know. Just imagining it, that meek and compliant side of Sophia I saw just now - naked and begging-"

"You don't have to imagine, if you don't want to." I offer. "Madison likes taking pictures. And videos. Or having me take them. A peek wouldn't hurt."

A scarlet flush creeps up her cheeks as she almost freezes, except for the movement of her hands. "I- I probably shouldn't. I'm a hero. Privacy is- something-"

"You were just discussing justifications for attacking the PRT if it came to it only a few minutes ago, you can be a pervert too if you want." I roll my eyes, thumbing in a new passcode to get deeper into my phone's storage. I open the gallery and spin the phone around, catching a glimpse of three kneeling, naked girls sharing a facial before the gallery starts rotating.

Taylor's blush remains brilliantly red as I continue to hold the phone in place, photo making way for photo, one video clip making its way to the next. Audible slapping sounds and moans emerge from the tiny speakers as Taylor's eyes remain transfixed on the screen. When I climax to her ministrations and erupt over her hand and upper thighs, she barely seems to even notice with how distracted she is.

"Exactly the way you said it would go." Taylor breathes eventually. A frown dusts her forehead. "We should-" Her cheeks stay red as a mock angry expression appears on her face. "Your girlfriend should be on your phone in an album like this too, don't you think?"

"We have all the time in the world." I kiss her pouting lips. "And I didn't know you were interested. I'm pretty sure this is just Madison's fetish, someone else holding all this evidence that could ruin her. Maybe Sophia's too, another power play that somebody has over her to keep her in line by force. We have bigger secrets to hide from the world."

"That's true." Taylor hesitates. "Bigger secrets... like the other girls you mentioned?" She opens her mouth, closes it again. "Not the Trio. Others. Capes?"

"Yep." I confess. "Is that a problem?"

"No, not at all. Definitely not that part. I mean-" She looks to the sky for a moment. "-I'm not going to doubt you. Ever again. I promise, it won't happen."

"I wasn't thinking you were, what brought this on?" I ask with a furrowed brow.

"I thought what you did with the Trio was impossible. And, I'm sure whatever the other Cape is that you're screwing on the side would blow my mind too. It's obvious you know what you're doing at this point when it comes to girls. You've got a... magnetism of sorts. Maybe it's your power, or maybe it's just you. I don't care." She wets her lips. "But that's- that's what this is about too, right? Bakuda? You aren't really sure if she's the reasonable type right now, but if you have the time to work your charms on her - if you get some small part of her power, maybe offer to do some Tinkering sessions together. Bond. Get to know each other... then, this is just Sophia again. Right? You're not looking to ally with her, you're looking to fix her. Own her. She won't want to bomb the city if all she wants is for you to bend her over the counter and fuck her silly."

I adopt a pained expression. "I mean, it's possible. I'd like to stress that every single one of the reasons I gave earlier were valid. But, yes - I also think it's pretty likely that prolonged exposure with me will make it likely for her to genuinely-" I pause, considering my words. "-I don't know if 'switch sides' is quite the right term, maybe 'aligning with us' is the phrase I want. Like I was saying, villains that we can tolerate, that we can call on in need, that don't cross our red lines-"

"-and who can prove their undying loyalty to you on their backs with their legs in the air." She adds.

I blow up my cheeks and let the air out in a huff. "...maybe."

"Definitely." She counters. "How can we trust them if they don't love you? If they're just doing it for power and convenience, their loyalties could change at any time. I don't think I'd have it in me to even look at Shadow Stalker right now if my only reference of her was a violent vigilante and I discovered she was Sophia. I was serious in my wording earlier. Spending time with you - it made her better. Brought a side of her out into the open that I could actually like. A hero rather than just a thug that wanted to be justified. And that started from you making her into your woman. It made it genuine, a real connection. Something that can't be faked for the sake of convenience. And if you can do that for Sophia of all people on a whim, I think you can fix a real villain too. I'd like that."

"And here I was worried that you'd get jealous at the idea." I laugh gently.

"As long as you don't leave me behind then-" She glances at my phone once more, whatever she sees there reigniting her blush. "-as I said. There's a certain appeal to it."

"There's no risk of that, so I'll just have to make sure to put on a good show for you." I assure her.

"You'd better." She closes her eyes, a complicated series of emotions settling over her face.

"Something the matter?" I tilt my head.

"Remembering how many times I've humiliated myself over the last few months." She whispers, as if spilling a dark secret. "God. I told you I didn't need you because I had a boyfriend-"

"Which was true, Don't worry about it. It's not embarrassing or something to be laughed about, honestly I forgot all about it until you mentioned it." I lie fluently. "Focus on the present. Me. You. Our future."

"Right. Of course." She considers my still-erect cock for a moment - then propels herself up to hold herself in position above it, pressing dangerously against her slit. Then, she just holds position and locks eyes with me. "Not that long ago, I asked if I could be your girlfriend on the side. Cape-to-Cape, nothing more. Things have changed a bit since then."

"They have." That's an understatement.

"Well. Hi, Greg. I'm Taylor." There's a silly, sunny smile on her face as her utterly naked figure gazes down at me. "I love you. More than anything. Will you go out with me?"

I fight a smile of my own, then give in. "Hi Taylor. I love you too. There's nothing I'd like more." I toss my phone to the side, settle both hands on her hips. "I want you to be mine. All of you."

"You have me." She whispers, one final sentence before I pull her down onto my full length - and her face comes down to meet mine in a searing kiss.

It's not our first time together. We know each other's bodies so well by this point that it wouldn't even matter if the light pouring in through the windows was to go out. But, somehow - things are different. Some distance has been closed, some barriers broken between us in a way that makes us closer than ever. I still had some secrets. Truths that I wouldn't dare to utter until I'd completely maxed out her challenges, but the ones that were the most personal - the ones biting at my conscience since this whole saga had flared it's head - they were gone. Out in the open, and she didn't care. Because she loved me. And that was all that was important. It was that easy. The confrontation over my real identity, with Sophia, the Trio, the harem - even the understanding that I wasn't just reluctant to join the PRT, I might actually oppose it one day - had been met with nothing but acceptance and support.

All of that planning over potential arguments, the readiness to trigger her sixth challenge and immediately clear it just to navigate the conversation safely - all wasted. And I couldn't be happier about that.

And the feeling was mutual. Taylor's joy is infectious, she's clearly been carrying doubts of her own as well. The emotion is especially potent coming from someone who usually comes off as a little dour and repressed. And when I finally, finally let out a gasp of defeat - spilling my seed into her warm, waiting pussy? She just grins impishly, slides off of me - and starts to coax me back to life with her mouth.

It's quite possible she has no intention of letting me leave this room alive. What a way to go.

"Still ready for more?" It's a rhetorical question. "Of course you are. Sophia had you nailed earlier, didn't she? Two hot girls on your lap, how much time did you spend thinking of ways you could have us both fighting over your cock?"

"I'll have you know I was fully focused on the task ahead." I keep my face straight.

"Oh? Well if you're not interested, I guess I'll have to find something better to do when I win our duel once we've handled Bakuda." She says innocently. "Maybe I'll just have her do my homework, I'm hopelessly behind on some classes..."

"Hang on, hang on, I never said that." I make a pacifying gesture. "Let's not be too hasty, when you win all of the urgent issues will be out of the way at that point so it's only natural-"

"I'm joking. There's nothing else I'd rather do than drag you into the fun." She takes a moment to lick one side of my shaft clean. "When? Not worried I might lose?"

I snort. "No. Her skillset is good enough that she might be able to edge out a tough win with good terrain and preparation on her part, but she isn't going to bother with that. She'll be insulted at even the idea of being unable to win in a completely fair battle. Just like she did with me."

Her eyes remain alight with mischief. "Mhm. I agree. How many times do you think I can get her to double-down after the first loss and I tell her who I am?"

I pause, playing the scenario in my head. "That's devious. You might end up with a permanent live-in maid."

"Sounds fun. I'm sure I could loan her out to the right guy. Knowing you, you could find a use for her." She laps her tongue at the tip of my cock for a moment. "At least, once you've shown Bakuda the way things are going to be from now on." With that, she adopts silence - plunging my cock fully into her mouth and down her throat, a look of devotion, love and lust in her eyes.

Mine. I stroke her hair in encouragement as she works at her task.

This is what I'd been working towards. This is why I'd slowed my challenges down rather than sweeping the field at every turn. A few challenges here, a few there. Taylor had only had half of her boosts and she was like this. Sophia was missing boosts. Amy was missing boosts. And I'd argue that every single one of them was more committed to my cause than some people I'd just maxed out immediately. Emma.

With villains, people that were outright antagonistic to me... I'd need to follow the same formula. My power would give me the opening - turn hate into simple opposition, giving me a window to negotiate in... but I'd need to make the most of that. I didn't need to turn it into love off of a single boost, I just needed to make a foundation that future challenges would secure into place.

It had to be perfect. It had to be ironclad. Bakuda was unstable with a fragile ego. All of the explosiveness - pun unintended - of Emma with the same kind of hair-trigger topics to avoid. But, I knew how to do it right this time. I knew how important real life was this time. And, critically, I wasn't alone. If I failed... I had friends and lovers right next to me to pick up the slack. If things didn't go to plan, I had little doubt that Shadow Stalker or Arachne would take it upon themselves to kill any number of criminals necessary to ensure my escape. Even if that put them on the wrong side of the law.

It should be comforting, because that had been one of their moral obstacles I'd been worrying over how to overcome for so long now.

But it was a responsibility as well.

Mine. Yes. But, that also means I have to look after them. When they're like this, I can't trust them to be objective about cutting their losses if I get in a bad fight anymore. They'd be emotional in the moment, if I died to Lung - I'm pretty sure Taylor would try to kill him or die trying. Sure, given time to work through her emotions she'd be able to move on - heartbroken, but fine. But in the heat of the moment? Yeah. I've got to make sure I don't put myself in any terrible situations while she's around.

Mine. Completely, utterly, mine. I let the thought simmer happily again.

Then, I direct my attention halfway across the city. Where one particular bug is moving at breakneck pace without so much as twitching a wing. Must be in a car. It had left the presumed workshop not too long ago off the back of my post - Bakuda was relocating.

You too, Bakuda. You don't know it yet, but...

Mine.