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In Nuclear Fire by BatRou-Dawg
Misc » Book X-overs Rated: M, English, Supernatural & Fantasy, Words: 606k+, Favs: 54, Follows: 65, Published: Apr 10, 2023 Updated: Apr 18, 2023
21Chapter 7
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
I lick my lips, as I consider which hand to attack with.
Taylor, who's showing her back to me, remains tense.
Having settled on one, I swipe with my left aiming at her knee. Without needing to see me, she tries to sidestep, but she gets entangled on her own feet, stumbles, and I manage to hit her exposed flank.
"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" She groans, as she falls to the ground.
"Are you alright over there?" I offer her a hand that she promptly accepts.
"Yeah. I need more practice with this." We are in the abandoned factory. The first building we found a week ago, this time devoid of uncomfortable bodies. We don't know what happened to it, and just assume that someone complained about the smell.
We go back into position to restart the exercise.
The idea's relatively simple: Taylor puts a fly on each of my limbs, and I proceed to punch and kick her at random, hoping for her to evade through bug-sense alone.
It works!
The problem now is that she simply lacks the speed, and training to react on time. That's something to be fixed with exercise.
After a couple more minutes of that, we drop, exhausted, to the ground. The punches and kicks weren't that draining, but Taylor refused to start without twenty minutes of running followed by half an hour of calisthenics. It was during that time when I realized that she's in far, far better shape than I am.
"Have you thought about taking self-defense lessons?" I ask while passing her a bottle of water.
"With what money?"
That's an excellent point. Can I build a training bot or something similar?
I make a mental note on that.
"Have you figured out what the problem with your power is?"
After the mild panic attack that I suffered the previous night, I decided to tell her. Not that my power's based on a videogame but that it'll soon switch into something else. It was the right thing to do, we're partners in crime now after all! And I don't want to screw her over by being unable to complete something she wants.
The good thing is that maybe the next tree will have the stun rifle that Taylor has been asking for. See? Everything will work out at the end.
"I don't think it's a problem but a feature." I say scratching my chin. "My specialty will change and that will allow me to build new things."
"But you don't know what."
"No, I don't and that's frustrating me. I need to finish my drone before the week's up." Figuring my specialty was like opening a floodgate. Now my brain is full of hundreds of blueprints, each one more absurd than the last. From plasma cannons and bombs to giant mechas and freaking Motherships. And even those pale in comparison to the Zerg. The living, breathing Zerg that could eat this planet in weeks if left unchecked.
Of course I'm not going to build them, at least not the biological ones. I find them unpleasant to look at, lacking the elegance and refinement of their mechanical counterparts.
And now I feel sad again thinking about all the awesome stuff that I won't be building because my time is running out.
My sour mood must be reflected in my face because Taylor places a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Could you do it if you dismantle all your other stuff?"
I did think about that. "Maybe if I dismantle everything. But I don't want to sacrifice all our stuff for this one project. You know what they say about putting all your eggs in one basket."
"Yeah, I don't want us to go back to square one either."
She tosses me the water bottle back and, with every muscle of my body groaning in pain, I put it back in the bag. "Ugh, my everything hurts! I don't want to imagine how I'll wake up tomorrow."
"Come on, after that little warm-up?"
Taylor has been in an incredibly good mood since last night and that translated into some light banter.
Well, she has been training for more than a month at this point as preparation for her hero career. I have a lot of ground to catch up to.
"In my defense, I'm not supposed to see actual combat. I'm the Q to your Bond!" Good thing that those two predated Zion's arrival.
"Didn't you tell me to always have a backup plan in case of emergencies?"
I grumble under my breath.
"Come on, you should join me in the mornings for my daily work-out! It will be fun. And it will be nice to have someone to do it with."
This girl's going to be the death of me. Maybe literally considering who she is. "Fine, I'm in."
I'm going to regret this.
The sound of the alarm makes me jump off my bed. The source of it is my visor which I turned into an alarm clock the previous night and is currently displaying the 6 am.
Why did I set it up so early? I still have an hour before I have to get ready for school!
"Peter! Are you ready for some jogging?"
Oh, right, that.
Yes, here comes the regret.
Forcing one foot in front of the other, I drag myself into my classroom despite the protest of my sore limbs and my eyelids that insist on remaining closed.
The first period is maths. Fuck me, I don't want to deal with that!
Oh, well, I'm too freaking tired to argue with the teacher in any case so I can use the time to relax. I'll just rest my eyes for a moment.
When I wake up, I find out that I'm once again in detention.
During my lunch detention, Missy approaches me. As far as I understand it other students aren't supposed to interact with me during the period, but I guess that she gets a free pass for being my partner. I also suspect that the school might have realized that their 'detentions' are more like rewards for me, but that might be giving them too much credit for. "So, do you want to talk about what happened earlier?"
Today's menu is a tasteless piece of hard meat with vegetables that I swallow while talking to her. "What is there to talk about? In my defense this time I accept that I was the one in the wrong."
"Really now?" That mocking grin of hers promises pain. "Then would you mind sharing why you fell asleep? Didn't you take enough sleep during the weekend?"
I didn't, but that isn't the sole reason why I'm so tired. "It's my cousin's fault. She's a slave-driver who insists that I exercise with her during the mornings. What kind of madman does that at 6 am?"
"I do."
"Thanks for proving my point." I'm immediately hit by the edge of a book. "Ouch!"
"You deserve it." She then opens that same book and shows me a blank page where there are some formulas written in pencil. "And talking about points, can you help me with my math homework?"
"Sure, that's what I'm best at." I look up at what she has written. "Well, your problem is here, you forgot to turn the exponent into a root there."
"Of, course! Silly me." Missy exclaims while slapping her forehead. "How could I have missed that?" Does she need to be that dramatic? It's not a big deal.
"Eh," I shrug. "It's a simple mistake, a lot of people make it when they start."
"Yeah, yeah. Say, can I have your phone number? If I need some more help I can call you."
"Sure." I write down the number to Taylor's home and give it to her.
"Thanks!"
And with the sound of the bell, we make our ways back to our respective classes.
All things considered, I'm slightly surprised that Missy already started with quadratic equations.
I finish my day of school without further troubles and make my way back to Taylor's.
"I'm ba-"
"Peter!" Taylor cries at me rushing down the stairs with panic written on her face. That can't be good. "Close the door." I do. "When I got home I found this in the mailbox."
It's a flyer.
A flyer urging families to enroll parahuman children in the Wards program.
Shit. Good thing that Danny isn't home yet.
"To the attic!"
We close the windows and I put my visor on to scan the block. "Okay, no surveillance vehicles around us. I can also see that the neighbors received the same flyers." Electronics sensor, zoom, and X-rays. I seriously love my visor. "But that could be the PRT masking who the flyers are actually intended for."
I must say that I'm making a really good job pretending to keep my cool.
The opposite to mine is Taylor's reaction, who looks as if she's about to start pulling her hairs out. "This is bad. Were we followed? Can they force us in if they find out? We did attack the wards! Why did we run?!"
What could have happened? How did they…
Missy.
Oh, fuck me! Of course that question from earlier was too advanced for her! It was a trap!
"Taylor, breathe!" I tell her, finding her desperation contagious. "If they suspect one of us, then it's me."
"You? Why you? They didn't see you!"
"My school must have informed them about me."
And now her panic gives place to the anger. "Why? What did you do at school?"
My resolve is tested under her glare. "Nothing!" I lie. "But schools inform the PRT about students that go through extreme experiences."
As fast as it came, all that anger banishes as her brain seemed to go through a hard crash. "What?"
"Adding to that my behavior problems, they must suspect that I have powers. So this," I gesture at the flyer. "Must be them assuming that Danny also knows and trying to convince him to add me to the program." Shows what they know. Danny wouldn't realize that I have powers even if I paraded around the house in power armor.
Taylor blinks at me in confusion. "Slow down and go back. What was that about schools informing the PRT?"
Is that actually canon? I remember reading something about how the locker incident was badly archived, and that being the reason why the PRT never came to interview her. "Yes. Power manifest during moment of extreme emotion. So, if something big happens to a child -like the death of their parents- the school informs the PRT so they can go check if they are capes."
What follows reminds me of the implosion of an apartment block in slow motion.
The first ones to collapse are Taylor's ankles, then her hip. With a trembling hand she searches for a spot to sit on the floor, and with her remaining energies she drags her knees against the chest.
I can't see her spirit, but I'm sure it's lying in pieces all over the floor.
"W-why," Her voice sounds as dead as she looks. "Why didn't they tell the PRT about me?"
I don't have an answer to give her. I don't know if that was malice, incompetence or a genuine error. I also don't know who is to be blamed, if Winslow or the PRT. Knowing the setting I'm in, the answer could be all of the above.
Seriously, fuck that locker, fuck the government, fuck Winslow, and fuck its principal in particular.
I sit next to Taylor and give her a one-armed hug. "It's what the school administration should have done."
Her face is hidden between her knees but I hear the distinctive sound of sobbing. "Always the same story. I try to keep pushing but every day is harder. Sometimes I don't know if anyone would even care if I died."
That's not a nice thing to think. I should know, some years ago I went through a similar phace. "They are imbeciles that don't value you. That's them being in the wrong, not you." I offer her a handkerchief that she uses to clean her face.
"Thank you. For believing that." She… oh, God, poor handkerchief. I allow her to keep it. "What should we do now?"
I press the tips of my fingers together while I let my brain work. "Now we keep doing what we have been doing. A sudden shift in our behavior can be as damning as any other evidence. So we go out, we train, we scavenge, but are careful about it."
She nods. "That sounds good." With a visible effort, she manages to curl her lips into a smile. "You know, I was about to suggest we stopped our morning runs but thanks for convincing me against that."
That cheeky brat!
I let her win that one. She has gone through enough already.
There are no further alarms after that one and the week progresses smoothly. I keep using my visor to look after surveillance vehicles but nothing suspicious shows up in the HUD. Maybe ours was nothing more than an overreaction and the flyers a coincidence, or maybe the PRT has decided to go for the 'wait and see' approach hoping for Danny to make the first move. Little they know that man has the initiative of a dripping wet blanket.
In matters of tinkering, the khaydarin crystal has continued growing providing me with the materials needed to finish Taylor's equipment. There are no more cut corners and now she sports a fully functional set of Visor, Blade, and Teleporter.
And then coms Thursday.
"I must say, you do have talent." Missy says looking at the drawing I brought to school.
I came up with a very elegant solution to mask my tinkering: I used two sheets of paper to write my idea, a normal and a tracing one. I wrote all the nonsensical numbers and symbols that my power needs to work on the tracing sheet, so when I removed it I was left with a very good drawing of a marine armor. No tinkertech here, no sir.
I just hope that's enough to trick her.
"Thank you. Drawing has always been a hobby of mine."
"Can I keep it?"
I open my mouth to reply but the words don't come out. That's mine! It's something that I created and that I needed to build! Who is she for me to give it to her freely?
No, no, that makes no sense. Those aren't my real thoughts! That's my power talking! I brought the blueprint of the armor because it's not something I want to build! Or better said, not something that I can build before my powers shift.
It's something I can allow myself to lose! Still, the idea of giving it to someone else…
"S-sure." Damnit, I stuttered! Why did I have to stutter there?
"Thank you, Peter." She puts it inside her folder and leaves, allowing me to continue lunch in peace.
That could have gone better.
Would Armsmaster or Kid Win be able to tell if that's true tinkertech from a drawing of the finished product? I don't think so. There are no formulas or symbols, and no details on the inner mechanism either, but I can't be sure with how arbitrary powers work.
The PRT's claws are slowly but steadily closing around me. And once they do I'll have to say 'bye-bye' to all my plans of replacing humanity with robotic doppelgangers.
I do have an option but it isn't an idea I'm totally into.
I could just rob an electronics store.
The problem there is that I don't know what kind of defenses a place like that will have. In the world of Worm, where tinkers run amok, it only makes sense to be extra careful with that kind of stuff.
There has to be a reason why one doesn't hear about Hardware Stores being robbed daily, or why the PRT doesn't set up traps in them for enemy tinkers.
Damn, there's still a lot that I don't know about this world!
Too many maybes and unknowns that can easily screw me over.
With those and many other thoughts flying inside my head, I make my way back to the classroom.
And that's when I see it.
Glued to the bulletin board there's a newspaper clipping announcing an event to take place in Arcadia High.
Arcadia High Science Fair!
Come look at the amazing inventions of our students
Open all weekend
That…
That could work!
In a science fair, there won't only be electronics but also rare metals, magnets, chemicals, and maybe even a geod or two. I'll be sacrificing the quantity of the store for the diversity and maybe even the quality of the fair.
Ok, no. Let's calm down and try to think this through. I have to consider the security, and Arcadia is the place where the Wards go, so it's just logical for it to have some powerful defenses.
But will they be better than the Shopping Mall's?
Probably. Children do go there en masse. But the fair is an extraordinary event that will attract even more people than usual, many of them outsiders coming from all over the city to look at the stands.
Logic dictates that if one were to find a breach in Arcadia's security, it'd be during an even like that. And the fair will be open all weekend, so the objects will most likely be left there during the night, ready for the taking.
It'll be stupidly dangerous. Maybe far more stupid than dangerous. But if I manage to pull this off I won't be worrying about resources for a long time.
My mind set, I start planning.
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In Nuclear Fire by BatRou-Dawg
Misc » Book X-overs Rated: M, English, Supernatural & Fantasy, Words: 606k+, Favs: 54, Follows: 65, Published: Apr 10, 2023 Updated: Apr 18, 2023
21Chapter 8
"Goodbye Peter, see you on Monday!" Missy waves at me as she walks to her bus.
"Goodbye, Missy!" I wave back, trying not to think about the fact that we could end up seeing each other much earlier. Like if, for example, she's one of the Wards to respond to tonight's attack. Or if I get captured and forced into the Wards with her.
No, no, those are the thoughts of a defeated fatalist. Very much me-thoughts but I can't allow myself to be like that during the final hours of my preparation.
"So, Peter, will we be going to the factory today?" Taylor asks me after I arrived home. I very much liked that we started calling our impromptu hideout 'the factory'.
"Sorry, but not now. I want to finish this."
She looks disappointed by my answer. "Okay, I have some homework to do anyway. But tomorrow we'll go out on patrol, right?"
"Of course we will!" Assuming I don't spend the weekend behind bars.
I haven't told her about Arcadia and my plans involving it. I just don't think that's a line she's willing to cross. Yes, we attacked the Wards but that was an honest accident while what I'm about to do is a very premeditated affair.
That only puts even more pressure on me to do it right.
And the first step towards my success is the object I'm building now. It cost me all my remaining scrap, but it'll be the most important piece in my endeavor: an EMP grenade. Once activated it'll fry all the unprotected electronics of the area. It'll destroy a lot of useful material but a lot more will be left unscathed, and I'll be free to roam around without the danger of being recorded.
The authorities will be alerted once Arcadia's security system goes down, but with my teleporter I can get in, steal the useful stuff, and get out in seconds.
Also, if they suspect parahuman involvement I hope that the security guards will be ordered to hold back until Protectorate reinforcements arrive. That should give me even more valuable seconds.
"Peter!"
Taylor's voice makes me jump to my feet. "What?"
"Dinner's ready."
"Dinner?" I look at the clock. Already several hours have passed since the last time I checked. The afternoon has gone in a flash during my tinkering. "Oh."
"You look very distracted. More than usual." Taylor's concern is appreciated but ultimately unneeded.
"Yeah, sorry. Just thinking about what will happen with my powers tomorrow." That technically isn't a lie. As far as Taylor knows, I have given up on collecting the necessary materials for the drone and will be dismantling our equipment. I don't feel like correcting her.
Dinner is, as usual, a somber affair. Now even more noticeable after Taylor's improved mood that Winslow has failed to crush so far. And I just can't shake the feeling that she keeps glancing at me.
I help with the dishes and then go back to my room. With my EMP grenade finished I have nothing else to do but wait, and wait, and wait a bit more.
At some point I fall asleep but that's what alarm clocks were made for. It's midnight, I'm still tired, but the sudden influx of adrenaline pushed it away. I ready my visor and check around the house. Danny's asleep and Taylor… is too. Perfect!
I change clothes, tie the Blink Band around my waist, equip the Blade, and teleport away.
My second nocturnal trip around the city isn't anything at all like the one we had with Taylor almost a week ago. That time we went in zig-zag around the city without a clear destination in mind, stopping every so many blocks to check for trouble or criminals to fight.
This time I have a very clear destination in mind and an objective to fulfill.
Arcadia… is most definitely not Clarendon. And I'm absolutely sure it isn't Winslow either. Seriously, no school has any right to be this pretty. It's four stories high, and with an auditorium and gym to boot. The cafeteria's on the southern side, and I can see it because of the massive glass panels that lead to the gardens outside. There's a parking lot for cars and another one for bicycles, with no graffiti or litter ruining the view.
Damn, I wouldn't mind attending classes here.
Another thing that I see, and that's far more important for my problem at hand, are the security guards stationed in and outside the place. With a glance I count eight, three in each of the two main entrances and another two patrolling the place, but my visor reveals several more inside. Also cameras. Lots and lots of cameras.
The good thing is that Arcadia's surrounded by tall buildings, and so I have several places to use as watchpoints while I scout the place.
This operation should have needed several days of scouting just to get a proper feeling for the guards' patrol routes and schedules. I'd have felt more comfortable if I had done this earlier, but that's what the grenade is for: a battering ram that will crack Arcadia open like an eggshell.
Now, where's the science fair? In the gym. What are the defenses of the gym? Three cameras and two security guards.
I can also see the computer lab on the second floor but I doubt I'll have time to hit both places at the same time. Even more so considering that dismantling the computers will take me several minutes each.
As sad as it is, the lab isn't an option.
Ok, I know what to do.
First I'll need to cause a distraction somewhere else in the building to attract the guards' attention. There's a blind spot on the third floor next to a fire hydrant. I'll teleport in, open the hydrant, and then teleport out. An EMP grenade later I'll move in for the kill.
Yes, I like how that sounds.
My visor indicates it's 2 AM. I have spent the last hour just looking at the place but now I'm ready for it.
I can win! I feel great! I can do this!
My little chant done, I clench my fists, set the beacon for my teleporter, and…
And suddenly I find myself face down as someone tackles me to the ground.
Who? How? When?
I trash around but I can't break free of their grip.
A villain? A hero? Maybe Aegis? No, Glory Girl! It has to be Glory Girl!
I try to activate the blade but discover it's no longer attached to my wrist. How did that happen? How did they know it was there?
And then I see a very familiar visor staring down at me. Familiar because I built it.
"T-Ladybug?"
" fuck. Do you think you're doing?" Taylor's tone sends a chill down my spine. She's most definitely not happy with me.
"W-what does it look like?"
"It looks to me like you're about to rob Arcadia."
"Yeah, it is just what it looks like."
She steps out of my chest, grabs me by the neck of my jacket, and pulls me into a seated position. "Can you explain to me what crossed through your head when you decided to come here?"
At least that's a question I can answer. "The science fair."
"The what?!"
"The science fair. I was expecting to find a lot of useful material to farm." She just remains there staring down at me, so I use the chance to ask a question of my own. "And, mhh, how did you find me?"
She pulls her visor out a bit to rub her eyes. "My bugs woke me up when you teleported out of the house." Okay, that sounds amazingly useful. "Then I dusted off my bicycle and followed you here." She throws a thumb over her shoulder aiming at the fire escape.
Bicycle? I didn't know she owned one of those. "But how did you know I was here? I'm sure I was moving faster than any bicycle." To answer my question, she presses the side of her visor. Mine immediately starts beeping, showing an arrow pointing at where Taylor's is. "Oh. I had totally forgotten I had installed that function."
She raises her hands as if fighting against herself to not strangle me. "Why would you do this? Why would you rob Arcadia?"
For the first time since arriving here, I feel the age people believe I have. "Because I need to."
"No, you don't!"
"I do! And why do you care? Why are you trying to stop me?" I talk back, not bothering to moderate my volume. "Taylor, they never did anything for you, they don't even know you exist. You owe them nothing!"
"I care because this is Arcadia! This is the only fucking place in this city that's worth a damn!"
Is she being serious? Is she being this self-righteously stupid? "Oh, please, it can't be as good as you imagine."
"Of course it can't! I already know that, do you think I'm stupid?" Her reaction makes me flinch. "Nothing in my life has ever gone right, so why would Arcadia be any different? But I want to believe that there's a better place! I want to believe that, maybe, there's a place where I could be happy. That's one of the few things that keeps me going every day!"
I… shit. "I didn't know you felt that way."
"Of course you didn't. You never asked!"
Now I feel like I screwed up. "Yeah, that-"
"So why didn't you tell me about this?"
"Because it's a crime." I answer with a shrug. "I thought you'd try to stop me."
"Of course I'd try to stop you because what you're doing is stupid!"
"Well, it was the easiest way I saw to get the resources I needed."
Taylor stands up and walks back and forth before returning to me. "How can you be this smart but so, so stupid?!"
In her defense, that isn't the first time someone has asked me that. "I like to consider that as one of my charming quirks."
"Living with you will be an experience." She pinches the bridge of her nose and under her breath I can swear I hear her counting up to ten. "Okay, what do you need? Can't you get it somewhere else?"
I push myself to my feet. Is she trying to help me? "I thought about assaulting an electronics store but I assumed their security would be higher."
"And you assumed that a school wouldn't have that much security because…?"
"Because it's a school, what kind of monster attacks one?"
I can only imagine the face she's giving me underneath her mask. "Of course, of course. But why Arcadia?"
"Because of the Science Fair as I said. They have a lot of different stuff. I'd be like a child in a candy store there!"
"And you can't find it somewhere else? Like…" She takes a step back and clenched her fists as if not sure what to say. "Like Winslow?"
I have to do a double-take at that. She's talking about attacking her High School. That hellhole of a place that should have been razed to the ground years ago.
Why didn't I think about that?! I'm a goddamn moron!
"I-"
"They have a computer lab! Some thirty computers in there, and the principal's office has an a/c unit and a better computer than anything we have in the lab."
"We-"
"S-so, if I take you to Winslow, can I convince you to not rob Arcadia?"
I take a moment to process everything she just said. "Yes, yes you can."
With a swipe of the blade, I cut open Winslow's back door, together with the chain that binds it.
We are in.
There's no need for scouting or complicated plans here. No security guards patrol these corridors, with only one at the entrance. Security cameras are almost nonexistent too, with some few real ones and many decoys.
What there is plenty of, is litter that the janitor hasn't cleaned yet, and a lot of graffiti spread over the walls. There are also broken locks, broken windows, and chipped paint.
"This is not a school, this is a bloody spittoon!" I don't bother hiding my voice as there's nothing, and no one, to hear us there.
"Don't remind me." Taylor hugs herself and glances over her shoulder as if expecting someone to jump out of the shadows. "These hallways look so big when there's no one in them."
"Try to imagine how they look to me." Something that my smaller size doesn't help with. "Now, where to?" I can use the visor to find my way to the lab but letting Taylor lead me sounds like the polite thing to do.
"Over here."
It's on the second floor where we find our objective.
"Oh, this is nice." As she said, there are some thirty computers neatly arranged in lines of fifteen. It would be impossible for us to take that many computers with us back home, but I don't need the entire things. "Help me break them open. I only need the electronics, so take out the motherboards and ignore the rest."
She wasn't kidding, those computers are old but they will fulfill their purpose as raw materials.
"Shit!" Taylor's curse is accompanied by the sound of a cracking motherboard. "Sorry about that."
I look at what she just did, and an idea comes to my brain. The main thing is to have fun, isn't it? I check my visor and… oh, look at that, Winslow's sole security guard is across the street buying cigarettes at a 24/7 store. What a tragedy. "Don't worry about it, I'll recycle it anywise so don't be afraid to be a little rough." I pull another component, tearing the wires out, and as I do so I very purposely hit a monitor with the back of my arm. It hits the floor with a bang of broken glass. "Oops." I tell her with a smile.
I can't see her face, but I know that underneath the balaclava she's smiling too.
"Oh, Tech-Priest, how clumsy of you." She grabs one of the towers, drops it against the ground, and with a foot pressed against it she tears the wires out. "That's how you do it."
We hurl the keyboards across the room, smash computers opened with chairs, and even nail the mouses into the styrofoam ceiling.
We laugh as we trash the place, leaving pieces scattered all over the room. An hour later we are done, with our bags full of useful components and time to spare.
"Hey, Ladybug."
"Yes?"
"Want to go check if your headmistress has anything interesting?"
I can see her smiling underneath her mask.
One of the few cameras that does work is the one that leads to Blackwell's office, no surprise there, but the most worrisome thing is the proximity sensor. It's an older, cheaper model that will send an alarm to the authorities if activated. Same if I cut the power because it has a back-up battery.
Good thing that the EMP grenade will burn both the camera, the sensor, and the battery in one fell swoop, meaning that no signal will escape Winslow.
"Three, two, one." I make the countdown and the device triggers. It doesn't explode like a conventional grenade but unfolds as it emitted the pulse. Very useful for stealth operations. "Okay, let's go in." I also made a small field modification to reduce its radio of effect to just a couple meters, meaning that the only affected room is Blackwell's.
"Ugh, what's that smell?"
"Burnt plastic, Ladybug." After opening the door I see that the main server has been toasted. I also see several shelves with files and a desk where Blackwell's personal computer rests. Thankfully it has been spared due to being unplugged.
"I never liked this place."
"You were dragged here often?"
"At the start to discuss my conduct. Then I stopped complaining." There's a slight temblor in her voice, as if she's holding her anger back. I hear a cracking sound and see that the files and books are being covered in insects. "Why did no one believe me?"
That only cements my decision of what to do with this place, and I rush out of the office. "Follow me."
"What about the AC?"
"Ignore it."
"O-okay."
Our backpacks are full, and so are our pockets. This had been a great raid, amazing in fact, and these materials will last me a long while.
But there's one last thing to be done.
With her longer legs, Taylor has no trouble catching up to me as we go into the Gym. "Why did we come here? There are no computers here."
"I'm not here to collect materials, Ladybug."
On the back, there's a room with two important things: one is the storage full of wooden equipment, and the other is the pump station that controls Winslow's fire system. I'm kind of surprised that Winslow has one of those.
The Psi Blade makes short work of the engine, splitting it in half.
"What was that for?" Taylor takes a step back in surprise.
"To help me burn this place down."
She flinches at that. We had a lot of fun ruining the place, but burning it might be too much for her. "What?"
"Yes. This place is a hellhole. It's hurting you, and will only keep hurting you until you're done with it. I don't want you to go back here."
"I know that but-" She clutches her sides. "But that's a step too far."
Ok, I need to put my foot down. She needs to hear some hard truths. It will hurt but it's for her own good. "Ladybug, just once in your life, stop being the victim!" My words make her recoil. I have delivered a good punch and now I need to keep going. "It feels good, doesn't it? It makes you feel righteous, superior to your bullies, and it gives you the right to complain." I should know. I spent years acting like that. "Well, guess what? It doesn't fucking work like that! It's a drug, a placebo! Complaining does nothing and is just an excuse for you to avoid taking any action! If you are gonna be like that you might as well have stayed in that locker!" My words are violently cut short as I see stars, my surroundings spinning due to the fist that Taylor just delivered to my jaw.
"You fucking asshole!" She cries out.
I straighten up, checking if there's anything broken. "Now that, that's what I wanted you to do."
She sniffs, folding her arms over her chest. "What you said was terrible."
"But you didn't just take it and instead forced me to shut up."
"It doesn't work! Guess what, Sophia is stronger than me!" That's the first time she names one of them. "I tried that once. She just pushed me into the floor and didn't stop hitting until I gave up!"
That must have sucked, sure, but she still doesn't see what I was trying to tell her. "Ladybug, you don't fight your enemies where they are stronger. You are taller and bigger than me, so you could outfight me, but against your trio? You fight them in a field where you are the stronger one."
She clutches the side of her head. "You're talking about using my powers again."
"Yes. Or mine." That reminds me. "That was why you brought me here, didn't you? Why did you point me to Winslow if you didn't want me to do something stupid about it?"
She averts her eyes. "I pointed you at Winslow because I didn't want you attacking Arcadia."
"That's a lie and you know it. If you wanted that you could have pointed me towards Immaculata or Clarendon. Face it, you want this place gone, and don't want to accept that you're using me to get rid of it."
"I..." She keeps glancing between me and the destroyed engine.
Ok, ok. I am making progress. "Look, the system is against you, you won't win inside it. The only way youcanwin is by fighting on your own terms."
"This is not fighting! This is running away!"
Oh, for the love of me! How can she be this stubborn? "And what will staying here and getting beaten up every day accomplish?" I push back. "All that you are getting right now is making yourself miserable because you are too bullheaded to admit that you are in pain! Just end it! End the pain already!"
Taylor looks at me as if about to say something. And then she starts chuckling, and that chuckle turns into a laugh. "We'll both end in prison before the year is over, won't we?"
Her laugh proves contagious. "Only if we fail."
She keeps staring at me for what feels like an eternity. "Fuck it!" She throws her arms up in the air. "We might have left too much evidence here anyway. But give me the blade, I'll do it."
There isn't anything else to say after that. We walk to the storage room, and with the edge of the plasma blade, Taylor sets one of the wooden crates on fire.
We teleport to a roof across the street and don't go back home until we see the flames spreading into the main building.
Next morning we wake up to the news that Winslow has burnt to the ground.
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In Nuclear Fire by BatRou-Dawg
Misc » Book X-overs Rated: M, English, Supernatural & Fantasy, Words: 606k+, Favs: 54, Follows: 65, Published: Apr 10, 2023 Updated: Apr 18, 2023
21Chapter 9
I remain silently staring at the TV. The images displayed are those of what used to be Winslow, now reduced to smoking rubble.
The place is surrounded by police cars and the firefighter trucks that lie in wait in case the fires start again.
From what the reporter's saying the causes of the fire are unknown, but soon the investigations will start.
What they will say, well, remains to be seen.
"This is terrible, how could such a thing have happened?" That comment comes from Danny to my right.
To my left, and using me as a shield against her father, is Taylor doing anything in her power to not look at either of us.
"Most fires are caused by electrical problems." I point out. "That's why there's so many during Christmas."
"Because of the lights, right? Every November we receive flyers about it from the firefighters."
Taylor doesn't participate in our conversation, trying only to become as small as she can. Her distress is plainly clear for everyone to see, but thankfully Danny has no idea about its true cause.
"This must be strange for you, Taylor. I don't know what we're going to do now, but I promise you we'll find a solution."
She still doesn't say anything, only curling deeper into herself
Eventually, he has to leave for work, leaving Taylor and me to enjoy our Saturday.
"He never noticed the bullying, did he?" I ask Taylor.
Slowly she unwinds, and as she does so I can see the marks that her jeans left against her face. "No. I never told him." She shakes her head. "God, I can't believe we actually did this."
"We did something productive, Taylor." I lift a finger. "And remember, we don't talk about that thing that we did."
"I know, I know. It's just that… don't take me wrong, one part of me is happy but the other is terrified."
"That's what changes do to people."
"And what a change this is." She chuckles. "I'm still unsure what's expecting me."
"Freedom, Taylor. Freedom's what expecting you." I proclaim with my hands on my waist. "Now, want me to prepare a celebratory breakfast?"
"I'll help you just in case you decided to set the kitchen on fire next."
"I feel offended by that! I'm not a pyromaniac."
"Maybe, but you're a lot of other stuff."
"That, I agree with."
I bite the toast, drink the milk, and tighten the bolts.
I bite the toast, drink the milk, and weld the wires.
I bite the toast, drink the… my cup is empty.
"Want me to bring you something to drink?"
"Thank you, Taylor. I'd appreciate that."
For the last hour, I have seen my drone slowly coming together. And it's a beautiful sight.
Soon enough Taylor returns with a glass of water. "So, how long until it's ready?"
The internal motors are ready and so is a good chunk of the outer carcass, but I'm just starting with the wiring. "A couple more hours."
"And what will exactly do?"
I do have an extensive list on my head, but I suspect that Taylor will appreciate the abridged version. "It will dig tunnels, repair my stuff, help me build new stuff, and process materials into useful forms."
"I can see why you wanted so badly to build it. It sounds extremely useful."
"I know, right?"
The hours roll on, Danny comes, and we enjoy a quick lunch before I return to my room. This time alone as Taylor is tired and seems to have started trusting me on tinkering maters.
It's about four in the afternoon when it's finally ready. I put it inside a bag and rushed to her room.
"Taylor, Taylor!" I knock at her door being careful not to accidentally open it.
"What?"
"It's ready! Want to come with me to see it's first activation?"
"Sure."
In the living room, we find Danny. The TV is on but seems to be there only to provide background sound, as Danny is currently reading a newspaper.
"Where are you kids going?" He asks without lifting his eyes from the pages.
This time it's Taylor the one who takes the initiative. "Do you know if the mini TV is in the basement?"
Mini… is she talking about the one she pulled from her closet and I turned into her visor? So she can lie! At least to her father. Must be the years of hiding the bullying.
"That old thing? I don't know what happened to it. But I think it was no longer working."
"We just want to make sure." She grabs me by the shoulder and forces me in front of her. "It's for Peter, you know? So he doesn't get bored in his room."
"Sure. Tell me if you need anything."
We march on.
The basement is as much of a mess as the last time I was there, maybe even more so considering that I didn't come back to put the boxes back in their place.
I set the bag on the ground and pull the drone out. Now, a fully grown Zerg Drone is the size of a big quad. This one isn't nearly that big, being the size of a dog, but that only means that I won't need that many resources to turn it into a hatchery and start producing more.
Taylor, though, doesn't look that surprised. "Is that it?"
"Yes! Isn't he cute?" I say scratching underneath his chin. "I think I'll name him George."
"And you complain about my 'Ladybug'?"
"Well, what would you name him?"
She pokes the inside of her cheek with her tongue. "Atlas."
I try to hide my surprise. Wasn't that the name that she gave to his flying giant scarab in canon? "Why Atlas?"
"Because he looks like a gigantic beetle."
"Not… that big, is it? I mean-"
"When was the last time you saw a beetle the size of a bulldog?"
I open my mouth but realize I don't have anything to say to that. "You know what? That's an excellent point." From my backpack, I also pull out our visitors. "I already linked our visors to the drone so we can both control it in case of emergency. Now, are you ready?"
She nods, adjusting hers to her face.
"Okay then." I rub my hands in excitement. "Let's do some magic." I press the button on the back of the drone and it expands into its full size. It has four articulated spikes on each side connected by a membrane that, when unfold, give the appearance of wings.
They help with mobility by creating a very weak gravitational field to compensate for the tiny legs it has underneath. And in the front, at each side of the head, he has two claws that can turn from pincers to manipulate stuff, to a variety of tools to build and repair, and finally plasma buzz-saws to cut through the strongest of materials.
I can't contain myself and giggle with excitement seeing the little guy do a test run of his servo motors. Reminds me of a puppy stretching out for the first time.
"Can it fight?" Taylor asks, maybe noticing the saws.
"He can cut through metals, so he can defend himself. But lacks mobility and armor, and I'm most definitely not risking him in battle yet." This one drone is worth his weight in gold and losing him would be a disaster. I must ensure he turns into a hatchery ASAP. "Now, let's' put him to work!"
From my visor I run the program -which I immediately rename - and give him his first orders. The buzz saws start spinning and the little guy aims down, cutting through the concrete of the floor. His work is surprisingly silent, and in just a moment we lose sight of him as he tunnels underneath the house.
I could spend hours just tracking his progress but Taylor interrupts. "He's not going to cause any sinkholes, is he?"
"Fear not! The drone is an expert digger and knows how to reinforce the walls of his tunnels. I also added to his sensors functions similar to those of our visors, so he'll make sure not to damage power, gas, or water lines."
I also added a function to map Brockton Bay's underground, scanning, and tunneling around man-made structures. If this works as I expect it to, it will help me locate Coil's bases. I know of the main one underneath downtown, but I remember him having several other small bases spread all over the city.
I switch the display in my visor and I can now see a 3D map of our surroundings, with the drone some meters below. The map is small but with time I hope to let it grow until it has encompassed the entirety of the bay.
Leaving the drone to continue his work, we return to our rooms, telling Danny on our way how disappointed we are for not finding the TV.
The rest of the day passes at a crawling speed. The knowledge that my power is about to change keeps me from making any further plans, and so I just wait for the great event.
Dinner comes and goes, and then with Taylor we move to the Attic to prepare for tonight's patrol. Because despite everything we went through, she still insists on going out.
"I don't know what I'd be doing if I knew something would happen to my power." She wonders out loud while she fills her belt bag with zip ties. They are a fast and easy way to keep normals tied up.
For my part, I'm loading my backpack with bottles of water and snacks. "Maybe freaking out in silence while pretending to be okay?"
She gives me a worried look at that. "Are you really that bad?"
I have to think for a moment about that. Honestly, there are times when I no longer know if I'm being sarcastic or not. "No. Well, I am frustrated because of all the things I won't be building." I so much wanted an Odin! "And yes, I'm a bit scared that my next tree won't be as good."
I mean, it's Starcraft! It has AIs, lasers, giant robots and more! And what if the next tree doesn't mesh well with my drone? What if I don't like it or have trouble using it? My power can't be that cruel, right? "But I'll keep going and roll with the punches. At least I won't lose it."
"Yeah." Taylor sits cross-legged and plays with her toes. "Losing it would be horrible. After what happened, my power at least makes me feel like all I went through amounted to something, you know?"
Powers are very cruel compensation for indescribable amounts of pain and suffering. "Would you give your powers back if it meant going back and stopping any of that from happening?"
She takes a moment to reply. "I wouldn't even doubt it if it meant bringing mom back. But in exchange for stopping the trio? I don't know. I really don't."
Could I be able to bring Anette back? I know that the Protoss managed to replicate the memories of Fenix into a robot, but I don't know if I could make that work with a person that has been dead for years.
Maybe a future tree will give me a solution.
"Everyone wants to get powers but no one wants to go through the pain of getting them." I tell her, now waiting for the final minutes until midnight.
"Are all capes the same?"
"From what I know, yes. Some had it better, some had it worse, but they all went through terrible stuff."
She releases a sigh. "That means that the most powerful people on the planet are the most traumatized ones."
"And that's why the world is like it is."
"Shit."
"You said it." I give my backpack a last check and- I suddenly find myself in the ground. I feel dizzy. Everything is spinning uncontrollably around me.
"Peter!" Taylor rushes to my side and helps me sit down. "What's wrong?"
I glance at my visor and confirm that, yes, it's midnight.
"It's happening."
Is this what computers feel like when one deletes a file? Images that a moment ago were so clear in my mind are suddenly gone. It's like waking up from a dream, with the memories of the dream clear at first but slowly dissolving into dust as the eyes get into focus.
And like a torrent new information rushes in replacing the previous one.
Electro-active polymers to replace muscles.
Sub-dermal armor strong enough to stop small-caliber bullets.
Nanobots that can fuse into human biology, enhancing all its properties.
My eyes widen as I realize what tree this one is.
Taylor is still next to me, concern written in her face as she waits for me to respond. "Peter? Are you alright?"
I look at her. My attention falls on her shoulder, her neck, her face. How is that I never noticed before? "Your eyes."
She goes very still, her cheeks flaring red. "What."
"They are horrible." Seriously, look at them! They are ill-shaped, and those glasses leave a bad taste in my mouth. There's so much I could do with them! So many enhancements I could give her! "Can I replace them?"
A groan escapes Taylor's lips as she pinches the bridge of her nose. "No, you can't. And do I assume that you know what your new power is?"
I nod. "I have a lot of blueprints in here." I say, tapping the side of my head. "But if I were to give it a general description, it'd be 'human mechanical augmentation'."
It's Deus Ex.
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