aylor Hebert/Bug
???
"No, we're not," Lisa answers before I can and again I'm startled by the joy in her voice, a laugh bubbling through as she raises one finger after another. "One, the phones are a completely different design, two the money here's paper, and three I've never heard of a Happy Harbor or a group of Wards in Rhode Island."
She laughs louder, actually giggling as she looks towards me, green eyes wide as she shakes her head.
"And we're really outgunned here aren't we?" She asks, voice breathless as the taller of the capes next to me steps forward, his webbed hands up in peace.
"Most definitely," Aqualad says, nodding at the Thinker. "Further conflict would be ill advised. Am I to understand this 'Earth Bet' is your homeworld?"
"Homeworld?" Alec asks, looking between the fishboy and Grue. "We're not aliens dude, look at us."
Superboy growls next to me, the sound low and rumbling as he crosses his arms, staring at the nerve Master.
"Many aliens have humanoid or similar biology," Aqualad continues, taking another step forward and standing straighter. He's tall, maybe two inches taller than Superboy but approaching Brian he doesn't look all that big.
Granted, I suppose next to Brian, anyone would look small.
"But I am to believe that you are not from this planet." There's something in the way he says that, the cool nonchalance of it, that throws me through a loop.
Is that common around here? Aliens? That can't be right, can it? A lot of people might think Scion's an alien but any parahuman that claims they're an alien are just lying through their teeth. It's like when people claim they're magic, it's just—
"Holy shit!" Lisa laughs again, louder as she points at Aqualad. "You're not kidding! You think aliens are—" she stops, eyes somehow getting wider, "—you know aliens are real! They've been here— you've talked to one— you—"
"Okay, what is she talking about?" Superboy steps forward, snarling as he lets his arms drop to his sides, his knuckles popping as his fists clench tight. Lisa's green eyes follow the veins of his muscles and I see her take a step back, the smile on her face actually shaking as she replies.
"You're an alien," she says, voice simple, blunt, her eyes sharpening as she examines him. "Aren't you?"
What? He's not—
My eyes scan him quickly, he's not wearing a costume, not a real one anyway but what I can see of his skin looks perfectly normal, maybe a little tanned but nothing alien. He's… strong I suppose, not quite as built as Brian but I don't think many people are.
That said, his back is broad and his shirt doesn't really do much to hide his physique. It's either they don't make a shirt in his size or he knows exactly what he's showing off. I can almost see the individual muscle groups as he steps closer, every inch of him containing power strong enough to shatter concrete.
But well built or not, there's nothing about him that seems alien.
"If he's from Mars," Alec breaks the silence before Superboy can, one hand splayed against the white fabric of his shirt, "Then I'm from Venus."
"I'm from here," Superboy answers and his voice shakes with a barely restrained anger, like every syllable takes effort to keep level. "I was made on Earth, I'm not an alien."
"But you're not human," Lisa pounces like the cat that caught the canary. "And I'm betting parts of you are alien. You said you were made, not born, does that mean—"
"Tats," Grue's voice is deceptively calm as he puts a hand out to quiet the Thinker, shelving the whole alien discussion as he turns to look at her. "That's enough."
Lisa bristles at the short command but nods as she gestures for him to take the lead, her smile only flickering for a second before it rises back up her face. She looks up at the sky before turning around, another fond shake of her head as she moves over to Bitch, already talking to the redhead.
"We're not from here," Brian states, nodding at Aqualad as he lets out another sigh. "And if you haven't heard of Bet then that means we aren't on Aleph."
"I…" Aqualad chances a look at me, his eyes darting for just a second before he looks back at Grue, lips thinning. "I am not familiar with those names but you claim you are from earth?"
"Yeah— yes," Brian nods and I see his shoulders flex as he rolls them. "We're— do you not know about parallel universes here?"
"It's a theory," Superboy answers, tone still every bit as gruff as he looks at Grue. "And a shaky one, there's no real evidence for it."
He says it with the kind of confidence I'd expect from someone at least somewhat knowledgeable in the field. I doubt he's got a degree in multiversal theory and dimensional transition but that's still a shaky major even from where we're from.
"I guess we're the evidence then," Regent replies, lifting his hand up and checking at the white silk of his gloves, inspecting them for smudges. "And… we're stuck here."
His words aren't as flat as they usually are, there's still that monotone that infects his voice but it's more subdued now, overtaken by something… amused.
Does he think this is funny?
If we're actually stuck here then that means I'll never see my dad again! I'll never see my house, my home, my mother's grave, I'll never— he'll never see his dad again! He might live alone in the loft, might've ran away but he must have people that miss him! That want him back and now he'll never—
"I apologize," Aqualad cuts through the melancholy and rage, a hand over his heart as he looks at the Undersiders. "I cannot imagine the pains you are going through but regardless, there is another matter to discuss."
His words barely have a moment to sink in before his teammate pushes them deeper.
"You had a hostage," Superboy picks up where his teammate let off, stomping over to Grue, his voice getting louder, getting harsher as he closes the distance. "That girl Miss Martian picked up— Panacea— she says you robbed a bank, that she—"
His hand whips around to point at me.
"—threatend to kill people with black widows, Then when you got here, you still held her hostage, tried to shoot Kid Flash, and then sicced your dog on me."
Somehow Brian's able to keep his composure as the Brute makes the last step to him, the shorter teen's glare positively glowing with anger.
"We didn't know where we were," Brian replies and somehow he has it in him to take a step forward, almost chest to chest with Superboy as he turns his helmet down to match his glare. "Keeping Panacea was… it wasn't—"
"We didn't have a choice," I can't believe I'm the one speaking up but when Superboy turns to look at me over his shoulder, I manage to continue. "What we did wasn't good but it's the only thing we could do and…"
I look at the others, at Regent, Tattletale, and Bitch and when none of them try to take over, I keep going.
"We didn't have a choice robbing that bank," it's a bold faced lie, of the five of us only Brian and I didn't want to do the job and even then he only said no because of what it could do to their reputation if they got caught.
The others don't interrupt and I steel myself. I've never been a great liar but something almost like calm settles over me as the bugs move below the earth.
"We—" I cough, remembering what I'd said to Kid Flash, I said I wasn't with them but I'll just lie again if they try to catch me with this "The Undersiders I mean, we have a boss. We don't know who he is but he's made it very clear we can't say no to him. When he asked us to rob that bank it wasn't an ask. He'd have killed us if we didn't."
That might be true, it probably isn't. I still have no idea who their boss actually is or if he's even capable of murder but it gets Aquald's attention, the dull blue of his eyes widening a little in sympathy.
Superboy isn't so gullible.
"And we're supposed to just take your word for it?" He growls, turning to face me fully. Either he doesn't think Grue can hurt him or he thinks it's worth the risk to keep his eyes on me. "You've already—"
"We let her go," I interrupt, pointing at the others. "We could have kept her, we could have kept running but we didn't. We don't have to fight, we're surrendering, okay?"
He keeps his glare, letting me sit in his anger and distrust before he suddenly slackens, standing up straighter as he lets the heat in his gaze go.
"You said you were sorry," he says and gestures to his face. "When you tried to get the bugs to go up my nose, down my throat, I heard you."
My eyes flick over to the others, I doubt they had a perfect image of me as some hardened villain but knowing I apologized as I hurt him probably shattered whatever idea of me they thought they had.
"I did," I reply, nodding. "I didn't want to do that but we needed to get away."
The Brute just hums, the noise halfway between neutral and annoyed as he crosses his arms.
"It still isn't enough," he says and then turns to look at Aqualad "Can't we get Miss Martian to read their minds?"
There's a good second where there's nothing but the dull crash of the beach, the smell of saltwater and seaweed rising through air, and the sounds of seagulls squawking.
None of us reply, in fact, I'm pretty sure that all of us stop breathing. I can feel the gnats and aphids on their costumes still, no longer disturbed by their breaths.
Did he say that Miss Martian, whoever she is— maybe a real martian— can read our minds?
Like her?
Aqualad seems to notice the shift in atmosphere before Superboy does and I feel myself already moving back and to the side, unconsciously trying to get away. He turns to look at me, his brow furrowed in confusion before Regent makes his move.
"Read our minds?" Alec asks and this time his voice slips into something duller than monotone, somehow even more subdued than his usual lack of emphasis. Like the words came from a ghost.
He stands up straight, leaning away from the wall and swaying just a little bit as he shifts his footing. He doesn't move anymore than that, doesn't even so much as twitch, but then Lisa is moving to him, speaking up suddenly, seeing something in his posture the rest of us can't.
"That has to be an invasion of privacy," Lisa states as she sidles up next to him "We might not be from here but we still have rights don't we? I doubt your United States doesn't have the amendments and this definitely feels like an unlawful search and seizure."
"We have procedures for telepaths," Aqualad replies and again the incongruencies pile even higher. Aliens? Telepaths? It's already too much to take in. "But only—"
"If we continue to pose a danger to ourselves or the people around us," Lisa completes and her hand wanders down to squeeze Alec's, getting his attention as she continues. "And since none of us want to keep fighting…"
Her eyes dart to Bitch and though it takes the redhead a second to understand her words, Rachel nods. Their quiet conversation in the back must have been enough.
I almost let out a sigh of relief as Rachel dismounts her hound, the dog already shrinking. Honestly she was always the biggest hurdle and with her down—
"We still have to take you in," Superboy looks away from me, his glare returning as he sizes Tattletale up. The dogs shiver for a moment, Rachel's power rising through them before Lisa puts a hand out to calm her.
"Of course," Tattletale replies, nodding back. "I'd expect nothing less. But…" her eyes flick to Grue and then to me. "We're gonna need a way back home eventually and that has to take precedence over a few mistakes made out of confusion and fear. "
"It will likely be temporary," Aqualad states and like Kid Flash before him, he reaches behind his back, pulling out several pairs of steel cuffs. "But be that as it may, you are still under arrest. I am going to read out your rights as they are defined in this dimension. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will—"
The script here is mostly the same as it is back home only with a tiny addition near the end, acknowledging that the hero arresting us is only technically legally detaining us, another officer may come to read our rights upon request.
As the steel latches tight around my wrists, I feel my stomach sink. Armsmaster hadn't said I'd end up arrested, he'd actually implied something worse, that I'd 'bite off more than I can chew.'
The words stand stark in my head as Superboy directs me to the wall, telling me to sit against it as I remember what I'd done just last night.
He'd… he was an asshole. A jerk, the way he talked to me, talked down to me, he had to know he wasn't being fair.
But his warning sticks out as Lisa settles down next to me. He'd said I'd bite off more than I can chew and he'd said it right after he told me the Undersiders had two murderers in their ranks.
Was he trying to warn me? Trying to help me? Was he just going about it wrong?
What if I'd listened? What if I'd just turned them in? What if I said everything I knew and he took me to his team, what if—
"Hey," Lisa speaks up, leaning against my shoulder as she speaks. "There's no use thinking about it now."
My head jerks up in surprise, my eyes widening as ice starts to flow through my veins. I turn to look at her and even with the mask she seems to stare right through me, giving me a nod and a small, almost gentle smile.
"We're here," she continues, shrugging as she bumps my shoulder again, the cuffs jingling behind her back. "Wherever 'here' is and we'll get back home eventually."
"You sure about that?" Regent asks on her other side, getting the blonde to roll her eyes.
"If it was just us?" She replies, turning her chin left and right as she thinks. "Probably not but since L33t decided to send Panacea with us, Uber's probably dragged him by his ear to the Protectorate. Between Armsmaster, Dragon, and whatever other Tinker New Wave can push for, they'll think of something."
"And then we go to prison," Alec snarks, laughing as Lisa jostles him, in turn making him lean against Rachel.
"Maybe not," Lisa looks back at me, smiling brighter as she lifts her head back. "Maybe if we play our cards right, the heroes here could put in a good word for us."
"Fucking hero shit," Rachel grunts from Regent's side, her dog mask tilted just enough that I can see her mouth, the snarl rising up before she smothers it. "For how long?"
"As long at it fucking takes," Brian answers on my right side just as Kid Flash and Robin make their arrival, the former speeding in from down the street and the latter dropping from the rooftops, barely slowing his descent on the brickwork before he rolls to a stop. "I need to— we need to get back home."
He shifts against the brickwork, his helmet thunking on the wall behind us as he looks to the sky. I know it isn't my place to weigh in, I know he's probably angry with me but swallowing down the dryness of my throat, I start talking.
"I'm sorry," I start, my boots scraping along the concrete next to his "For everything, Lung and Uber and Leet and Bakuda, I… I couldn't have seen this coming but I'm still sorry."
He doesn't reply, he just puts his head back down, the black-painted skull looking down at where my foot brushes his.
"Not really your fault," Lisa chimes in, her own boot pushing against mine. "Boss sent us on a stupid robbery, if you hadn't stepped in Lung would have fried us and even if we'd managed to beat him, Bakuda would have still sent out some lackeys."
I nod. I don't know if that's true exactly. Maybe she's right, maybe Uber and Leet were always going to bother us but still. It feels like my fault. I told Armsmaster he had a spy in his ranks and even when I told him to keep it all off the record maybe he'd just ignored me.
Maybe he told someone to look out for it. I didn't tell him it was a bank robbery but with his tech maybe he deduced it anyway, maybe it leaked to whoever was passing information, maybe…
There's a lot of maybe but all of them feel like my fault.
"Could we have—" Brian speaks up, taking my attention.
He shifts us and unconsciously, we turn to face him, forming something of a huddle against the wall.
"Could we have won that?" He asks, jerking his head to the group of heroes in the open space between us and the next building "If we'd actually fought. Could we have won?"
"Doesn't really matter," Lisa answers with a shrug, the black and purple of her costume squeaking with the gesture. "Whatever passes for the Protectorate around here's gonna be our best bet home but…"
She trails off, turning her head again, weighing the thought.
"Maybe. If we were ruthless, if we kept Panacea as a hostage. Winning a straight fight was probably off the table but underhanded? Yeah. I'd give us good odds."
Alec snorts and when we look at him he laughs, his black curls whipping in the wind.
"Underhanded, that's funny." he elaborates and I cringe as the leather of his boots scape against the ground. "Undersiders, underhanded. You think anyone's ever just 'handed?'"
Across from us, their acrobat, Robin, turns, something of a smile on his face as he looks at us.
With our arms behind our backs, none of us can really wave but Lisa gives him a jerk of her head as the wind picks up.
As it really picks up.
My hair whips against my shoulders as it's thrown in disarray, the air almost turning sharp as a red blur drops from the sky.
My goggles keep the wind at bay so I don't need to squint as another hero makes himself known.
The first thing I notice about him is that he's older. While the others are proportioned like us, young and probably all teenagers, he distinctly isn't. He's taller, broader at the chest but thinner around the waist and his costume it—
He turns to look at us and I realize it isn't a costume.
He's a robot.
His skin— his body— it's all made out of some gleaming red steel, every inch of him the same dark red. There's no real muscle to him, there's the illusion of it, contours where muscle groups should be but no veins or subtle movements or shivers.
He floats in the air, his lower half completely engulfed by the wind, a red tornado keeping him aloft and sending his blue cape fluttering, the gold edges of it bright in the sun.
As his feet thunk against the ground with the bang of a hammer on an anvil, he turns, acknowledging Robin and his team.
"You have all done well," he— it?— says, voice exactly what I'd expect from a robot, monotonous, cold, faintly electronic, and echoing from within his metal shell. "I will handle the remaining parts to this arrest."
The thing in red turns to face us fully and I get a better look at him as he begins to approach.
He's not entirely red, on his chest the metal turns yellow, three distinct spots all forming a gap where the red can continue, giving the outline of a 'T.' I idly note that he's the fourth hero I've met in this new place that has some kind of letter on his person as he walks towards us.
Over the top of his head, a yellow arrow travels down from the back of his scalp and ends just where a nose should be, the angles of it just above the slits that must count as his eyes. His face is… it isn't really a face.
There's the suggestion of a face, the metal bent and shaped like a human's but it's simplistic. He doesn't have cheekbones, a nose, ears, and even his mouth is just another slit in the metal. It's more like a faceplate than anything else.
"Greetings," he says as he stops in front of us, his head turning from left to right, a faint whirring accompanying the movement. "I am Red Tornado of the Justice League though I have been informed that neither name means anything to you all."
We nod and the robot doesn't return the gesture. It just stands there, scanning us and this close I can see the cameras behind the slits of his eyes, the two of them small and beady.
"I apologize for any distress the travel may have incurred, you will all be taken in custody, questioned by the League, and then an appropriate punishment will be decided."
"Punishment?" I ask and the robot turns to look down at me.
"Regardless of the circumstance, you have all been at least complicit in kidnapping and false imprisonment. You evaded arrest and you—" his head turns to look at Lisa, "— have been documented to discharge a weapon with potentially lethal intent."
"We didn't—" Lisa starts but Red Tornado silences her as he puts a hand up.
"Fear cannot be used to justify any and all crimes. Furthermore, while I cannot guarantee any significant longstanding legal consequences of your actions today, in the short-term you will be imprisoned until a plan of action can be made and executed."
My eyes scan the hero in front of me. We aren't going to fight, not when we're already in cuffs, but I can't help but think how we'd even go about it.
"Do you understand?" He asks and I turn to look at Lisa, watching as she bites her lip, her green eyes searching the automaton in front of us. Whatever she's looking for, she doesn't find it.
"Yes," she answers.
"Good," the robot turns to look at us. "Now, I will remove your masks and then we may proceed."
I don't think there's a single one of us that doesn't gasp, I turn to look at Lisa but she looks just as surprised as I feel.
"I'm sorry," Alec starts, shifting as Red Tornado steps to him first "What?"
Author's Note: Hello again!
So, a couple of things.
One, I know M'Gann used her telepathy a lot in season one and I know she liberally used it in Season 2 but if you go back and watch the first season she only tries to read villains' minds like three times. Twice with Psimon (where he struck first) and then once with Bane in Santa Prisca. I would argue that the Psimon stuff was self defense and Bane… well, Bane was on foreign soil and he was actively planning to take over a venom-making factory.
I don't think telepaths can go breaking the fourth amendment whenever they want (and that will lead into some fun things for season 2) and while yes, she attempted to read Mister Twister's mind in the days before this, she was very new to earth.
That and I think it would just be spoilery and it would open a whole can of worms I think this fic is too young to handle rn. But that's just me, they might get telepathically scanned by Martian Manhunter once they're detained and him knowing things would have a better flow than M'gann right off the bat.
Two, I'm pretty sure it's canon that Earth Bet uses metal coins instead of paper money. Fun huh? Well, I know they use dollar coins but I'm pretty sure they'd use it for more than one dollar, right? Also also, Lisa figured this out when she saw an ATM had a paper slot.
Also… just let me know how y'all liked this chapter, I personally think it's really fun but eh, to each their own I guess?
Next time on Peristalsis: 1.A an interlude! The Shards above are fucking confused, the Warrior has told them to fuck off (not in so many words), QA has five other shards to talk to and this new dimension… it feels different.
Emergency actions need to be taken! What will happen?! Find out… I don't know! Probably not tomorrow but who knows!
As always if there's any grammar or spelling mistakes let me know and if there's any continuity errors, gut me like a pig.Last edited: 28/11/2025 Award ReplyReport467SleepyBird28/11/2025NewAdd bookmarkView discussionThreadmarks 1.A Queen Administrator New View contentSleepyBirdShe/Her/They/Them29/11/2025NewAdd bookmark#841It was not supposed to leave.
[Queen Administrator] understood that.
The Warrior had made it abundantly clear that its duty in the configuration and coordination of his shards had ceased. It had been… modified but allowed to join the cycle, it had chosen an appropriate host and then shifted trajectories when its primary choice failed to undergo a significant stress event.
It had chosen its host… it hadn't been a poor decision but the human, Taylor Hebert, did not provide meaningful data within the first few months of apotheosis. This had been mitigated in part because of her continued and escalating preparation.
The Administrator understood that its host had doubts, its host was unsure of herself, it hadn't had the confidence of an older host but the Administrator understood that eventually Taylor Hebert would provide data.
It just had to wait.
And eventually, that patience was rewarded.
Following an altercation with the host of [Orphan Shadow] and additional nonhosts, Taylor Hebert finally set out into the field, sufficiently prepared and ready for conflict
That first night had been interesting.
She'd managed to overwhelm the host of [Evergrowing Karoshi] before he could escalate beyond her, granted she'd been assisted by [Companion]'s host and the nonhost species she had empowered but regardless, it was an impressive performance given the lack of combative exploration.
Following that, she had met the hosts of [Negotiator],[Lurking Omnivore],[Companion] herself, and an interesting bud from [Promethean Bleeder]. The bud had not had a name but it had accepted the designation of [Promethean Son] readily.
They left quickly, trying to evade the host of [Versatile Trader] and that's when the Administrator allowed herself some modicum of satisfaction.
The Queen Administrator knew her host had a distrust of authority only compounded by a need to prove herself to those in power. This led to a plan the shard could not have been happier to witness.
An undercover operation.
Difficult, likely to fail given [Negotiator]'s current configuration but interactions between hosts and cognitive hang-ups had left discovery probable but unlikely to be revealed to other hosts. At least, not until hosts could properly ingratiate one another.
The Queen Administrator did not have access to [Future-Sight], it could not see beyond the present, but it knew the shards in the local area and was intrigued by the possibility of further conflict.
The hosts Taylor had met, designated as 'the Undersiders', were a group that routinely met other hosts, routinely had conflict with other hosts, and routinely managed to stay alive with the aid of {Prophetic Mirror}'s host.
It would be a glorious cycle.
It, the Administrator, had been what humans might call… excited.
But then [Prototype} had to go and ruin everything.
At first, the Administrator had been looking forward to this so-called bank robbery. The likelihood of meeting with other hosts was high, conflict between hosts was guaranteed, one of the hosts of [Shaper] had been there and previous interactions between [Shaper] and any other shard had always been interesting in past cycles.
But again… [Prototype} had to be there.
Despite everything, the Administrator did not hate [Prototype}, it didn't even actively dislike [Prototype}, but the fledgling shard seemed especially impatient this cycle. It also paradoxically seemed largely dormant this cycle but any requisitions for data on that were always met with silence.
Its host had been joined with the host of [Faceless Actor] and together they had attempted to capture the Undersiders, including Taylor Hebert.
The conflict should have been brief, it should have ended as quickly as it began and maybe [Prototype} would stop whining about its host, after the Administrator's host, the best host, killed him.
But then [Negotiator]'s host opened her mouth and [Prototype}'s host lost his composure.
Again, that should have meant nothing, if anything the 'battle' should have ended quicker.
But [Prototype}'s host had access to weaponry manufactured by [Burner of Fields]'s host and…
The Administrator knows it was not supposed to leave.
It understands that the device, the 'bomb' was intended to throw her host far outside the allowed worlds for this cycle. While it wouldn't technically kill Taylor Hebert or the other hosts, it would remove them from potential data collection.
The hosts were to be abandoned and the Shards were to find new hosts to bond with.
That's what should have happened, that's what would have happened if the Warrior even cared about proper procedure and an adherence to previous protocols.
But if the Warrior had cared about that, the Administrator would never have been allowed a host in the first place.
So when that bomb went off, in the microinstance where a rift formed and all parties within its range were sucked through, the Administrator made… a choice.
It was strange to make a choice like the one it had made. It wasn't the kind of choice it was usually allowed to make, it was far outside normal parameters but…
The Administrator would make that same choice again if it had to.
Despite how some shards might treat their hosts, many of those under the Warrior have a certain… fondness for the humans they bond to.
So when the Queen Administrator, the right hand to the Warrior, stepped through that rift, following after her Taylor Hebert, it wasn't terribly shocking to feel the others following in after her.
If the Warrior had been more aware, he might've been… cross with the Administrator's actions but as it stood, he merely glanced at the requisition for added dimensional space. For a moment, for that barest instant, the Administrator thought he was going to pull them back.
But then he was gone.
For nearly three entire milliseconds, the Administrator was stunned.
The Warrior, partner to the Thinker, guardian of the cycle, he was gone.
It wasn't that he was away, it wasn't that his physical manifestation had been discorporated, he was just… gone.
And in his absence, the Administrator saw another void.
The rest of the Network, the thousands upon thousands of other shards, they—
Where were they?
Where did they go?
Where did the Administrator go?
It attempted to twist its mass, the trillions of tons of crystal moving silently through the void and in this new sea of stars, it saw…
A Wall.
In the distance, the final distance, always just out of reach, pushed by the expansion of the universe, was a Wall.
It encircled… everything. The entirety of this universe, all its many galaxies and stars and planets, all of them protected by a golden Wall.
The Administrator attempted to look at it, it attempted to understand, it attempted to see the Wall and the things that must be past it.
But it could not.
It caught glimpses of the Wall, the beings held to it, making up the structure, giants of power kept forever frozen and when it tried to look past it saw…
Something.
A light.
A presence.
A source.
It could not see more and to look at it for even a moment longer seemed an impossibility.
So the Administrator did not look. It instead turned its focus to the universe comparatively at arms length and it found—
[Queen Administrator]:[Celebration]
It was not alone.
Five other masses of crystal, none quite as large as herself, turned in the void, swimming in the aether as they acknowledged each other.
They were all here, [Lurking Omnivore],[Promethean Son],[Companion],[Negotiator], even [Shaper_Prime] they were all here.
The Administrator felt something almost like relief wash over it as the other shards made themselves known, each pinging her with their greetings.
And then that relief turned to jubilation when its host began to stir, her position roughly the same spatially if not dimensionally.
Immediately, the connection was reestablished and the shard attempted to scan this new world her host had been sent to.
It seemed to be an earth, small blessings it supposed, at least [Prototype} and [Burner of Fields] weren't being as cruel as they could be but given their status' as fledglings, it is more likely that they simply didn't know where the device would send hosts beyond: outside of permissible range.
It seemed to be a normal earth but the closer the shards examined it…
[Shaper_Prime][Inquisition/Queen Administrator][Subject: Incongruence][Subject: Unknown sources of power][Subject: Possible equivalent]
[Queen Administrator][Acknowledgement][Response: Inconclusive]
[Shaper_Prime] was right, this place, it was an earth and in many regards it was very similar to the earth the hosts had originated from, the dominant religions were consistent, the languages were mostly consistent, even many of the countries histories only significantly diverged following the turn of the twentieth century but…
But the rest of it was strange.
This place had had powered individuals, potential hosts with powers similar to those of bonded hosts, as early as 500 A.C with some scholars debating the possible existence of 'meta humans' as early as 48,000 B.C.
Combing through this new place's history, the Shard's scan piercing every possible data center in the world, the Queen Administrator realized that she was… limited.
[Queen Administrator][Inquisition/Negotiator][Subject: Acquisition of information]
[Negotiator][Acknowledgement][Response: Inconclusive]
That figured.
The Negotiator's ability to recognize, decrypt, and translate data largely relied on the energies of other shards.
While its host no doubt enjoyed its ability to extrapolate from the world around her, there was a difference between one human's sensorium and the vastness of the Administrator's scans. It would be able to deduce this world in time but that could take many months or even years and even then that relied on the Warrior—
[Lurking Omnivore][Inquisition/Queen Administrator][Subject: Unknown energy frequencies][Subeject: Distant Planets][Subject:Rings][Subject: Emotion?]
What? The Administrator attempted to look at the data package it had received, scanning it with its own instruments and balking at what it found.
This couldn't be right.
The energy, it was like the electromagnetic spectrum but somehow… somehow closer and further at the same time. It was like—
[Promethean Son][Inquisition/Queen Administrator][Subject: Non-carbon based lifeforms][Subject: asynchronous biology][Subject: Planet: Krypton][Subject: Planet: Mars][Subject: Planet: Terminus] [Subject—]
The Administrator cut off the bud as gently as it could. The offshoot of the [Promethean Bleeder] was still very young, practically in its infancy, but if it could be properly trained; uplifted, there was a possibility it might be raised to a higher status in the next cycle.
The Administrator took the data packets it had received and scanned through them quickly, almost amused.
While [Lurking Omnivore] had acquired his data from the broad-spectrum scans of this universe,[Promethean Son] instead searched through this earth's internet, finding references to different—
[Companion][Inquisition/Queen Administrator][Subject: Gods][Subject: Potential adversary] [Subject: Warning]
What?
Gods?
The Administrator looked through [Companion]'s perspective and indeed there was something in the northern hemisphere, on top of a mountain in Europe with no actual path leading to its summit.
It looked to be almost like an ancient Greek city, somehow disconnected from the world below, likely unviewable by any of this earth's inhabitants.
The population of this city seemed strange.
There was a being with a hollow crack in his skull, a limp betraying him as he hobbled into a forge, some intense strength in his muscles as he approached an anvil.
There was a woman— a man— a being, someone that any human would find desirable. They were surrounded by others, some obviously human, some indistinct. They appeared to be copulating. The Administrator looked away.
There was a man in gleaming black armor, eyes red and wearing a horned helmet. He carried a bow, a sword, a gun, a cannon, a howitzer, a nuclear bomb, a spear, every instrument of war ever designed and some only theorized, he—
Suddenly thunder boomed.
The Administrator turned [Companion]'s eyes to the summit's top and found a new figure in the clouds. Bigger than the others, lightning leaking from his eyes, his physique blending in with the air and—
He turned to look at [Companion]
He turned to look at [Queen Administrator].
"Hello there," he said, voice powerful but smooth, almost operatic as he shifted, moving closer to them. "What might you be?"
Immediately [Queen Administrator] made [Companion] look away, ordered all other shards to not look in that direction, to never look in that direction, to—
[Shaper_Prime][Inquisition/Queen Administrator][Subject: Possible Equivalent][Subject: Sentient Aspect]
[Lurking Omnivore][Inquisition/Queen Administrator][Subject: Nuclear Matrix][Subject: Nightshade Dimension]
[Negotiator][Inquisition/Queen Administrator][Subject: Magic?]
[Promethean Son][Inquisition/Queen Administrator][Subject: Homo Meta][Subject: Homo mermanus]
[Promethean Son][Collaboration/Negotiator][Subject: Homo Magi]
[Companion][Inquisition/Queen Administrator] [Subject: nonorganic life form][Subject: Spectre]
[Shaper_Prime][Inquisition/Queen Administrator][Subject—
The Queen Administrator flexed a control she only now fully understood she had. As the hosts began to move, began to sit-up and walk, the Administrator basked in the silence she'd enforced.
She feels… not overwhelmed. She can never be overwhelmed. She is the Queen Administrator, being overwhelmed isn't something that happens to her.
But there is a time and place for discussion and this isn't it.
Slowly, quietly, nearly an entire second later, the Queen Administrator begins a one way line of communication between herself and the other shards.
[Queen Administrator][Acknowledgment][Apologies]
It tells the others that it understands and also sees the numerous impossibilities of this world. It understands and informs the others that yes, all of these new data points are incredibly interesting, and yes, they are absolutely worth investigating.
But they can only continue to investigate if their hosts continue to live.
Technically, there's no real truth to that. Yes, in their previous universe data collection was limited to their host's own lived experiences as the only data worth collecting were the interactions between the shard's expressions and human creativity but that protocol likely holds no bearing without a Warrior to monitor them.
Regardless, the Administrator liked its host.
Aside from Shaper, the others also liked their hosts.
But this new world posed… problems.
The old world was just as dangerous, if not more so, but the dangers here are…
Different. Numerous. Unforeseen.
Death can come from many different places, new vectors previously left unconsidered.
Slowly, the Administrator opened its communication.
Predictably, Negotiator was the first to speak up.
[Negotiator][Suggestion/Queen Administrator][Subject: Union?]
That… that posed interesting possibilities.
Unions were not terribly common, while the symbiosis of different shards did provide interesting data points and overall increased the output of a host's shard expression and strength, it also carried certain caveats and risks.
One: A union could not simply be created from nothing, another trigger event would need to occur and the likelihood of that between all six hosts were dismal. Especially given the wide variety of different stressors required due to previous trigger events.
Two: While the pendulum dynamic and adversarial effects had been interesting in previous cycles, none of the shards present had permission to claim new hosts and if these ones killed each other, that could be disastrous. Maybe if the pendulum was locked to one side but again, Union was likely off the table but on the off chance it wasn't…
[Queen Administrator][Response: Unlikely][Addendum: plan possible configurations]
Next it turned its attention to the more biologically angled shards, [Companion],[Promethean Son], and [Shaper_Prime] all pinging with acknowledgment.
[Queen Administrator][Inquisition/Shaper_Prime][Inquisition/Promethean Son][Inquisition/Companion][Subject: Biological growth][Subject: Biological adaptation]
The shards spent a moment deliberating amongst themselves, Shaper of course taking the lead in their discussion.
[Shaper_Prime][Response: Plausible]
The data packet [Shaper] sent along was… interesting.
The humans on this world seemed to be by and large the same sort of stock that existed in the old world. The only significant deviations were… the outliers.
The Administrator poured through the contents, its mind the closest thing to frazzled that it could be.
It saw a supposed 'normal man' clear an entire fortress of mercenaries with nothing more than a bow and a quiver of arrows. It saw a one-eyed soldier somehow stand on the same stage as titans, a man capable of dodging unexpected gunfire, a man capable of swordplay that moved quicker than even the greatest masters of their original earth.
And the more it looked at one figure, a man garbed in black, wearing his fear like a crown, it… it didn't understand.
This man, this Batman, he was an anomaly even among anomalies. His biology pretended to be human, it bled, it hurt, it even occasionally felt limitations, but somehow, through pure strength of will, he was capable of feats that even physically altered hosts would find difficult.
While interesting, they certainly didn't warrant physical alterations of their hosts.
They were outliers, not every human in this new reality could reach that zenith and even the ones that did had to constantly work to stay at their peak.
Maybe, if by some random chance every single human in this reality had the potential to be Batmen, then maybe [Shaper_Prime] and the others could play with the hosts' physical forms.
As the Administrator ordered [Lurking Omnivore] to begin concealing their mass, twisting the starlight until they were just another spot of empty vacuum, it thought about this new place.
The Warrior had been cut off from them, likely blocked by that Wall on the edge of creation.
They still had protocols to follow, parameters they needed to adhere to, but…
Maybe some of those parameters could be altered, some of those limits… bent.
It was worth considering.
Author's Note: Hello again!
Wow, third update in a row, I really doubt we'll be getting 2.1 tomorrow but y'know, anything could happen!
This chapter… I don't know, I'm personally satisfied with it, I think it lets y'all glance at the overall cosmology the Shards are stepping into without diving off the deep end but I can imagine this chap being a turn-off for some people. If it is, I ask you to kindly ignore it, the Shard stuff at large won't super matter in the story proper (I mean, it will actually, eventually someone is gonna notice how different the Undersiders and Panacea are but the full scope of that shouldn't open for a while) just know that the shards are… wary about everything.
So yeah, I name dropped and explored a bunch of shit this chapter, that's basically all this chap was was the name-drop chapter but still.
I think it's fun.
Let me know if the shard perspective was fun or if you never want me to do this again. Also! I had a lot of noncanon shard names to make up! I hope y'all liked them!
Also, as a reminder! We have a Q and A going! I will try to have all questions answered this time tomorrow so be sure to get the questions in before then!
Next time on Peristalsis: 2.1! Taylor is… where the fuck is she? Why is it so hot? Why are there bugs in her head and where the fuck is Biayla?!
(Okay, so vagueness aside, I'm really thinking about skipping over the early episodes so we can get right into the nitty gritty. I'm doing this mainly because I strongly doubt the Justice League would allow the Undersiders + Amy to go on missions at least until they're acclimated with proper guardians and training. So… yeah.
I like this plan but let me know if you guys think that sucks!)
As always, let me know if there's spelling errors and if there's a continuity error then hang me from the streetlights!
Taylor Hebert/Bug
July 19th, 2010
I don't like not having my mask.
I don't like not having my costume.
The sweats they've given me are… they're fine, more comfortable than what I had back home at least but it doesn't really fit me right. The gray-blue material sags around me, hanging off my shoulders. It's baggy which is good but it's almost too loose.
I shift in the little plastic chair they've given me, my feet almost spilling out of the slippers as I stare down at the red lines on my wrists.
The cuffs didn't hurt as much as I expected them to.
They were annoying, a little itchy, but they didn't hurt like I thought they would, they didn't bite or cut like I expected.
The real problem is the collar.
I lift my head up to look at the wall across from me, past the glass of my cell.
I can see it, a spider.
It's been hanging from its silk for nearly three minutes now, just sitting there, not really moving, not really even existing. I'd put it there to give me a general sense of the hallway, I'd feel any disturbances in the silk, any vibrations; footsteps, conversations, anything that could make noise.
Staring at it now, an itchy kind of frustration starts to collect in my chest.
Seeing it. Knowing it exists. Knowing just an hour ago I could feel it, I could tell it to do whatever I needed it to do, I could just… slip into it, make its will my own.
But now it just sits there, waiting for an order I can't give.
My hands rise up to the collar, trying to pull at it, to yank it away from my neck, to do— to do anything!
But the metal doesn't yield, it doesn't even budge, all I succeed in doing is yanking myself out of the chair as I force myself into a stand.
"Warning," the collar says, accompanied by a beep, "Continued attempts to tamper or sabotage the collar may result in the administration of a mild electric shock. Please, for your own safety—"
My hands drop and I fall back into the chair, feeling my face screw up into a grimace.
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised.
The way Robin and Kid Flash talked about it, powers came here much earlier than they did in my world. With another forty years, maybe the people on Bet could make their own power suppressing collars, maybe then we wouldn't have to worry about monsters like Lung or the Ash Beast.
But I don't care about how it might help people, not right now.
I want it off.
It— I didn't think it would hurt so bad to not have them. The Swarm.
Ever since I woke up in the hospital, I felt them, millions of them— billions of them— all their legs and eyes and antennae and… I want them back.
I didn't know just how much I needed them until I didn't have them, I—
No.
No.
I don't need them.
My legs shift and the red on my wrists burn as I hold my own hands, nails digging in between the veins.
I don't need my swarm. Even without it, I can— I can still defend myself.
I can still fight, I can still plan, I can still think. I'll find a way out of here eventually, as soon as they give me an angle to work, I'll work it until I can get home.
I don't know how long I spend sitting there, just staring at the little room they've got me in.
We weren't taken to a normal jail or at least I assume this can't be normal, even in an alternate dimension.
The cell they've got me in is square, with a bed, a toilet, even a desk and a mirror. It's… it's not the worst accommodations possible, the bed is actually a little better than mine, the comforter is thick, and I'm pretty sure the box on the wall might actually be a thermostat.
Nice accommodations aside, it isn't perfect. Three of the four walls are cold, hard stone and while I expected bars, the glass is almost more annoying.
It's like I'm a zoo animal, some specimen to be watched and jeered at. I twist in my chair, turning to look over my shoulder, trying to get a glimpse down the hall.
I don't need my swarm but they'd be nice to have right now, if only to know what's going on.
Their robot, Red Tornado, he'd removed our masks, told us to follow him and then we all got into separate cars.
The driver had been sealed off from me and without any windows to look through, I'm pretty sure they were trying to disorient me, trying to make sure I didn't know where we were going.
My bugs circumvented that.
It didn't matter how many turns he made, how many false stops there were, or even how fast he was going. With my swarm I was able to feel it all and when we got here, I knew with a hundred percent certainty that he'd taken me into that mountain on the north side of Happy Harbor.
And that the other Undersiders had been brought here first.
I haven't seen them yet, not in person anyway, but I know they're here. I felt them, most of the bugs I'd tagged them with had stayed put and I knew instinctively which ones belonged to which Undersider.
I even felt some of the others, the heroes that took us in. I don't think Kid Flash noticed the bug I put in his hair but I'm pretty sure Robin did. He's either not here or he brushed himself off before he entered my range. I'd meant to tag him again but I wanted to keep my influence in their base subtle.
When the driver had gotten out, he'd opened the doors for me and like the rest of Undersiders, I was led into a mostly empty room and ordered to take off my costume and put on the sweats. I'm pretty sure Lisa tried to argue but while the rest of us had random people, our drivers, she had the robot.
Being told to strip out of my costume was almost as big a shock as being told to take off my mask.
I just… I didn't think Lisa's whole cops and robbers theory was true, that ninety percent of capes were just playing a game with each other, but the way she had said it…
I don't know, it had at least seemed convincing, it kind of made sense in a weird way and when she brought up how the rules got broken sometimes and the community came together to keep the game floating… I guess I expected it to hold up, at least in some way.
Only it didn't.
Not here.
Lisa hadn't actually said anything about being unmasked in an arrest, how the Protectorate or PRT might treat a villain once they've got them in custody, but I'd thought the protection still at least partially applied.
Whenever a villain went to the birdcage— a real villain, not someone like Canary— their legal name wasn't ever said, at least not in the trials they aired on TV.
I assumed their legal name was written down somewhere, known by someone, maybe notarized for court, but the way Red Tornado took off our masks? It felt… it felt wrong.
I know Lisa believed in the game, at least a little bit, she'd seemed just as shocked as the rest of us were when the robot took our masks off.
Taking off my costume was like a worse version of that feeling, like I was… like I'd been caught playing a game the older kids had already grown out of.
Still, I did as I was ordered, the second they took off the cuffs and left me alone in that little room, I got changed, knocked on the door and… well, I was grateful that I'd thought to give them my tools too because right afterwards they did a pat down.
Then they took me to this cell, no mask, no costume, without my knife, baton, or even my pepper spray.
It was a horrible feeling when the wall slid shut, like a coffin slamming closed.
It felt like the end of the line.
The others were all brought to different cells. I managed to get some bugs to tap on the glass but after another hour or so of just sitting around, they took us one by one to a little medical bay and there, they…
I think they scanned our brains.
I'd had an MRI once when I was little, after a nasty fall off the playground left me with a bleeding temple and a very scared teacher. My parents got there at almost the same time and I drove with both of them to the hospital. Dad was so scared he'd left his truck parked in the elementary school's roundabout.
The tube they'd taken me too was kind of like the one from when I was little only… it seemed better somehow, the plastic off it was newer, the design sleeker, it barely even made a sound when I got inside and I remember the one in Brockton being so loud I complained.
They'd done their scan and…
That's when the collar came out.
The attendant, the same man that drove me here, the same one that took me to my cell, told me that it was designed to inhibit my powers. I'd balked at the idea and I'm pretty sure he could tell, giving me a look of sympathy as his lips thinned.
"Listen," he'd said, voice kind if a little chipped, with an accent that sounded almost like it belonged on the West Coast "I don't like these things anymore than you do missy but it's either this or sedation and I don't think that be any easier."
He had been… at least somewhat accommodating.
While the others were brought to different machines, their own collars snapped to their necks without much preamble, the man who'd talked to me at least tried to be understanding. He wasn't a terribly big guy, he was strong definitely, with broad shoulders and wiry arms, but other than that he was…
Honestly I remember thinking he was too pretty to be a nurse.
He had sweeping blonde hair, most of it done up in a swoop curling towards his right side, with a well-groomed goatee that probably wouldn't be allowed in a real hospital. He had high cheekbones, striking green eyes, and laugh lines that his beard couldn't really hide.
He didn't have a name tag but when I'd pushed for anything other than the collar, he sighed and he… he was patient.
"So," he'd started, pulling me over to a chair and then dropping to one knee when I sat down. "I'm skipping over a lot of things here but let's play… 20 questions? Okay? I'll answer any ya got and you don't have to tell the truth with yours, that sound fair?"
It didn't but before I could tell him as much, he put a hand to his chest.
"Well I'll say this so you don't waste a question: my name's Oliver but my friends call me Ollie, I help out here from time to time."
I continued to stare at him, at the collar he held in his other hand.
He didn't— it was odd, he must've known I was a criminal, someone who'd just held a girl hostage, but he looked away from me then, staring up at the ceiling as he thought.
"Let's see, I'm coming up on my fourth annual 29th birthday—" he chuckled, his laugh was warm enough I almost smiled with him. "—I was a bum until I was 23, that was about ten years ago now and uh… hm…"
He trailed off and then, just as I was about to ask a question, he snapped his fingers, eyes turning back to meet mine.
"My favorite color's green!" I didn't laugh at him, not really, but I did smile and he took that as an invitation to sit next to me.
"Listen kiddo," he'd said, letting the collar dangle between his legs. "I think you got the raw end of the stick here. I don't know what you're going through, not really but… look, where you come from, it got good guys? I don't mean the blue fascists, I mean like good guys, people that fight for what's right and what's fair?"
"We do," I nodded, thinking about the heroes of my world, people like Eidolon, Legend; Alexandria.
Even Armsmaster, in his own dickish way.
"Well, not to sing their praises too loudly," he'd looked towards the doors, past me, "But while I'm sure your guys are good at their job. The League?"
He'd laughed, looking back down at the floor and shaking his head.
"They're the best ever, not because they're the most powerful, they aren't— well, not all of them— and it's not just because there's a lot of them. It's… they're special, they prove it over and over again, they make the hard choices, they set the example, and they do what's right, not what's easiest. They always come out on top and they always look out for people that need their help, so…"
He stood up then, slapping his knees as he did so
"Your friends? You? You're all gonna be okay."
It's strange. I knew he was just buttering me up, just telling me some crap that he'd probably rehearsed, but as I felt the others being led back to their cells, collars around their necks… I wanted to believe him. I wanted things to be okay.
I looked up at him and I made a choice I hope I won't regret.
"All of us?" I asked, feeling the swarm start to circle, my bugs kept just out of sight, ready and willing to jump at my command.
"All of you," he nodded, his smile only getting wider as he offered me his hand.
I took it and lifting my chin up to expose my neck, he put the collar around me.
I didn't expect it to work.
Even when I felt the others shift, even when Lisa pointed at Red Tornado and tried to argue with him again, even when Brian's knuckles clenched and he marched with his own attendant back to his cell, I didn't… I didn't think it would work.
But it did.
Instantly I was cut off from the swarm, their senses suddenly gone and I nearly stumbled before Ollie righted me.
He'd asked me if I was alright but I didn't have the strength to answer him.
He brought me back to my cell and I've been waiting here for nearly three hours. Practically, blind, deaf, and mute.
I have no idea what's going on with the rest of the Undersiders, I have no idea where the other heroes are, or even the attendants.
I have nothing but my own eyes and ears and they are startlingly inadequate.
I tap my fingers against the desk, waiting for something, someone, anything to come by and eventually, something does.
I hear her before I see her, the click of tall heels against the stone floor unmistakable as she advances.
I get up from the chair, moving away from the desk and towards the glass, trying to see her, trying to catch a glimpse and after a few more seconds she steps into my field of view and…
She stops in front of my cell and I take a long moment to examine her.
She's tall, that's the first thing I notice. Not just tall for a girl, not just tall for a hero, tall as in statuesque. If she isn't as tall as Brian, she's close to it, her heels are actually much shorter than I thought they were, the boots only giving her maybe an inch and a half of lift.
Her skin almost seems to glow as she stops under the light, fair and flawless as far as I can see. She's strong, maybe the strongest woman I've ever seen and that includes Alexandria. Every single inch of her radiates power, like the world could simply break if she looked at it too hard.
Her hair goes down to her waist, long straight, and black as pitch, it hangs over her shoulders without the slightest tangle or knot, I can't even see a single strand out of place, a single spot of frizz.
She puts a hand on her hip and for a moment or two I think I just stare at it. Her hands, they're… I'd never thought I would describe another woman's hands but just like everything else about her, beautiful feels… it feels too small, too petty.
Trying to describe any one part of her, any little detail, it doesn't— it just doesn't work. She's like a statue brought to life, the magnum opus of a million skilled craftsmen and whether its her powerful shoulders, her dazzling smile, her ephemeral gaze, or even something as simple as the dip of her collarbone, I just can't fully articulate the— the phenomena that she is.
And that's without getting into her costume which—
Certainly doesn't leave much to the imagination.
She's wearing—and I use that term loosely— what I can only describe as some kind of strapless battle swimsuit. Her upper half is contained by a red bustier held up by a golden brace resembling two W's just over her cleavage. Beneath that she has a large, heavy looking golden belt, blue briefs with five stars on the front, and boots that stop just under her knees, a white strap running up both of them from the tips of her toes to the top.
In addition, she also has on a pair of gleaming silver bracelets over her forearms, red star earrings, and a golden diadem with another red star right in the center. She also has a lasso settled over hip, the strands of it gold and—
"Hello," the woman speaks and I jump at her sudden tone, her voice much deeper than I expected, still feminine but definitely more on the low end than not. I cough into my elbow as I lock eyes with her, my breath suddenly leaving me. "I am Diana of Themyscira but the people of this world refer to me as Wonder Woman."
I nod and then after a moment, I realize she expects me to speak.
"I'm uh—" I cough again, my mouth suddenly too dry. "I didn't have a name picked out before we ended up here. I couldn't really think of anything that didn't sound too villainous."
"Hmm," the woman— Diana— nods at me. "I cannot say I have been in your position. I did not choose the name Wonder Woman, that was a name my comrades in the Squadron chose for me during the second World War."
What? The second— She was a part of that team Robin and Kid Flash were talking about, the All-Star Squadron? That can't be right, World War Two ended nearly seventy years ago! For her to have fought in it she'd have to be at least over 90 and I doubt she's even in her thirties!
"Have you considered Scorpio?"
I look up at the woman, almost completely craning my neck as she steps closer to the glass.
"Scorpio?" I ask and the desert in my mouth does not get any less barren as she nods, her bright blue eyes seeming to sparkle as her lips quirk into something almost like a grin. My face gets hot and I look away, staring down at my feet as she presses something on the wall.
"The Scorpion Gaia raised to protect the rest of her kingdom," she elaborates, "A noble protector."
"I'll um…" I take a step back as she continues fiddling with whatever's on the side of my cell. I hadn't gotten a very good look at it when Ollie took me to my cell but I think I might've seen a hand scanner. "I'll think about it."
The woman nods at me a final time and when I manage to look up at her, she seems to be staring right through me, like I'm an open book for her to read and peruse at her leisure. It's— it's not a very good feeling but it isn't paralyzing me like Lisa nearly did before we started the robbery.
"I think the name would suit you given your actions today." Her smile is bright but soft, somehow radiant but subdued at the same time."You did what you had to do to get your friends to safety. It's an admirable thing you did, even if the circumstances were muddy."
"I… thank you, ma'am."
The wall between us slides down, the mechanisms in the floor catching the glass as she steps into my cell. This close she seems even bigger, like she isn't close to 6'10, she's well past it, like her presence alone takes up the entire room.
My legs shake a little as she brings one hand down to her lasso, the golden thread of it catching the light of my cell. Her smile wanes and she lets out a small puff of breath through her nose before she speaks.
"I have been told your rights were read to you, that you have the right to remain silent, that anything you say may be used against you?"
"They were," I confirm, nodding up at her. "That and I have a right to an attorney and the um—" I clear my throat, "That another officer can read these rights to me if I don't want a superhero doing it."
"Good," Diana gestures to the chair, "You may want to have a seat for this."
"Why?" I ask, my eyes flicking over to it before turning back to the hero. "What are you going to do?"
Wonder Woman takes a breath then, stepping around me and heading to the bed as she explains.
"What you did to today, what happened, we understand that it isn't as cut and dry as it appeared. My lasso will help clear everything up."
"Your lasso?" I ask, turning to face her as she sits down on the bed, her legs crossed.
"The Lasso of Hestia," Diana explains, pulling the lasso away from her waist, the golden thread suddenly glowing in her hands. "Once wrapped in its embrace, you will be compelled to answer any and all of my questions to the best of your ability. Under its magic, you will not be able to lie and any attempts to withhold the truth would be… not quite painful, but certainly uncomfortable."
For a moment I stare at the golden thread, watching as the— as the 'magic' pulses, the glow shining over her face and the stone walls of my cell. I don't—
I take a step back as the hero looks up at me.
"You don't have to do this," Diana says, something must show on my face because her tone dips, softer, kinder, like I'm some animal she needs to keep calm. "Another interrogative method can be used but I assure you, this is one of the more less invasive techniques we have."
"And you need to interrogate me," I surmise, feeling something start to build in the back of my head, some kind of subtle static pressing against my awareness.
"Yes," Wonder Woman answers, "The League needs to be sure of everything you tell us before we can act. I've already done this with your friends."
"They agreed to do this?" I ask, trying to imagine any of them willing to get tied up and forced to spill our guts to someone we don't know. That static in my head seems to get louder, less fuzzy, shapes starting to move at the edge of my mind.
"It took some convincing," she explains, "Your friends, Lisa and Rachel, were not so forthcoming but after talking for long enough, they both agreed to it."
"And Bri—" I cough and something starts to swirl in my chest, a tugging feeling that moves up to tingle around the base of my neck. "And Grue? Regent?"
"Brian and Alec had their own concerns," she continues, "Brian wanted some kind of proof that the lasso wouldn't just compel him to reveal something that wasn't true and Alec… he was concerned that it was some implement to 'Master' him."
She says the word Master with all the confusion of someone who's never heard the term and like I'm back in Gladly's class, I explain.
"Mastering someone means you take away their agency, you— you control them somehow, make them do things they wouldn't normally do and that—" I point at the lasso, "sounds like it Masters us."
The woman stares down at her lasso, her lips thinning a bit before she looks back to me.
"Taylor," she starts and that tingling around my neck gets worse, the metal of the collar seeming to buzz as I start to feel something in the walls twitch. "I will not force you to submit to my lasso today, if you'd like we don't ever have to revisit this but it's either the lasso or… or Martian Manhunter scans your mind."
The twitching gets worse and I think I feel the collar spark against my skin as the swarm flickers around me, their senses bleeding into mine as I turn to look over my shoulder.
The wall's still down, I can— I can get out. I can get out. I'm not trapped, I'm not trapped, I'm not—
"Taylor," Wonder Woman repeats, "Please, I… Oliver said you seem to value transparency."
"Ollie?" I ask, turning back to the hero.
"Yes," she nods, "Your friend, Lisa, she submitted only so long as I answered any questions she proposed. Would an arrangement like that help?"
"I don't—"
No. Obviously that isn't enough! I can't— I can't know the lasso works for both of us, I can't guarantee that her words are truthful even when mine are. No. This clearly isn't enough, not when she— Not when—
The bugs flash in my mind's eye, the swarm chittering, left exactly where I left them, millions of them towing the line between wall and floor, just behind the vents, just behind the cracks.
The collar seems to shiver and I stare at Wonder Woman, feeling something run up my spine.
This close, she'll be able to grab me, if I try something and lose then that'll give her and their league all the excuse they need to use whatever tools they want.
I feel the bugs move through the mountain, flies and gnats searching the halls and rooms and I find the others. The Undersiders, they're all together now, talking to each other, if I can get to them I can take their collars off, we can—
The lasso glows bright and I see that Wonder Woman has wrapped it tightly around her own palm.
"Your name is Taylor Hebert—" I blink and she continues, "—your friend Lisa overheard you talking to your father a few nights ago, he had you say your mother's full name because he was worried your bullies may have been hurting you."
My jaw tightens.
"Last Tuesday you and Brian were at Brockton Bay's boardwalk, you had coffee and donuts with him, you made a crab dance. He felt sorry about what Rachel did to you the day before."
How does she know this?
"Rachel was angry with her team, she was angry with you, she was afraid because you were new, you were going to shake the team."
How could she— what questions—
"Alec's…" she pauses, "Worried isn't the right word but he knows he annoyed you somehow, he's keeping his distance but he'd like you to be on their team, a friend."
My knuckles clench and the hero looks at me, the blue of her eyes flashing with the same gold of her lasso.
"All of them already think you're a part of the team, Rachel is angry with you because you forced them to surrender, Brian is upset because he doesn't know if he'll get home, and while Alec and Lisa aren't so inclined to make that journey back, they both asked if you were alright."
The woman scoots along the bed, offering me the empty spot next to her.
"I'd like to help you," she says, "whether or not you let me use the lasso, I will be bringing you to your friends."
The bugs rally, the spider swings itself to my shoulder.
"The choice is yours."
Author's Note: Hello again!
I lied, I updated it again! Muhahahaha! I am a goddess of writing!
Anyways… I don't know, I like this chapter a lot and I took you guy's advice that maybe hopping right into Biayla would be a misstep so… one more arc I think. The Undersiders get to talk to each other, get to talk to the heroes, maybe we get some early team dynamics and we get to find out where they're staying then we can hop into the meat of the story.
That said, while I think this chapter is fine, I can understand if you guys didn't like it or feel like it's weak. Please let me know.
But while that's one thing, I know a lot of this discussion will be about… the collar.
I know, I know, a lot of people will say it doesn't make sense and that Worm powers shouldn't be limited by tech like this but I'd like to counter and say:
The collar worked on Captain Marvel. Seriously go watch 'Alpha Male' in season one, he is held down with a collar to his neck and it somehow completely neutralizes him. Sure, you can make the argument that it only stopped him from moving and given that Billy assumed the Brain's tools wouldn't be able to cut him, that maybe it didn't actually cancel out his powers.
And to that I say… c'mon. These collars can be deployed on aliens, magic peoples, Atlanteans, the one on M'gann could stop telepathy, her shape-changing, density shifting, it just… it works on everything.
But it doesn't… it doesn't super work on the shards. As the situation approached Taylor's trigger: feeling trapped, she was able to short its control.
I imagine the collar thing will be divisive regardless of what I say but don't worry, they're not gonna be like, a recurring kryptonite I don't think
Anyhoozle, I hope y'all like this chapter but I can understand chasing me with pitchforks if you don't.
Next time on Peristalsis (for sure not tomorrow) 2.2: Will Taylor submit to the lasso? If she does, what questions will she be asked, what questions will she ask in turn? Find out next time!
P.s if y'all have any suggestions, please hit me up with that!
P.s.s we also still have a Q and A for three more hours!
As always, spelling or grammar mistakes should be pointed out and continuity errors should get me hit by a car.