… Lisa Wilbourn (Tattletale)
Lisa was lying on the couch in their base, feet propped up on the backrest and her laptop balanced on her chest. The screen showed the PHO forum, refreshed for the tenth —no, fourteenth— time in the last hour.
Even so, there was still no response... Bug remained silent.
"She saw it," Lisa said, breaking the silence without even looking away from the screen.
"You don't know that," Grue replied from the chair next to her.
"Yes, I do," she shot back with a smile. "She saw it and read it, probably more than once. But she's still chewing on it… at this point, she's past the panic stage and stuck in the doubt phase."
And doubt was where decisions started taking shape. Deep down, Lisa had no doubt she'd respond eventually.
"You can't possibly know that," Grue insisted, though he'd already stopped typing on his own laptop.
"Yes, I can. I'm a Thinker, remember? My power tells me these things," Lisa said, turning her head toward him. "Bug Girl is methodical, but she's also very curious. Exactly the kind of person who feels like she needs to understand the world in order to survive in it and now… now she's realized the world works in ways she never even considered possible."
That was the foundation of Lisa's confidence. It was dirty, but as a Thinker, she had to use every advantage she had to get the outcomes she wanted.
"She's going to want answers… and for that, she's going to want to know who we are," Lisa continued. "And more importantly… who she is."
Regent let out a bored sigh from the other side of the room, where he was messing with a video game. "Or maybe she's just busy doing… I don't know, homework or some nerd shit."
"She's not a nerd," Lisa muttered, frowning. "She pretends to be, but she's not… or not exactly. She hides behind it and overthinks everything, but…"
She cut herself off, something grinding at the back of her mind. "…But she's not the problem."
Everyone in the room went quiet, attention snapping toward Lisa.
Grue spoke for all of them. "What do you mean?"
Lisa sat up, snapping the laptop shut with a soft click. "The problem is him."
She didn't say the name, but they all knew who she meant. The one who fought Lung alongside Bug.
"The clapping guy?" Regent joked. "Didn't you call him Clap Boy or something?"
Grue leaned forward, hands clasped. "You think he convinced her not to answer you?"
"No… I don't think he did that," Lisa said slowly, choosing her words carefully. "More likely, Bug saw something in him… something she wants to be. And that puts us in a really bad position."
Because all it took was planting the right idea in someone's head to shift their entire perspective.
Normally, Lisa would've taken more time to analyze both of them properly… but she didn't have that luxury now. Coil wanted immediate progress, as he was starting to step up his game. And with the ABB leader officially out of commission for a while, it wouldn't take long before Coil started escalating things.
The bank job would just be the first step… in whatever twisted plan his mind was cooking up.
Which made recruiting Bug obvious. Lisa needed her for both her precision and control… and the raw empathy hidden under the shell Bug had built around herself.
Bug was powerful, but she didn't realize it yet. She was someone who could be shaped… without losing that steel core inside her.
But the other one… he was a different kind of variable. Highly capable and just as stubborn.
"So… plan B?" Grue asked.
Lisa was about to answer, but Bitch walked in with a low growl, two of her dogs trailing behind her. She glanced at the group, then at Lisa. "So, we getting action?"
Lisa stood up, a slow, sharp smile spreading across her face. "If Bug won't come to the den on her own… then we'll give her a reason to."
At this point, some cheesy persuasion wasn't going to cut it. Lisa had to do this right. Show the girl she could be trusted or at least… that she could be useful.
"I still don't like this," Grue said, crossing his arms, unconvinced. "And the boy?"
Lisa's smile widened. "He'll come for her."
She paused and her gaze turning colder. "And if he doesn't… we'll find out why. Because I need to understand how someone like him even exists."
Because for any Cape… how their power worked was everything. And for Lisa, there was nothing worse than an unknown variable messing with her plans.
She grabbed her laptop again and typed out a new message.
--
Subject: Bug
Hey. Still there? Still thinking? Just a reminder… the invitation's still open. And if the other guy's listening too… well, we've got room for one more.
Tt.
--
If the balance of the city was shifting… Lisa needed to be on the right side of the bet, and to do that, she needed to gather the best chips she could.
… Elias Mercer
The sound of my keyboard getting absolutely massacred by Maki's aggression filled the silence. While she kept arguing with some random idiot in the PHO comments, I was sprawled out like a badly stacked corpse, a cup of cold coffee resting on my stomach.
Since I skipped class, I could've been sleeping right now… but that's the kind of thing only sensible people do.
Maki was sitting cross-legged in my chair, a bowl of cereal tucked under the desk. Half the milk had already been absorbed by flakes that tasted like Styrofoam.
"You should see this," she said, mouth half full. "They're talking about you… even if it's indirect."
I rolled my eyes from the bed, way too comfortable to bother getting up. "If it's another comment arguing whether I'm a sound-based Shaker or a Mover with applause OCD, I'm good."
Maki actually laughed at that. I wanted to tell her to stop… but as a properly petty person, I decided to let her enjoy it and get my revenge later when the opportunity showed up.
"There's this 'Tt' calling out someone named Bug and…" she spun in the chair, looking straight at me, "…she invited you too, Clap Boy."
I almost spilled my coffee as I twisted around. "…I hate that nickname."
Maki took a drink straight from the bowl, not even pretending to have manners. "Still better than 'Firefly Snapper'. Seriously… what the hell was that name supposed to be?"
"Sometimes it's just a contest to see who can come up with the worst name possible," I replied, already very familiar with PHO's tendencies.
Maki shrugged and spun the chair back toward the screen. I dragged myself up and shuffled over, leaning in to look over her shoulder.
She had the message from "Tt" open. I read it, and it looked like nothing more than a blatant attempt to pull Bug into some dark corner... probably with a smile and a bunch of sketchy intentions behind it.
"They really don't give up…" I muttered. It was obvious who "Tt" was, and I figured Taylor had realized it too.
It wasn't something I should worry about… and even if Taylor fell for Tattletale's pitch, it wasn't like I could stop her. I'd already given all the advice I could and if she hadn't learned from that, there wasn't much else I could do.
But the next message made me rethink that. This one was directed straight at the thread… aimed at "Hoarder."
--
[Hoarder? If you're not the type who likes disappearing… meet me at the same place today, 4 PM. – B.]
--
"That girl…" I muttered. PHO might be a disgusting mess most of the time, but it wasn't stupid at all.
It only took a few minutes for people to start connecting the dots and linking our identities together.
'…Not exactly how I imagined my Cape name debuting…'
Maki was staring at me with those amber eyes, way too attentive for my liking. "That's the bug girl?"
I nodded and replied, "Looks like it."
"And you're going?" she pressed.
"…If she asked for me, I don't think I can ignore it…" I kept staring at the screen, avoiding Maki's gaze. "If I can help… it's probably better than letting her walk into something worse and having to deal with it later if she ends up turning villain."
At least for now, Taylor looked like someone who needed help. Just a lost soul drifting around with no idea which direction to take.
And unlike me… Taylor still had hope that she could be saved.
...
The alley was still the same, carrying that rancid smell of old mold and leaked oil. The puddles reflected the city's dirty sky with a strange kind of awareness.
This exact place was where a monster bled.
The sun cast long shadows behind the warehouses as we arrived, painting the rotting walls in a sickly shade. When her silhouette appeared at the mouth of the alley, it felt like watching that entire night play out all over again.
Taylor had her hood up and was wearing that insect mask from her costume. I still thought it looked kind of creepy, but I had to admit it's was way better than what most Capes had… including me.
But if it weren't for the way she still hunched her shoulders, I could've easily mistaken her for a full-on villain.
Taylor stopped a few meters away, her gaze shifting between me and Maki… probably already wondering if she'd made a mistake coming here.
Maki stood beside me, wearing a badly cut black domino mask held together by hot glue, duct tape, and absolutely zero artistic talent. It looked awful, but her almost feral presence made anything she wore seem threatening.
"So… you actually came," Taylor started.
"What, you surprised?" I replied, tilting my head at her, but she didn't answer.
Maki shifted her weight from one foot to the other, impatient, while Taylor took a bit longer to keep the conversation going.
"…Who is she?" she finally asked.
"A new friend," I said, pointing at Maki. "She's good with blades… and terrible with people."
"That last part was unnecessary," Maki muttered.
Taylor nodded slowly, but the tension still clung to her like a second skin.
"Tattletale left me a message," she said. "It sounded… friendly. But I can't shake the feeling she doesn't have good intentions."
"Oh? Congratulations," I said, genuinely impressed. "Looks like you've developed some critical thinking."
If she was offended, she didn't show it. She just took a breath and continued. "She didn't mention you in the first message…"
"Of course she didn't," I replied, already feeling like some middle school teacher explaining the obvious.
I couldn't see her eyes, but I could feel the confusion radiating off her. "Why not?"
"It's simple," I said. "Tattletale probably figured it'd be easier to convince you if you were alone."
Which was something I wanted to believe wouldn't work… but that was just me pretending I wasn't seeing the obvious.
Taylor went quiet, her head lowering as she thought it through. Her swarm was probably nearby, I could almost feel it. Maki seemed to notice too, since her eyes didn't stay still for even a second.
"So… are you going to keep doing it?" Taylor asked, her eyes finding mine through that mask. "What you did the other night… are you still going to do things like that?"
It was obvious that this was an important question for Taylor, so I answered the way I always do when something important hits me head-on.
"Keep beating up neo-nazis, armed idiots, and pyrokinetic dragons?" I asked, pretending to think it over for a moment. "Yeah… I think I'm gonna keep doing that."
"Why?" The word came out like a sigh, sounding like way more than just curiosity. It felt like the raw expression of someone who wanted— who needed to belong to something that actually mattered.
I recognized it, because it was something I'd felt before too.
"Because someone has to," I answered. "And because I'm someone who can."
I knew that would inevitably put me on a path where I'd become the enemy of pretty much every Cape in this city, including the Protectorate… but I was also a little confident in myself.
After all… beating each of them should just make me stronger.
'As long as I don't fucking die halfway through, everything should work out…'
I saw Maki give a short smile, and Taylor… relax just enough to stop looking like a cornered animal.
"Before… you didn't seem like someone who'd agree to work in a group," Taylor said, glancing between me and Maki.
"Teams require trust, you know? It's not something you can just decide," I explained, making it clear without saying it outright that Maki was someone I trusted.
But did I actually trust her? Hell if I knew.
"And you?" I asked back, snapping myself out of my own thoughts. "Are you gonna keep being a Cape?"
Taylor hesitated, like she had way too much weight packed into too few words.
"Yes… but I thought about it and I can't choose the Wards or join Tattletale…" she trailed off, and I could already see where this was going, "…but I also don't think I can do this alone…"
I felt Maki poke my side, but I ignored it and waited for Taylor to finish.
"What do you think about... us joining forces...? You don't have to protect me or anything…" she continued, searching for the right words. "But… if you're going to keep doing this… maybe we could work together sometimes…? Just once in a while… we don't have to be a team or anything… just…"
"Occasional collaboration?" I asked, finally cutting off that painfully awkward speech.
She nodded, shoulders still hunched. Her lack of confidence was almost tangible.
I allowed myself a half-smile before continuing, "Sounds better than 'I'm following you because I still don't know what the hell I'm doing', don't you think?"
Taylor shrank a little more, but she didn't deny it. Maki jabbed me in the side of the stomach, and I almost felt everything in my body try to come out through my throat.
I wanted to complain, but the way she looked at me made me shut up.
'…Yeah, okay, maybe that wasn't the best time for a joke.'
After all… Taylor's determination wasn't something to mock. Even if she was taking small steps, she'd probably spent a long time thinking it over and scraping together the courage to say all that.
"…No promises," I finally said, making Taylor lift her head quickly. "I'm not going to trust you… but if you show up and I've got something going on, we can work together."
Honestly, I could already think of a few ways Taylor and her power could be useful.
…It was just that withdrawn personality of hers that needed some serious fixing.
...
I only realized we had company when I saw Maki turn and react to something, her hand sliding to the hilt of the sword strapped at her side.
A few seconds later, new figures stepped out of the alley's shadows like they were walking onto a stage and we were the audience.
The Undersiders.
Grue came out front, wearing that dark motorcycle helmet, his silhouette bulked up by a cloak of darkness that looked like it was about to swallow everything around him. Tattletale was right beside him, that casual smile on her face and her eyes half-lidded.
Behind them came Regent acting like he's bored, and finally Bitch, arms crossed and looking like she'd rather bite someone than talk.
All of us turned toward them, and Tattletale stopped, raising her hands in a generic peace gesture that didn't carry a single ounce of sincerity.
"I knew we should've gotten here earlier…" she commented. "But of course… you guys love your secret little meetups."
Taylor stiffened immediately, shifting closer to me. Maki didn't move, but I noticed her hand ready to draw her katana.
"Were you spying on us?" I asked, even though the question was just for basic courtesy.
"Listening, analyzing, observing… depends entirely on your point of view," Tattletale smiled and continued. "And you guys talk loud."
Grue stepped forward, extending an arm in front of Tattletale. "We're not here to fight, guys."
"Of course not," I nodded. "You're the good guys of illegality, right?"
Tattletale ignored the sarcasm, which I expected. Manipulators tend to do that when the sarcasm cuts deeper than their bite.
"We're here to make you an offer," she said, looking from me to Taylor and then to Maki. I caught the brief hesitation before she continued. "This time, without fire-breathing dragons or heroes with halberds getting in the way."
She turned to Taylor. "Bug… you're a smart girl, and if I may say, incredibly underestimated. With us, you'll have a team to support you. To give you space… to give you purpose. More than that… a chance to actually make a difference."
She paused, like she was trying to look past Taylor's mask.
"You don't have to carry the world on your own… we all know what it's like to be on the edge, trying to breathe while everything else is trying to crush you."
Grue stepped in, clearly uncomfortable with the emotional angle, and held out a plastic lunchbox toward Taylor. "We also have money, if the heartfelt speech doesn't work…"
'Smart guy…' I admitted. Emotional speeches were nice, but they didn't directly change someone's situation. Money did.
Taylor tilted her head to get a better look, still not reaching for it. "Alexandria… she was my favorite Protectorate member when I was a kid. Is that lunchbox collectible?"
"It's money," Tattletale said, rolling her eyes. "There's four grand in there, for you two to split."
Suddenly, that box looked a lot more valuable… and Taylor's reaction told me she'd just had the same thought.
"You can take it as a gift. A thank-you for, intentionally or not, saving our ass from Lung last night."
"You can also take it as the first installment of a monthly allowance you'd get as members of the Undersiders," Grue added. "As one of us."
"Two thousand a month," Taylor murmured, clearly tempted for the money.
"No," Grue cut in, "that's just what the boss pays us to stay together and active. We make, uh, considerably more than that."
Taylor didn't respond, but her silence had weight to it. I could hear insects starting to buzz faintly, like they were echoing her emotional state.
Then Tattletale turned to me, finally deciding it was my turn.
"And you, Hoarder…" she paused just long enough to make it feel intentional before flashing that annoyingly confident smile. "I like that name."
"Whatever you're about to say, my answer is no," I cut in before she could start her little psychological game.
The money was nice, I don't lie... but I didn't feel particularly tempted to sell myself to them.
"Seriously… you really are a tough guy to deal with," she laughed. "You know it's gonna be hard to be popular with women if you keep acting like that, right?"
She glanced at me, then shifted her gaze between Maki and Taylor. "But maybe you don't need to worry about that…"
"My answer is still no."
"Yeah, yeah," she stepped a little closer, softening her tone. "You're impressive, Hoarder. A bit cynical, I'd say… but I get that mindset."
"…"
"You want freedom and autonomy. I get that too…" she continued, like she was reading something straight out of my head. "But if you keep going like this, throwing yourself against monsters like Lung or the Empire… you're going to end up dead in some alley, and worse… you'll be forgotten."
I felt that hollow thing in my chest stir, but I kept listening to Tattletale's pitch.
"We both know this city doesn't give a shit about who tried to save it. It only looks at who's still standing at the top," she smiled, locking eyes with me. "Do you really want to end up as just another body who no one's going to mourn?"
"…Is that all you know about me?" I asked, meeting her gaze head-on. Answering that twisted pride she had for digging up my insecurities.
She stared back, focused, like she was actually putting effort into seeing something deeper.
"I don't need to know everything to have an opinion," she said. "You've got this thing in you… this obsession with accumulation… with leaving something behind. But heroes don't leave marks, Hoarder… they wait for orders and accept limitations. You'd hate that, wouldn't you?"
I stayed silent, watching her throw words at me that I'd never even said out loud. Unfortunately for her, I'd already accepted my own downward spiral a long time ago.
"You know… you sound exactly like a stalker who doesn't understand the concept of 'no'," I said, giving her an exasperated look from under the hood. "Did you seriously think you were going to bend me with a handful of half-ripped truths? That you could shove a leash made of ideas down my throat and sell me the illusion of choice? That's the problem with you Thinkers."
It was obvious just from how they acted. Thinkers always seemed to assume that anyone without a Thinker power was just an idiot, and Tattletale looked like just another person who liked feeling smarter than everyone else.
Tattletale's smile faltered. Was she surprised I'd guessed her power? Too bad… she couldn't have made it more obvious if she tried.
"I'd rather face an Endbringer alone, naked, and armed with a spoon than walk around with parasites who dress up extortion as 'ideological alignment'," I continued, letting my gaze sweep over the Undersiders. "I'll admit you've got style, but deep down… you're nothing more than a cancerous tumor wearing costumes. Just another group of losers pretending to live in some gray area to hide your own decay."
Grue stepped forward, and I saw the shadows around him stir like smoke. Tattletale held my gaze a second too long, even as her brows pulled together in irritation.
"You seem to think having moral superiority makes you free," she said, dragging the words out like she wanted them to sting. "But everyone wears a leash, Hoarder. The only thing that changes is who's holding it."
For a second, I almost thought she might be right... but I still had to correct her. "The problem is you think it's admirable to be the one holding the chain instead of trying to break it, Tattletale."
She paused, and I saw her smile disappear. Apparently, I'd hit something important.
'See? Eat that. No Thinker power required,' I mocked silently, half-hoping she could read it straight off my face.
Our little standoff broke when Grue spoke up. "The offer still stands, Bug."
All the attention shifted to her. Taylor hesitated, but then took a breath and answered.
"Sorry," Taylor said, turning slightly toward me and Maki, "but we're together."
Tattletale let out a long breath and looked away, stepping back toward the rest of the Undersiders.
"The door's still open," she said, though she didn't sound very convinced.
"Try closing it better next time," I offered helpfully.
Tattletale didn't bother responding, and with a gesture from Grue, the Undersiders disappeared the same way they came.
When we were finally alone again, Taylor turned to me and said, "That… did you really have to be that direct?"
"Politeness isn't really my thing," I explained. "Besides, some people need to be reminded that 'freedom of choice' still exists and that not everyone wants to be part of a broken machine."
It would be a beautiful moment for me when more people started remembering they could actually choose the direction of their own lives.