Chapter Text
Taylor guided the tens of thousands of insects under her control masterfully, tagging every single cape in the room. It was surprisingly full, since this was the earliest warning an endbringer attack had ever come with. The smallest admiration for Armsmaster flickered inside the faux villain, in spite of herself.
Armies of arachnids, mountains of mosquitoes, they all consolidated in a quarter mile radius. Even though it was said that the average parahuman’s power didn’t change over time, Skitter’s range definitely improved. It helped that the more bugs she controlled, the less terrified she felt. There was no better reason to practice in her opinion. That, and snooping.
What great tidbits the bugs brought. The attending capes were all interesting, with varying levels of fame. Taylor smirked at the back of Lisa’s head. If Tattletale had access to all that was available through her bugs, she’d be truly insufferable.
All the important locals had arrived first. The gangs included. She noted the clear demarcation of villains and heroes, the subdivision between natives and outsiders, and the even smaller groups of teams and gangs. All of them isolated and melded in a dance not unlike her own swarm. Captivating.
Some were naturally resistant to tagging. They were all the more noticeable for the lack of bugs on them, like empty voids in her vision. A fly landed on Armsmaster’s paldron only to immediately die, and he frowned in her direction before continuing to speak with an impressive Dragon-mech.
An ant crawled towards Legend’s shoe but he levitated several inches off the ground. Otherwise, he paid her no mind. Scary.
Two figures had bugs simply disappear out of her control as soon as they approached. Taylor compulsively slipped a bug or two towards them every few seconds, but couldn’t work out what the effect was or where it started.
She turned her human eyes to the annoying couple, and stiffened.
Two unmasked capes were standing just at the edges of the Empire 88 contingent. A man and a woman, with impressive and dangerous appearances. Capes Taylor had never heard of, and whose arrival she hadn’t noticed.
The tall man had blood red hair with black streaks, to match his black and red outfit. His cloak ended at the knee, mainly because anything lower consisted of torn shreds. She would bet that the damage was genuine, and not the equivalent of fake holes in new jeans.
Dark stubble graced his strong jaw, thankfully not dyed red like the rest of his hair. A giant axe rested head first on the ground. More like a polearm a giant would wield. Surely only a parahuman could lift the wicked looking weapon. A bare bicep revealed itself and put Brian to shame. It flexed hypnotically to tap the head of his weapon on the ground in impatience.
The woman with purple hair was just as stunning. Her figure was overly full and womanly in a way Taylor’s would never be. She wore a much more understated black robe. Her eyes, also purple, wandered curiously. She hadn’t caught on to the source of the spies. A huge staff was held in one hand, more reminiscent of a Druid than a Wizard. Taylor was half expecting a fireball, and chuckled to herself.
Parahumans who believed their powers came from magic were often mocked relentlessly, yet these seemed to ignore all rules. The duo were unmasked, and Taylor was beginning to suspect the unnatural colors of their hair and eyes were permanent. A very forgiving case of Case 53. If so, how did they maintain any kind of life outside of cape work? In addition, nobody wore actual capes or cloaks anymore. The two made them work in a way that was natural. Taylor’s nerdy inner child was envious.
“Fuck … what?” Lisa said, staring at the same duo.
All five Undersiders welcomed the distraction and honed in on the mystery capes.
“Never heard of them. Foreign?” Brian said.
“Don’t know ‘em. Guy’s hot.” Rachel.
“I’d take em both,” Alec wisely nodded.
Brian turned his head to look at Alec. “In a fight, right?”
Lisa shook her head. “Don’t bother. They’re together. See the matching silver bracelets? Some kind of ring alternative. Very strange … Taylor what language are they speaking?”
Dutifully the bug master moved a larger percentage of bugs just far enough that they wouldn’t get fried.
“Sounds like German to me.” Taylor said. “They’re actually empire?” Brian sighed.
“Worse. Gesellschaft. Out of nowhere spooks, extremely tough, no history. The empire regulars aren’t familiar with them. They don’t have secret or cape identities. Almost like some kind of Nazi assassin. Wonder why they’re here. What could be worth … ,” Lisa lifted a finger for each point, and stared at her hands like a puzzle.
Brian tried to get everyone back on track. “Use your power for the endbringer. We can work on tomorrow’s problems tomorrow. No matter who they are, they probably won’t break the truce today.”
Taylor continues watching them even through the speeches Legend and Armsmaster give. They don’t seem starstruck by the triumvirate in the slightest. A hint of her processing power ensures she doesn’t miss either of their names, spoken into electronic bracelets.
Stark and Fern.