“Fuck!” I shouted, standing.  How?

Bitch climbed up off the couch, and Tattletale stood, looking to me, eyes wide.

I wonder if that look was enough to tell Tattle exactly what Taylor just sensed.

When I realized why her eyes were wide, I let the bugs flow from beneath the panels of my costume.  I knew in an instant that Shadow Stalker was behind me.

Well shitfuck.

Deftly, she grasped my wrist, knocked me to the ground, and then pointed her crossbow straight at my eye, the arrowhead clinking against the lens of my mask.  Which definitely wasn’t bulletproof or arrowproof.

If she wasn’t murderous before…

I turned my attention back to my book, looked up again when I heard a bang from the kitchen, a grunt and a scream.

Dang it, still not going into the topic of how and why Imp ended up on the team. Oh well. Maybe that’s next chapter?

The bugs I’d placed on Regent didn’t show anything amiss, but I couldn’t really get anything from the contact with Shadow Stalker.  She was violently flickering in and out of her shadow state, now, and the slow speed with which she was returning to normal seemed to suggest she was fighting the urge to use her power.

Sheesh, Regent, what did you do?

Regent was standing, but he hadn’t called for help, so I started to read again.

Fair enough, I suppose.

When I’d read the same page four more times and realized I hadn’t actually taken in any information, I dog-eared the page and closed my book.

Relatable.

I focused on each person in the building in turn, followed by a double checking of the spider webs, the others here in the apartment-

Hm?

What’s up?

I stopped short.  Regent was sitting, unmoving, and in the last ten seconds or so, Shadow Stalker had disappeared from the chair.

Fuck.

Bitch looked so peaceful, here.  It was strange seeing her relax and rest so easily when, day-to-day, even before recent events, she seemed to be on edge to a degree that would drive most people to insanity.  It wasn’t aggression or anxiety, exactly, but some combination of the two.

Not generally a healthy combination, especially when combined with trust issues.

Tattletale was playing some game on her mp3 player, I saw.  The mosquitoes I’d placed discreetly on Brian’s back told me he was turning over constantly.

If he keeps this up, you might not have any mosquitoes left there anymore soon enough.

He was as restless and agitated in relaxation as Bitch was when awake.

Poor Brian. I wonder what he’s dreaming about. Or thinking about, if he hasn’t actually fallen asleep yet.

Imp, I could sense, was taking apart the teenager’s room, finding CDs and DVDs and holding them up by the window, maybe to see them in the light, as I was with my book.  

Taylor must have quite a few bugs placed on everyone to be able to sense what they’re doing with this sort of precision.

I hadn’t known her to rest in the three days I’d known her.

1) We have a timeframe!

2) Sounds like a confirmation of the “restless disposition”.

I could almost believe she was one of the capes that didn’t need to sleep, but the theory would have felt a lot more tidy if I could connect it better to one of her powers.

Which are? Plural, I suppose.

After a moment’s consideration, I set spiders to stringing webs around the balconies as well.  When capes were in the cards, I couldn’t afford to ignore the possibility of grappling hooks, rappelling, teleportation or flight.

Yeah, true. Might want to web up some of the windows too, for good measure.

The spiders would sense any movement of the webs, and I could sense what the spiders did, in turn.

Nice, it is like Parian’s thread 🙂

I found a book on a shelf that looked readable, then sat down sideways in the chair, so my back was against one armrest and my legs hung over the other, the kitchen door in front of me, the balcony behind.  There were no lights in the apartment or out on the street, but the heavy clouds weren’t blocking the moonlight for the time being, which afforded me the opportunity to read, looking up after every page or two to double-check that things were quiet and still.

Neat.

It might have been peaceful, if not for Shadow Stalker’s occasional grunt or scream from the direction of the kitchen.  On occasion, she went into her shadow state for a fraction of a second, then reverted back before the wires passed through her.  Regent hadn’t called out, so I assumed all was well.

I guess she still has bugs on Shadow Stalker, since she can sense that.

Bitch’s bulldog, Bentley, was lying on the couch with his head nestled in Bitch’s armpit.  I was on chapter three of my book when he began snoring, surprising me with how steady and loud the noise was.  Sirius, the lab I’d met on a prior occasion, lay between Bitch’s legs, his head lying across her belt buckle.

I knew it! I knew Sirius would be among them!

I didn’t remember his name (which is stupid of me, considering my reaction to his name when we met him), so I didn’t mention him specifically, but I did call this.

A setter was curled up at the base of the sofa with Angelica – I couldn’t remember its name.

Fair enough.

Maybe Wildbow hadn’t come up with one yet, perhaps even wanting audience participation in naming it? One naming contest later, say hello to Doggy McDogface.

Tattletale got her MP3 player and put an earbud in the ear that didn’t have Sophia’s device in it.  The other earbud dangled from the cord, faint music playing from it.  Grabbing a blanket from the arm of the couch, she curled up in one of the armchairs.

Music is so good to have when trying to sleep. And at just about all other times. Music is good in general.

I took her cue, pushing one chair across the carpet so it was by the sliding glass door leading to the balcony.  I didn’t settle in right away.  First, I exercised my power.

There were definitely enough bugs in the building for me to use.  I found the spiders in the building, and set them to preparing webs, stringing strands across every doorway, hallway and stairwell for every floor in the building.

Huh, neat. Making the abandoned building seem even more abandoned, and maybe setting up a mental alarm akin to Parian’s.

I directed buzzing houseflies and mosquitoes into every apartment, including the one we were in, and placed at least one bug on every person I found still inside the building – a trio of unwashed men in the basement, among the storage area where residents kept the stuff they couldn’t have in their apartments, a pair of teenagers that lay on the roof, holding hands, an older man near the top floor, alone, and one family of five on the second floor.

Seems the building is less abandoned than I thought.

I hope things work out for the teenagers. 🙂

I hugged my arms against my body.  Glancing toward the balcony showed that none of the windows were broken or open.  It wasn’t because I was cold.

“You okay with this?” Tattletale asked.

“All-in,” was all I could say.

Would you feel differently about it it wasn’t Sophia? What if it had been a different murderous asshole in the Wards?

Either way, it’s pretty clear that Taylor isn’t quite comfortable with this, even if it was her idea.

Speaking of which… do the others know that this is one of the bullies? How much has Taylor told them?

She smiled a little, almost apologetic. “All-in.”

We were doing this to Sophia, I told myself.  The same girl who had abused, insulted and tormented me almost every school day since I’d started high school.  She’d punched, kicked and shoved me.  Had ruined my belongings, insulted me, thrown food at me, humiliated me, and had goaded others into doing much the same things.  She was the one who had pushed me to that do-or-die point where my powers manifested.  If that wasn’t enough, she had tried to kill me less than an hour ago, not because I was a criminal that deserved the death penalty, but because I had seen her unmasked.  I was inconvenient.

Those are pretty solid reasons to be on the shit list.

Torture is something that it’s hard to say that anyone deserves. There’s a reason the torture curse is considered Unforgivable in the Harry Potter series. But at the same time, I have a hard time feeling sorry for Sophia. There’s just no sympathy left at this point.

And with all that in mind, I couldn’t be sure that she deserved this.

¯_(ツ)_/¯

I don’t want to say that she deserves it. But I can’t say that she doesn’t.

Grue waited until Imp disappeared from sight before groaning, “It’s tiring, dealing with her.”

Yeah, I can see that… also this sounds like a lead-in to an explanation of why you do.

“All of us irritated each other when we first joined the team.  Give it time.  We’ll find a rhythm.” Tattletale reassured him.

She does have a point there.

Grue turned his head my way, but he didn’t say anything.  I wondered if he had been about to say I was the exception, then changed his mind.

Heh. Yeah, she kind of was. I mean, she irritated the hell out of Bitch, but the others seemed to like her well enough from the start.

Instead, he spoke, “I’m going to lie down for a bit in the master bedroom.  Tattletale, Skitter, you keep an eye on things.  Wake me when you need a relief.”

“Sure thing, boss,” Tattletale answered him.  I couldn’t bring myself to reply, and stayed quiet instead.

I guess Taylor’s relation with Grue is still a bit awkward. Which is fair enough, considering the whole “by the way Skitter meant to betray you” situation.

As Grue was leaving, Shadow Stalker screamed from the kitchen, a strangled, muffled noise.  Grue paused, waited a moment, and then continued in the direction Imp had gone, opening and closing the door at the end of the short hallway.

Having fun, Regent?

…I think not. Having to step back into the role his father forced onto him, even just this once, even though it’s not literally for his father? The role he became so detached to cope with? Doesn’t sound like something that would bring up good memories.

They glared at one another, Imp’s chin defiantly raised so she could meet Grue’s ‘eyes’ – the dark sockets of his skull-faced helmet.

Between dealing with Regent, Bitch, Imp and a team member having joined specifically to betray them, I can honestly understand if Grue feels a bit #done with this leadership role.

“One of the people who lived here was a teenager, a little younger than you, Imp,” Tattletale cut in, “Go find the bedroom, see if there’s anything interesting.  Anything left behind will probably get stolen before the family gets back, so you could keep some stuff for yourself, if you find anything good.”

“Feel free to steal, or it’ll get stolen anyway.”

I guess I can’t fault that logic.

Also, the way Tattle puts it, it sounds like Imp is a little younger than the others. I suppose that does make sense with the way she’s acting.

“Yes!” Imp spun on her heel and strode off to the other end of the apartment.  Bitch opened her eyes and furrowed her brow in irritation at Imp’s outcry, or maybe at the recent argument, but she just shut her eyes and made a deliberate attempt at returning to sleep.

Relatable.

“Can we watch TV?” Imp asked Grue,

Before scrolling down so the bottom half of this wasn’t off-screen, I thought that question mark was a 2, and was like “she wants to watch Norwegian TV?”

Although I suspect plenty of countries have channels called TV2.

“We could get one of the extension cords and-”

“No.”

Gotta make sure the electricity in the cords is zappy enough to keep Shadow Stalker in place, I suppose.

“Or plug in one of the lamps so we can-”

“No,” he repeated.  “We’re here for another few hours.  We do nothing that could draw attention.  That includes having lights, flickering or otherwise, shining through the window of an apartment that’s supposed to have no power.”

Right, that too.

Also I know that what I just said isn’t really how electricity works.

“What the fuck am I supposed to do?”

“Sleep,” he glanced at Bitch, who was trying to do just that, “While the rest of us stand watch.  Or go looking for a candle or flashlight and read somewhere the light won’t show through a window.”

Sounds reasonable.

“Fuck reading.  We could find a movie and watch-”

“No movies, I just told you why we can’t turn on the TV.  Why would a movie be any better?”

Hah.

Between the knifeplay earlier and this, Imp seems to be of a kind of restless disposition.

“We could cover one of the windows!”

“I want everyone keeping an ear out for trouble.  You agreed to follow my orders, didn’t you?  No TV, no lights.”

It seems like Grue might’ve taken Taylor’s advice and become a more official leader of the team. Even if this plan they’re executing is Taylor’s idea.

Grue shut the kitchen door behind us, and for a moment, all was dark, quiet and still.

Bitch and her dogs were all lying together on and around the couch, Bitch’s hand on Angelica’s head, where the dog lay just below her.  Only Angelica’s eye was open – Bitch and the other three dogs had their eyes closed.  Angelica’s excess flesh had been shed and deposited on the floor as she shrunk down to her natural size.

Eurgh. I forgot that was part of the deal.

…

I wonder if it’s edible? I know that’s a weird leap to make, but here’s the middle step: It seems like Bitch can produce theoretically unlimited amounts of this flesh as long as she has a dog, time and enough energy herself to use her power. In an absolute crisis, if the monster flesh is edible, that amounts to essentially growing renewable food on the dogs.

It looked like Bitch had kicked most of it one corner of the living room; blood and other fluids streaked the carpet between the base of the couch and the corner.

What a nice living room, eh?