This was not recognizing myself in a very different way.  There were still things I didn’t like, like my wide mouth, my small chest and the lack of curves or any real femininity.

At least bugs can help with a couple of those, at least to outside observers.

My scars stood out with my slight tan, a teardrop shaped mark on my forearm where Bitch’s dog had bitten me, a wavy mark on my cheek where Sophia had dug her fingernails in,and a line by my earlobe where she’d tried to tear my ear off.

Ow, yeah. Man, imagine returning to Danny and trying to explain away all those things.

“Leviathan got into the shelter I was in and tried to tear my ear off. It didn’t work, so he left me alone.”

But my physical flaws no longer consumed my attention when I looked at myself. I felt comfortable with my body, like I’d somehow earned it, the way it was, and it was mine now.

😀

At least as long as Regent keeps his hands off.

I wasn’t sure if that made any sense, even to myself.

That’s fine, as long as you’re happy with it.

I stood in front of the full length mirror in my bedroom to check how visible the weapon was.

It wasn’t exactly hidden, but it wasn’t conspicuous either.

Ah, fair enough.

I adjusted it slightly, then called a small collection of bugs to me.  It was a little creepy, having them crawl on my skin, beneath my clothes into my hair, but that stopped when they reached their destinations – above my socks, in my hair and between my bra and my top.

A somewhat unusual way of making one’s boobs look bigger and a bit more… animated-at-will.

I was cool with it so long as they weren’t directly on my skin.

Yeah, sounds more comfortable this way.

He hung up.

It was a lot of time to kill.  Free time sucked when you didn’t want to be alone with your thoughts.

An hour is too long for lunch. (It’s a bit early, too.)

I wanted to run, but it was awkward.  The fenced off areas, construction zones and flooded streets of the Boardwalk didn’t really make a sprint around the neighborhood that doable.  Besides, it was dangerous enough I might stand out.

Ah, yeah, that’s fair.

Hm. An hour may be too long for lunch, but maybe you should at least take some of this time to eat breakfast.

In the end, I went against my better judgement and decided to go for a run.

Oh, alright. Guess we’re doing this now!

I dressed in a pair of shorts and a tank top, donned my running shoes and ensured I had both my pepper spray and my knife.

Still sticking with the safety precautions, as taught to by Danny. Though I’m not sure he’d approve of the knife.

But yeah, that’s especially important when there’s a legitimate risk that someone might figure out that you’re Skitter, or at least, that you’re a reasonably high-ranking Coil officer (that much could be deduced by surveilling the building for a while).

I unstrapped the knife’s sheath from the back of my costume, then threaded a belt through it so I could strap it around my waist.  I put the sheath itself under my waistband and the handle of the knife under my top.

Nice. Concealed, but not that hard to pull out if needed.

It bothered me, calling him, relying on him.  It made me feel complicit.  Inconveniencing him, even a little, felt good.

Hah, nice.

Maybe you should team up with Imp and play some pranks on him.

“Yes?”  His question was curt.

“It’s Skitter.”

“What is it, Skitter?”

“I need a loan of some guys.”

What do you have in mind? Furniture-moving muscle? Company?

“How many?”

I looked around the living room, “Eight?  A truck would be a good idea, if you can get one here.”

“I can.  These men you require, are you needing gunmen or-”

“Just regular guys, anyone up for some exercise.”

Sounds like the former.

Or maybe she just wants an entourage on her morning run? ;P

“I assume there’s no rush?”  He was being more curt than usual.  Maybe I’d woken him up.  I didn’t really care.

Sounds like it, yeah.

I wonder, since Taylor making this call isn’t dependent on Coil’s actions (unless he did something involving Taylor in the other reality), is he currently having this conversation with two Skitters at once?

He could deal, if I was working on something that helped him.

“No rush.”

“Then I’ll have them there in an hour.”

“An hour, then.”

Sounds alright.

I knew that would change as it filled with furniture and necessities.  The place was already something of a luxury.  More than half of Brockton Bay was currently lacking plumbing or electricity, with more than a few unfortunate individuals having neither.

Yeah, this place is pretty nice compared to just about every building we’ve seen since Extermination, with the exception of the Wards HQ.

In the process of setting up these buildings, Coil had ensured I was provided with both.  Trucks would be coming and going through this area as clearing and construction continued, and Coil had informed me that these trucks would be discreetly resupplying me with water, ensuring my water heater had propane, emptying the aboveground septic tank and refueling the generator.

Nice!

As the city was rebuilt and standard utilities were put back in order, these special measures would be set aside, I’d get hooked up to those, and my lair would be lost in the surge of urban growth.  Ideal world.

Sounds like a good plan.

It was nice to be able to enjoy those luxuries, but the Dinah situation took all of the joy out of it.  I had hot showers and the ability to wash my dishes because Coil had provided them.

Ugh, right. Not exactly the guy you want to feel grateful to right now.

I grabbed a cell phone from the kitchen counter and dialed Coil.  I didn’t give a fuck about the fact that it was 5:45 in the morning.

I suppose we’ll find out whether this is important enough for Coil to keep his sleepless night. I’m guessing not.

Let’s hope no one (who’s not an Undersider or, well, Dragon) comes into the building while Taylor’s walking around the ground floor in her civvies.