Oh, and I’m sure Clockblocker still has nightmares about insects.

Fuck.  Not only was that one more uncertainty stacked onto everything, but Armsmaster was the closest thing I had to a nemesis. 

He might not be as open to conversation as Amy was. Hell, as far as Taylor knows, he might be out for revenge, though I’m not sure he’d do that. (I believe Taylor has a distorted image of Colin’s personality.)

Having him running around the city was not a good thing.

At least it provides a reason for him to have stuck around as a part of the story while he was in his house arrest. This way, we’ve been keeping up with him, and his return into the main stomping ground of the cast is less jarring.

For a brief moment, I contemplated having Trickster teleport me to ground level, so it was me talking to the local heroes, and not just my swarm.

Would he even be able to replace her with the swarm? I would imagine the bugs would count separately. I suppose he could replace her with something else, though.

I could tell them that I was putting my well-being in their hands, risking them arresting me, as a gesture of good faith.

Could work, but likely to backfire.

Except I couldn’t help but see myself from their perspective.  Warlord of the Boardwalk.  I’d rotted off Lung’s manhood and carved out his eyes.  I’d played an undefined role in Armsmaster’s downward slide.  I’d robbed a bank, terrorized hostages with poisonous spiders, attacked their headquarters and used insects dipped in capsaicin to cripple their junior heroes with incapacitating pain.  All the while, I’d acted with a seemingly ambiguous morality.  

…yeah I can see how she’d be notorious.

Was I a good guy doing all the wrong things?  Or did they see me as dangerous and unhinged?

Maybe a bit of both?

“Can’t.  He’s gone.”

Ah yes, he’s fleeing the Nine, right. If he’s made it out of town, does that mean Cherish was keeping shut about that too?

I paused.  Did the Nine get him?  “Dead?“

“Escaped from his hospital room.  With our attention on the Nine, we don’t have the resources to track him down.”

Does he know about the rules?

“Does he know about the Nine’s threat to hit the city with a plague if he leaves?“

Thank you, Taylor.

“I hope so.”

That’s less than reassuring.

At least the Undertravelers have captured their main way of finding out if he did. And hey, they might be able to use her to find him, too.

Or Tattletale could do her thing, that might work.

“There can be.  You could do what’s right.”

That’s… pretty much what she’s been trying to do for most of the story. The only difference is she decided to do it via the villainous path because she wanted friends.

I was getting an inkling of what Bitch referred to as ‘words’.  Prattle that meant so very little in the face of what was happening in the present.  Was this the kind of irritation, impatience and anger she felt with so many social interactions?

“You talk too much.”

I clenched my fist.  “Speak for yourself.  You want to hide here while my group and Hookwolf deal with the brunt of the Nine’s attention.  Just like you did with the ABB.“

And when the threat is defeated, Piggot swoops in and twists it into the PRT’s credit.

“That happened under Armsmaster’s leadership.  You can’t blame us for being intelligent about how we go about this.”

Pfft! “You can’t blame us for the actions of a douche we put in charge!”

I was disappointed my swarm couldn’t convey my anger.  “I can blame you for being cowards.  I’m going.  If you want to talk about morality, start by talking to Armsmaster.”

Touché.

“My teammate is in the hands of the Nine, they could be murdering more people right this second, and you’re talking about me, of all people?”

To be fair, figuring out your personality and motivations is relevant to whether they should take your word on any of this.

“If we’re going to offer you help, we should know who we’re interacting with,” he said.

Exactly.

I glanced at Trickster, then back at the image on the screen.  “What do you want to know?“

“We’ve talked with the people in your territory.  Between what they say and what came out at the hospital, I can’t help but wonder at your motives.”

It all comes back to protecting people from bullies, even if she puts certain people (Dinah) above others.

“There’s someone specific I want to help.  If I can improve the lives of others at the same time, then all the better.“

“So where do you stand, then?  Where do you see yourself in terms of the sliding scale of good and evil, heroes and villains?”

Damn, Legend’s getting into the deep stuff.

I’d say Taylor’s a good villain. It’s not one sliding scale.

I almost laughed, and some of my humor must have translated in a mental direction to my bugs, because they started making a noise that wasn’t speech.  I stopped them.

I’m not sure I like the idea of hearing a swarm of bugs trying to emulate human laughter.

It wouldn’t have sounded much like laughter anyways.  “All of the above?  None of the above?  Does it matter?  Some of us wear the villain label with pride, because they want to rebel against the norms, because it’s a harder, more rewarding road to travel, or because being a ‘hero’ often means so very little.

Chaotic…

But few people really want to see themselves as being bad or evil, whatever label they wear.

Some people do embrace that – Jack being one of them, I would think – but yeah, many of the best villains (best in the fictional character sense) are among those who think what they’re doing is right.

I’ve done things I regret, I’ve done things I’m proud of, and I’ve walked the roads in between.  The sliding scale is a fantasy.  There’s no simple answers.“

It’s honestly about time Taylor got the chance to actually put this into words to say to someone else.

Also, why is Trickster here, narratively speaking? Is his presence as Taylor says this relevant?

Also apparently Legend has been floating this whole time without it being mentioned, heh.

“Then work with us because it’s the best way to stop the Nine.”

“I refused Hookwolf when he made the same offer, and I’m going to refuse you.  The capes on my teams are good people.  I won’t throw away their lives with a reckless attack.

Okay, that is a fair enough argument. But also, you don’t know the girl you’re talking to all that well. If Taylor plans it, it may not be cautious (Grue), but it won’t be reckless (Hookwolf).

It will be tactical.

We’re going to develop our own strategies, plan, and find a safe way to target them.”

“And civilians die in the meantime.”  I retorted.  Grue dies in the meantime, if he wasn’t dead already.

Acting fast would definitely be preferable.

I wonder what Legend is thinking in the background of Skitter’s and Miss Militia’s latest few paragraphs.

“We’ve tried the same strategies we use against Endbringers.  Multiple teams, allying with locals.  Sometimes we get one of them.  Sometimes we get three or four.  But we lose people, lots of people, in the process.

Because the Nine are good at dealing with those exact tactics.

The remaining members of their group always find some way of escaping. The fact that we tried and failed in going all-out gives them notoriety.  They bounce back after an attack like that, and they bounce back hard, with creeps, lunatics and killers flocking to them for the chance at that same sort of glory.”

Miss Militia is making good points, though I do think Skitter still has some things she should point out. Like exactly how the ambush they did on the Nine worked, by not letting the Nine use their skills in dealing with crowds.

“You’re not only asking us to fight the Nine, but you want us to fight alongside notorious villains.”

I mean, yes. It works against Endbringers, does it not? And the Nine were literally introduced in the story on nearly equal footing with the Endbringers when it comes to this kind of thing.

So I was notorious now?  Huh.  Couldn’t let that distract me.  “I’m offering you Cherish.“

Heh, I like that Taylor gets to have this little moment of “is that really a word that describes me these days?”

I could make out Miss Militia shaking her head.  “I’ll be blunt, Skitter.  I’m not Armsmaster.  I don’t have a stake in personal glory or renown.  I’m not going to pussyfoot around, either.

To be fair, Armsy didn’t really pussyfoot around either, much.

Put a bullet in her skull and be done with it.  There’s a kill order on them, nobody’s going to charge you for murder.”

That’s honestly fair.

But hey, if there’s a kill order, why not help try to kill them?

It is literally your job.

I rephrased, “Shatterbird and Cherish have been captured.  We will deliver Cherish to you if you wish.  We are done interrogating her.”

“Please take her? She’s driving us insane with her babble. Seriously, if you don’t, we’re literally just gonna put her out on the sea tied to a bouy.”

“Interrogation.  You mean torture, don’t you?” Legend asked from where he stood in the doorway.

I take it he’s heard Shadow Stalker’s perspective.

“No.”

“Why?”  Miss Militia asked.  “Why the offer?”

She’s a sharp one.

“You can put her in secure custody, and we need your help.“

“For?”

“The Nine have captured Grue.  We mounted one successful attack this morning, we got two of theirs for one of ours.  They will be ready for a rescue attempt.  They know our powers.  Help us attack.  Help us catch them off guard a second time and stop them for good.“

Taylor’s getting better at her pitches, with that last sentence. That’s gotta be at least somewhat tempting, if the Protectorate (more importantly, Legend) is willing to believe they can do this.