“It does cross a line, yeah.  We’ll have to see how that works out.”

I saw the bookstore to my left, “I guess this is where we part ways?”

“Sure.  I’ll meet you in a couple of minutes.”

Time for some alone time.

…

What if she runs into Sophia again? I feel like Taylor would’ve noted it if she got off the bus in the same spot, but it’s possible she didn’t see it.

Being around Brian was tense, in a way.  I found most social situations awkward, and the only way I could cope was by planning out what I’d say, considering and anticipating everything in advance.  Around Brian, though, I got so flustered and distracted that I couldn’t do that.

Yeah, that’s a bit troublesome, isn’t it.

At least it usually seems to work out alright, even if it doesn’t feel like it to Taylor in the moment.

That led to me feeling like I sounded dumb, created awkward pauses.  It only got worse as I became aware of any of it.  That was where the kiss had been so nice, settling my thoughts and giving me a sense of tranquility for that all too brief moment.

Ah, yes, there it goes – her thoughts are wandering back to that tender moment.

Except things were worse now, and Brian and I had a discussion looming.  Worse, I’d been so focused on not screwing up the dialogue now, in the present, that I hadn’t had time to think about what I’d say in the immediate future.

Oh boy. Yeah, better make good use of this brief alone time, then.

“Word’s out,” Brian spoke to me, quiet.  “If they didn’t know about this already, they do now.”

I nodded without turning away from the screen.  The broadcast changed to show Armsmaster and Miss Militia with a man in a suit and tie, addressing a crowd of reporters.

This is gonna be interesting. The Protectorate now has the information they need to seek out E88 members in their civilian lives, but what will they say about it? Will they use it? Can they use it, legally, not knowing the source of the information?

“We’re probably not going to see anything new here,” Brian whispered to me, “And we can’t hear anything through the window.  We’ll text Lisa, let her know it’s on the news, and she can handle the information side of things.”

Sounds like a good plan.

I nodded and joined Brian in walking away.

“It’s clever,” I murmured, glancing around to ensure nobody was in immediate earshot, “I don’t know if I agree with how the boss went about it, I think it sort of crosses a line, but I can see the reasoning.  Controlled chaos, keeping everyone that matters busy and off-balance so he can advance his own agenda.”

Yeah, that’s true. On top of weakening the Empire, he might be getting the Protectorate to focus on the Empire, and thus the Empire on the defensive on that front too.

Oh hey, it didn’t even occur to me that that last paragraph contained a bunch of new names! Let’s take a look.

Kaiser, Purity, Fenja, Menja, Hookwolf, Krieg, Night and Fog are familiar.

Stormtiger… I mean, their power could involve weather, but I feel like it’s more likely to have to do with the SA, Sturmabteiling. Exactly which power would be involved, I don’t know. Tiger animagus?

Othala… nope, I have no idea.

Cricket, first name Jiminy. Possibly a permanently physically altered parahuman like Newter and Gregor? Or maybe a transformer, like Lung.

Rune. This is actually a completely normal men’s name in Norway, though we say “roon-eh”. I don’t think that’s directly what Wildbow was going for, but the meaning is the same, and I do think this name being in use for a Nazi is related to how the Nazis saw us Scandinavians as part of the Aryan race. As for powers, it’s probably tied to symbols and writing.

Victor… well, that’s a normal men’s name even in English. Doesn’t tell me much, and I’ve already used up my jokes about the “power to win”.

Alabaster is one of those words that I know exist but the meaning of which doesn’t really stick. At least it should be safe to look up, especially if I go straight to Wiktionary instead of googling. Let’s see… huh, it’s a material. Okay? I really don’t know how to parse that with respect to a parahuman power. Alabaster is soft and often used for carving, so maybe their power involves shaping something? Maybe minerals, maybe themself…

The Crusader… sounds like a particularly religious case, and also a soldier archetype. Maybe they look something like this?

…hang on. Well then, here I was pointing out,

in an ask response right before starting this chapter, that the Simurgh was still the only parahuman(?) we knew of with a definite article in the name. Huh, guess that streak’s broken now.

Anyway, powerwise, the Crusader might be able to empower themself (or others?) through faith or something like that.

That might have been the point we went our separate ways, but the grocery store and bookstores were in the same direction.  We walked together, in awkward silence, until we saw a crowd outside a store.

Heh. That awkwardness when you officially split up and then end up walking the same way.

…a crowd, huh? Is it the good kind of crowd, or…?

It was an electronics store, with computers and TVs in the window.  The number of people had reached critical mass and was drawing more onlookers, to the point where it was hard to find an angle where we could see the screens.  At least, where I could see the screens – Brian was tall enough to see over the average person.

Ah, I guess the news outlets are going through with the reveal at the moment. Either that, or they already have and Kaiser’s response is swift and newsworthy.

The images displayed on the screen were the same as the ones I had seen in the email, earlier.  Max Anders and Kaiser.  Kayden Anders and Purity.  The blondes as Fenja and Menja.  The broadcast flickered through all of them: Hookwolf, Krieg, Night, Fog, Stormtiger, Othala, Cricket, Rune, Victor, Alabaster, the Crusader… the list went on.

rip secret identities

The screen shifted to two news broadcasters.  In the top right corner of the screen, there was the usual story of the moment image, showing Max Anders sitting at a table at some event, with a swastika followed by a question mark hovering above him.

Yup.

We’d gotten off the bus at a mall I’d never been to.  It wasn’t one of the ones with any major chains or stores in it, but it wasn’t small enough to deserve the label of ‘strip mall’ either.

Huh, so a decent-sized mall made out of small shops. Sounds nice.

There were more people milling around than I thought there might be, given that it was still mid afternoon; high school students and nine to five employees wouldn’t be out yet.  I realized there were more than a few people in their late teens or early twenties with backpacks and bags.  College students.

I guess this might be on or next to campus, possibly for the same college Brian takes online classes from.

“Next bus going by my place should come in half an hour, but we can stay longer, if you want,” Brian told me.

“What did you want to get?” I asked him.

“Bus tickets and some stuff for breakfast.  This is the closest spot to my apartment that has both.”

Nice.

“Okay.”

“You need anything?”

“Toothbrush, toothpaste, and I was thinking about grabbing a book.”

Sounds like a good idea.

Hm, I don’t remember if Triumvirate was a school book or something Taylor was reading on the side simply out of interest. Either way, this made me think of that book.

“Don’t worry about the toothbrush or toothpaste, I have extra stuff set aside for Aisha when she comes, and replacing that before then is easy.

Ah, nice.

Want to go to the bookstore, and I’ll meet you there when I’ve got what I need?”

“Sure.”

Some time to herself… will she be able to pick a book, or will she be too distracted by thoughts of a certain favor? 😉

“So, about that ‘favor’ I just did you…” Brian began.

Right to the point, huh? :3

I glanced around at the other people who were departing the bus, still more were waiting at the stop.  “Can we talk about it later?  In private?”

He gave me a curious look, but he replied, “Of course.”

Ah, fair enough. I guess they won’t be doing it while shopping, then.

Which I suppose frees up the shopping trip for other events. Maybe it’ll just be a scene about Taylor’s awkwardness as she spends time with Brian post-kiss, and her efforts to figure out how she’s going to explain this by the time they get to his apartment.

I knew I was making it worse by procrastinating, that I’d only get more awkward if I dwelled on it.

Oh boy, if that’s accurate, we’re in for a treat.

Well, unless you’re bothered by second-hand embarrassment, I guess.

Whether I admitted my feelings or told him about Sophia, both felt too personal to talk about with the crowd of strangers following us off the bus.

Yeah, that’s fair.

Of course, there is the possibility that this Arc will forgo the usual structure and not have a combat section, to focus on the Taylor/Brian subplot. Heh, maybe Taylor’s fight against the awkwardness is enough combat for the latter half of the Arc?