“And mommy’s on a bender,” Aisha said.  “Don’t think it’ll end anytime soon.”

It was odd, but Brian looked more upset at hearing that than Aisha was about saying it aloud.  Hadn’t he grown up with his dad?

I think he’s more upset about the fact that Aisha’s been living a life that led to her seriously saying this kind of thing casually. Like, it’s something she’s used to, a fact of life, and Brian hates that.

Of course, it may also be that he has sentiment for his mom too in spite of how much of an obstacle she has been. Growing up mainly with his dad doesn’t preclude that.

“So it’s really down to you two,” I addressed Alec and Rachel.

“If I were to say I wanted to stick around?  That I like the status quo?” Alec asked.

That’s not entirely hypothetical, is it?

“That’s fine,” Lisa said.  “You’d be an asshole and a prick, but we’d work around you.”

Pfft.

But yeah, besides the joke (I choose to interpret that as a tongue-in-cheek joke rather than manipulation), what Lisa is saying here is actually not a good thing, at least not to the team as a whole. “Working around someone” is exactly what would lead to a schism.

“You aren’t responsible, I know,” I told her.  “I get the impression you’d side with Brian, Lisa and me if it came down to it.  The people I’m really directing this question at are Alec and Rachel.

When I realized I forgot Aisha, I decided not to expound on her reaction the way I had just done for Alec and Rachel because a) the post would be funnier without that and b) there really wasn’t much to say at all. I’m with Taylor here – I don’t think Aisha has a strong opinion on this beyond sticking with Brian whether she wants to or not.

I’m under the impression they’re the least invested in helping Dinah out, and they’re most interested in what Coil has to offer.”

Oh look, another reason why this might lead to a schism.

“Doesn’t Brian have a stake in this?” Alec asked.

Not nearly as much as when this plotline started, since Aisha’s on the team now and their mother is no longer an obstacle thanks to Aisha’s power. Earning money to convince the social services and to take care of Aisha the mostly legal way isn’t quite as big a deal anymore.

Brian shrugged.  “Coil approached me a few days ago about increasing my pay.  I think he knows I’m not that reliant on him anymore.  I got into this because I wanted to get Aisha away from my mom.  With the way things in the city have been turned upside-down, I know and Coil knows that I don’t need help.

Pretty much. Brian’s goal was to give Aisha a way out, but then Leviathan went and did it for him.

Well, probably. We still don’t know for sure that Leviathan was responsible for Aisha’s trigger, though it makes a ton of sense both with regards to her power and to the timeline.

The fact that I can say I’ve got money saved up, I can arrange to get a place and Aisha’s safe and sound with me?  That’s almost enough to decide the court case as is.”

Oh, he’s still going through the legal stuff?

I suppose Aisha’s power doesn’t always stop her mom from knowing about her daughter. Whenever she turns it off to talk to her teammates, her mom probably remembers again.

That had their attention.

“I guess the question is, how keen are you guys on continuing to work for Coil?”

Straight to the point.

“Are we talking quitting in the short-term or what?”

“I don’t know exactly what we’re talking about, because so much depends on how you guys respond and how things unfold in the next while,” I said.  “But this thing with Dinah, I’m not happy with it.  I know Lisa and Brian have their issues with that, even if they don’t share my perspective in how culpable we all are in that.”

“That again?”

“I’m not responsible at all,” Aisha pointed out.

True.

“Aisha,” Brian’s tone was a warning.

“Just saying.”

Hehe. I appreciate it, at least.

And hey, if there’s anyone here who should have a free pass to remind others about themself, it’s Aisha.

…I forgot Aisha.

“You wanted to touch base?” Brian asked, after he’d pulled off his mask.

I swear, “touch base” is by far one of the most euphemism-sounding terms for meeting up and chatting.

“I had some words with Skitter,” Lisa answered.  “I think it’s about time we all got on the same page.”

Coil. It looks like we’re going down that route this Arc.

“In terms of tactics?”

Lisa shrugged, “There’s that.  I think working independently is kind of throwing us off, and it leaves us weak against any coordinated attacks from the Chosen.  We work best when we complement one another.”

It’s more fun from a reader’s perspective too.

Alec shrugged.  “Okay.  That’s easy enough to arrange.  Not really a reason to throw a major group meeting.”

On point Alec is back.

“There’s something else,” I said.  I swallowed, looking at Regent, Imp and Bitch.  “I’ve already talked about this at length with Lisa, and I’ve discussed it some with Brian.  This isn’t an easy topic to broach, because it sort of fucks with the team’s status quo.”

Yep. Coil it is.

By all appearances, they were too.

“Safe to turn around,” Tattletale told the boys.

They did.  I gestured, and people found seats in the various chairs.

“Feels like we’re different people than we were an hour ago,” Imp said, looking around.

I had a haircut today, but I suppose that’s not quite the same as a complete costume overhaul.

I considered her words.  “I appreciate the sentiment, but I think it’s more accurate to say we’re different people than we were a week ago.”

Fair enough, but veering off topic, if you mean what I think you mean.

There were some nods.  I glanced at the scar on Tattletale’s cheek, at Shatterbird, who stood obediently behind Regent, and at Grue, who had transformed more than any of us.

…okay, fair. Fair. It’s on topic.

And I couldn’t forget the change I’d undergone, even if I didn’t have the objectivity to nail down exactly what about me was different from a week ago.  Sure, my costume was different, and I had the three hundred pound beetle that was resting on the roof.

You seem to have gotten harder. More willing to lash out and deliver disproportionate retribution.

Or proportionate retribution, in the case of the Nine themselves.

For Regent and Imp, I’d settled on bodysuits and masks.  Regent would wear his beneath his costume and Imp would wear hers as a simple black bodysuit, complete with a scarf and the horned mask Coil had provided.

So basically, not much has changed for them either besides the materials involved, and Aisha turning into a ninja.

There was more to do: belts, Imp’s scarf, Tattletale’s mask and Bitch’s shirt, not to mention finishing my new mask, and my plans for different masks for our various minions.

This is a pretty solid proof of concept, though. I suspect they’ll need to but these costumes to use before Taylor finishes tailoring these extra bits.

When we’d been fighting the Slaughterhouse Nine, I’d lamented the fact that I hadn’t better outfitted the team, and people had been hurt where the costumes would have otherwise protected them.  In the days I’d had to wind down, focusing on getting people organized and working on cleaning up the area, I’d been in range to get a serious effort going on the costumes.

Ahh, so that’s why right now is when this is happening. Makes sense.

I was satisfied with this.

You should be! You did really good work here.

Man, how long has it been since Taylor was last satisfied with something she accomplished?