Inheritance - Consequence 4.6

Tuesday May 10th, 2011

A firm hand came down on my shoulder before I could growl at the screen, Lisa’s eyes were locked on the display and I just knew she was letting her power completely off its chain to dig into whatever the hell I was looking at.  That lasted all of two seconds before she looked away.

“This makes no goddamn sense,” Lisa said, pinching her nose.  “Like, my power is grasping the idea, but I can’t imagine anyone greenlighting a plan that involved you killing those three to justify a fucking war!”

“I like that plan,” Butcher said.  “I’m excited to be a part of it!  Let’s do it!” 

Stratego rolled his eyes.  “Calm down, Venkman.  The Thinker is right, it is not a plan concocted by anyone with a modicum of intelligence.” 

“Who said they had to be intelligent,” I muttered. 

Lisa snorted.  “Oh, they definitely have Thinker support here.  Next time I see Dinah I’ll be asking her a few questions to see if it will throw them off, as well as looking for possible out-of-leftfield vectors they might try to use to get around our own little Thinktank.” 

“Huh, I guess we do have one of those,” Chisel muttered. 

“Not the first time,” Stratego said with a huff. 

Marauder laughed.  “You got the last one killed with that harebrained scheme in New York, remember?” 

“They cheated,” Stratego said. 

“They won,” Ironsides countered. 

As much as I wanted to teleport straight to the PRT building and make my displeasure known, I knew that it would only be playing into some asshole’s plan.  No, I needed to think this through and figure out how to come at it from an angle that the general public wouldn’t piss their pants over. 

“But those are the best ones!” Sabertooth whined.

Marauder scoffed.  “Don’t break your word now, you promised to kill them if they returned!”

He wasn’t wrong, which made this all the worse.  I needed to kill them, just to prove that I was a Butcher of my word.  I’d just do it on my terms, not some rogue Thinker that was trying to manipulate me with acceptable targets.  The biggest hurdle would be getting around their shoddy rebranding.  Lisa was right, like usual, which meant going to school like a perfectly sane and reasonable teenager would still be the best course of action.  Let them see us being normal kids, not reacting with extreme violence at the slightest provocation. 

“That is a very mature outlook, Taylor,” Reflex said.

“You mean lame,” Butcher whined.

“Any precautions we need to focus on?” I asked

Lisa tapped her chin for a moment.  “Yes, and several at that.  I’ll make a few calls, but otherwise we should consider it business as usual.  They’re trying to disrupt us, that much is obvious.  There’s no reason to give them the excuse.” 

“Then I guess we’re still going to school,” I said.  Anything to distract myself from the whole mess that was my relationship status, especially now that violence was postponed.  “Keep me updated on any developments and don’t be afraid to post some Nazi addresses on our board if your board gives you trouble.” 

“Maybe after the negotiations conclude,” Lisa said, and I didn’t miss her hesitation. 

She still hadn’t taken a life, a rare thing among the Teeth, not that I was about to pressure her, or Amelia for that matter, to make that leap.  I’d only made that choice myself just a few weeks prior, though it felt far longer.  I’d killed Cricket in blind anger, Hookwolf in battle, then Kaiser in cold blood. 

Then came the rest of the Empire, all within a day. 

More had fallen at my hands since then, some more deserving than others.  I had embraced everything the Butcher was.  Lisa and Amelia weren’t like me in that regard, and if I could help it, they never would be.  Forcing the choice upon them wasn’t something I would ever do, but at the same time, I would never hold it against them if they did take a life.

With a final sigh I aimed for a bug in the motorcade and teleported with a flash of fire into the far corner away from anyone that might be hurt by the explosive arrival.  Sure, I could just teleport straight to school through Amelia’s ever improving relay swarm, but I couldn’t take anyone with me, and I wanted us to be seen arriving together. 

Rather than our usual car, a limo was waiting with everyone already sitting inside, and Chrissie had pulled out one of the bottles of champagne and was pouring everyone a glass, even if Amelia was glaring at it like it might bite her. 

I hopped in with them and accepted a glass, then used a few bugs to signal to the driver that we were ready to go.  It spoke volumes for the professionalism of the man that he didn’t even blink at the fireflies’ signal and just set the vehicle into motion.  Downing the glass, I knew my regen would completely cancel the alcohol out, it was far too weak to affect me.  Only Super Reserve and the like could get me wasted, which was a bit of a shame.

“Yeah, that’s always one of the downsides,” Marauder said wistfully. 

Alkaline shivered.  “Don’t remind me, I was so pissed when I had to spend ten times as much just for the same high.” 

“I don’t want to reduce Amelia to a drug provider, but hot damn is she a godsend,” Sanguine said with a sigh. 

Yeah, let’s not tread that ground. 

A few agreements floated through my mind, trailing off after a moment as Madison sipped their glass, Sophia seated beside them.  On my right, Chrissie curled up against me, hand running along my thigh.  To my left, Amelia was sitting up straight, and I would catch her eyes drifting over to us every few seconds, but she didn’t move to join in. 

Lisa had dropped a whammy of a revelation on us, not that it had been a complete surprise, but she had a habit of ripping the band-aid off in the most unpleasant of ways.  Not that kissing Amelia was unpleasant, far from it really, but she didn’t need to make a spectacle out of it so early in the day.

As Winslow closed in I allowed my focus to fall on it now that it wasn’t a dozen relays out.  Somehow we managed to keep the existence of the relay swarm off the Protectorate’s radar.  A minor feat considering their impressive Thinktank.  It helped that they had little to distinguish them from normal dragonflies at first glance, only appearing slightly larger in the latest iteration.  

The only way someone would figure out they were biotinkered was if a specimen was put through extensive testing by someone who knew exactly what to look for, and I was making sure that each one to die was devoured by the rest of my swarm long before anyone could think of it.  If Amelia ever decided to make them able to breed it would certainly free up her time, but she was still content spending twenty minutes a night making a few dozen and adding them to the network. 

It didn’t surprise me that she was hesitant to jump head first into cranking out a breedable version after such a public display and I would never pressure her to do anything.  

What did surprise me was the sight of Charlotte sitting outside along with a few others despite class being in session.  Normally I would be upset that someone was skipping class like that, but it worked out well enough.  I had a swarm clone come together near them, the two lackeys jumped back but Char remained cool and collected. 

“Someone record our arrival,” the clone said. 

Char grinned.  “She’s with you, isn’t she?” 

My clone nodded, then the swarm folded back into the shadows with terrifying speed leaving not a trace behind that millions of insects were at my beck and call.

“Truly the stuff of nightmares,” Quarrel said with a shiver. 

I grinned as we pulled to a stop.  “Ready to see Winslow?” 

“Not really,” Amelia muttered. 

I made sure to pull her into a hug.  “We’ll all be there to support you.  You’re one of us, and the Teeth protect their own.” 

She melted into the embrace, yet her body was shaking.  “Is that the only reason?” 

I chuckled, then pulled back so I could kiss her on the forehead.  “You know the answer to that, but if you need reassurance…” 

“Nothing needs to be said,” Chrissie cut in.  “If anyone starts shit, we’ll end it, especially since they will have gone after civilian identities.” 

“I’m an open cape,” Amelia grumbled. 

“Not anymore,” I said, stepping out.  “Just because everyone knows, just like they all know who I am, doesn’t mean they can do shit about it.  If they don’t respect the polite fiction, they will understand why Kaiser didn’t have time to regret his choices.” 

“Moments that remind you little Hebert is now the fuck mothering Butcher,” Sophia said, and I could have sworn her tone was almost respectful.  

“We should go in,” I said, noting that the bugs could pick up that lunch was more or less ready and I knew the bell would soon ring.  That and another car was pulling up with a rather large order from Fugly’s, the grease was unmistakable.  Charlotte once again had proven that she was Best Minion. 

Sophia was out next, barely even hesitating at the sight of a minion with a phone out and clearly recording.  She didn’t have her own custom jacket yet, and was instead wearing one of the generic ones without any branding.  There were hundreds of them around the arena since we tended to order them in bulk and it was easy enough to give her one until she worked out what she wanted from Parian. 

The rest of us didn’t have that problem.  Madison stood as tall as a shortstack could, a Xenomorph silhouette standing out against their last name across the back of it.  I wasn’t sure when they had gotten it, but it was more than fitting and a declaration all the same.  Chrissie and I hadn’t made any changes to our own hoodies, which left Amelia.  I held out a hand for her, helping her out of the car. 

Not that she needed the assistance, she had shed the baby fat and shaped up since our first meeting thanks to Big Robbie helping her learn to fight, and could hold her own against anyone unpowered.  She took my hand and did her best to put on an expression of confidence.  She wasn’t entirely successful, but it wasn’t like she had a throng of people to impress. 

And anyone that hadn’t seen the video of Pandemic’s debut was simply an idiot. 

Her jacket carried the name Lavere, her birth name as well as the last name of the Marquis.  She was his legacy, and a far better person than he ever was, even if Amelia struggled to believe it herself.  She might not stay that way, such was the nature of the Teeth, but it still rang true. 

Charlotte had sent her remaining minion to get the food from the delivery driver, though it hadn’t stopped the poor kid from doing a double take at how everyone was wearing the same red and gray hoodies.  Then he was tipped a hundred and it was like he hadn’t seen shit. 

“Amazing how well that works,” Damascian hummed. 

“Money looseneth lips, money sealeth lips,” Pyro said. 

Fester snorted.  “Annette would have slapped you for that.” 

A sudden swell of longing shot through me, the emptiness of never seeing my mom again crashed into me once more.  The extra memories helped, even the ones I’d really rather not have, but it was no substitute for the real thing. 

“At least you still have your father,” Ironsides said.  “Not all of us were that lucky.” 

The whole thing lasted barely two seconds, and only Amelia truly noticed since I was still holding her hand.  Chrissie was making small talk with Char and Madison about the general rumor mill surrounding last night’s events, which gave me the needed moment to school my expression and calm the nearby swarm.  Thankfully nothing seemed truly amiss at the school that might point towards something being planned to start shit. 

Then again, who would expect Amelia to show up at Winslow of all places? 

“Still nervous?” I asked, moreso to distract myself from my own thoughts.

“Not as bad as whatever that episode was,” Amelia said softly.  “Guessing someone made a comment?” 

“Just Fester mentioning my mom,” I said.  “She knew her, back in their college days.” 

“In the biblical sense, I remember the story,” Amelia said, then her face lit up. 

That got a smile out of me.  “Remembering something of your own, are we?” 

Amelia shoved away from me, a heavy flush on her adorably freckled face.  “S—shut up!  This is all Lisa’s fault anyway!  If she just had kept her mouth shut I wouldn’t be dealing with all…  This!” 

“Probably,” I agreed with a grin.  “Hell, if she gets her way we’ll probably have that Alaskan King in my room before the day is done.” 

“She would,” Amelia muttered, but now she was smiling too. 

It was good that she was feeling better given everything that happened, and it was probably all part of Lisa’s master plan for keeping Amelia’s mind off the fact that she made a public debut as the Teeth’s newest cape just hours earlier. 

“You have to admit, it is a good plan,” Chisel said. 

“Best of all, it seems to be working,” Alkaline added. 

Yeah, it was, and I hated that I would need to give Lisa credit for getting things in motion.  Oh well, once all the conversations were done I could always kiss her in thanks.  

A ringing bell in the distance signaled that it was time to make their debut and Amelia once again stiffened. 

This time Chrissie was on her in an instant, pulling her in close and pointing off into the distance as her hand swept over the school before closing into a hard fist.  “Onward, to break their precious minds!” 

I laughed and joined in on Amelia’s other side.  “We’re totally going to stroll in, not say a damn thing, and wait to see how long it takes them to figure it out.” 

Amelia started to say something, but Chrissie put a finger to her lips before she could.  “Before you make a statement about how obvious it is, let me mention that one kid didn’t figure out Taylor was Weaver until she literally formed a bug clone in front of him.” 

“Well, in fairness to Veder, he was hopelessly convinced you had simply seduced me into the gang with your feminine ways,” I said, chuckling. 

“I totally could have,” Chrissie said.  “You know I’m that damn good.” 

My face lit up and the collective didn’t show any mercy as dozens of my own memories surged at their prompting. 

“Just think, soon enough Amelia’s gonna be getting in on that,” Butcher teased. 

I shoved them all down in a rush, my face positively burning as they all laughed at my expense.  Beside me Amelia began to cackle, no doubt having parsed most of that from my own biological response.  It was bad enough that Lisa could read me like an open book, but Amelia could be just as bad when she had skin contact. 

“You just know that Lisa’s coached her on reading people too,” Stratego said. 

“Come on,” I said, ignoring how everyone around me was now snickering at the big bad Butcher being clearly flustered.  “We’ve got a scene to make.” 

“I’d say you’re already making one,” Madison said. 

I flipped them off. 

The giggles continued as we all walked inside together, melding into the lunch rush with surprisingly little fanfare.  The people of Winslow were simply deadened to the presence of gang colors in the halls — especially now that the Teeth were essentially the only game left in town.  A few spotted the backs of our jackets, the implications of who they were next to causing them to put some distance between us. 

Despite that, it was a small portion of the student population, and more than a few took note of their jackets then shrugged it off.  Despite my reputation as a cape, the students of Winslow had enough time to adjust to the fact that I didn’t do anything drastic unless someone pushed too hard, and even then, most pulled up a chair for the free show.

Amelia was trying to shrink in on herself, but nobody here really knew her like the Arcadia kids did.  There everyone knew she was the miracle healer of New Wave, here in Winslow?  She was the newest in Weaver’s entourage. 

“Oh but when they do learn,” Butcher said with a low chuckle.

It wasn’t as though there were any dangerous students left either.  The Empire fucks were long gone, either dropping out, or caught in the crossfires of the war.  I hadn’t bothered to really look into that too far, mostly for a lack of fucks to give.  The ABB remnants were fully absorbed at this point and all their kids had swapped colors weeks ago. 

I could only laugh at the thought of the Wards in attendance. 

While most of the students got in the lunch line, I led our capes and the minions with the food and camera over to our usual table.  A few others were already seated, all wearing our colors openly.  They took one look at me and mine and made space.

“I know this is just school shit, but damn does the respect feel good,” Pyro said. 

It was certainly a change from how my time in high school before the Butcher mantle came to me.  I ignored Quarrel’s indignant squawk at the reminder of times past.  Now I was taking a seat with two of my bullies, one of which I now counted as a friend, and the other was being surprisingly deferential even though I had a sneaking suspicion that they might one day face me for the mantle. 

Such was the way of the Teeth. 

Chrissie and I by unspoken agreement took flanking positions around Amelia, normally I’d keep at least one bug on her for my own tracking, but that wasn’t necessary.  Her current outfit was her cape costume shifted into casual clothes.  Somewhere within the living mass was a relay cluster that was making her shine like a lighthouse to my swarmsense.

There was something comforting about being able to spot Amelia anywhere in the city at a moment’s notice.  Given the interest that so many parties would take in securing a healer of her capabilities, it fell to me and the Teeth to remind them in no uncertain terms what would happen to those who forgot themselves. 

“Aww, it’s so sweet how fiercely protective you’re being,” Fester said.

“I can’t wait to see the look on her face the first time you slaughter those who come for her,” Butcher added with a malicious grin. 

I didn’t want to agree with him, but I couldn’t deny his words either.  I would slaughter anyone that dared lay a hand on her, and that realization alone was enough to cement how I felt about her in my mind. 

“It’s funny,” I found myself saying as a fat burger wrapped in paper slid over to me. 

“What’s that?” Chrissie asked, already a mouthful into her own lunch. 

I smiled, unwrapping the greasy prize.  “Think about it.  If Amelia hadn’t snuck up to the rooftop of the hospital for a smoke, we would have probably never ended up where we are.” 

“I hope you realize you nearly scared the shit out of me when you just vanished in a puff of smoke,” Amelia said, pointing at me with a handful of fries.  “Do you have any idea how many briefings I had to sit through about the Butcher since the Teeth returned to Brockton?” 

“Too many, I imagine,” I said.  “Probably all true too, aside from my brief stint trying to be heroic.” 

“Sucks for the heroes that they couldn’t get over themselves,” Madison said then elbowed Sophia.  “Imagine if they brought the Butcher on with the Wards.” 

My former bully shuddered.  “Oh god, she would have killed us the moment she realized that all three of us were there.” 

“Probably,” I said with a shrug.  “Hell, I almost killed Emma once she punched me and I realized she was a Brute.  Reflex talked me down.” 

Amelia snorted.  “You did deal lethal injuries to Sophia.” 

“Hey, I patched her up!” I countered. 

“Barely,” Amelia said. 

“Did anybody get the number of that bitch,” Madison said with a near perfect imitation of Sophia, then giggled.  “Then Amelia replies ‘fifteen’ and nobody gets it.” 

In a moment I would absolutely deny until my dying breath, soda shot from my nose as I choked out a laugh.  “Damn, I wish I could have been there for that one.” 

“Maybe one day one of us will inherit and you’ll get that wish,” Sophia muttered. 

I smiled sweetly.  “Just don’t expect me to go as easy on you as I did Animos.” 

Rather than cower, Sophia grinned like she used to when she saw a chance to make me bleed.  The flash of anger that swelled within me was welcomed, and I let my usual aloof expression melt away to show nothing but the cold fury of the Butcher eyeing a deserving target.  Sophia’s eyes widened, her smile faltered, and no doubt she was remembering the pains from when I’d nearly caved in her ribcage then subjected her to a burst of the Butcher’s signature pain blast. 

A part of me was tempted to give her another taste, but that might be pushing it in the middle of the lunchroom.  Well, there would almost certainly be a moment for it back at the arena.  She hadn’t endured near enough of them, even if I rarely used it for punishment compared to my predecessors.  I’d established my expectation, and outside of drug fueled benders, my people tended to respect those rules.

“Mostly,” Alkaline said with a giggle.

Chrissie was laughing uproariously about the whole exchange, and I let my ‘mask’ of aloofness slip back into place before taking a bite of the bacon cheeseburger.  Amelia stared at her own monster of a burger with a frown, then shrugged and took a bite, almost moaning as she did. 

Fester practically slapped her thigh as she laughed.  “That girl’s got the right idea of it.  Nothing beats a burger from Fugly’s.” 

“Someone’s not used to grease traps,” I said. 

Amelia shook her head, quickly chewing so she could swallow.  “No, I just know what this stuff does to a person so I usually eat healthy.  Carol also kept nothing artificial or unhealthy in the house, so I rarely got to indulge.” 

“Keep up with Big Robbie’s training and you won’t have to worry about flab,” Chrissie said, her own monstrosity the second biggest burger at the table. 

The crown however went to Madison who was sitting on two triple decker burgers with nacho cheese and extra bacon.  Now that she no longer needed to hide that she was a cape while at school, she was taking full advantage of it.  I could still remember how she always looked so disinterested with her dainty meals, even when she was sneering at me the few times I ate in the cafeteria back then. 

Actually, that raised an interesting question. 

“Hey Madison,” I said, setting my burger down.  “When did you first start going out as a cape?” 

She paused in her chewing, then frowned as she swallowed.  “About a year before the PRT found out about me, why?” 

“Just curious,” I said with a shrug.  “I know that Stalker was active for almost three years, but we never really heard much about you.” 

“I tried to avoid the Teeth when they came back to the Bay.  Seemed the smart thing to do, but then Skidmark got diced and my usual targets dried up.  I swapped to hitting human trafficking fronts after that.” 

“An acceptable target,” Fester said with approval. 

“How did the PRT even catch you?” Chrissie asked. 

Madison shrugged.  “Managed to bust a large enough Empire brothel full of kidnapped girls.  I called the PRT because I didn’t trust the cops and they brought me in for protection after Hookwolf showed up and said he would kill me if he ever caught me.  Add in the Teeth and it seemed the smart thing to do at that point.” 

“How didn’t he have an active kill order again?” I asked. 

Seriously, two failed attempts to cage the man, and when I finally put him down I find out I can’t even collect a bounty because his kill order was unsigned and backdated in the event a hero was the one to manage it.  Total bullshit.

“Because then he wouldn’t have any reason to play nice,” Sophia said.  “He was never one that cared about the Empire, he just liked that they were a shield that let him act how he pleased.” 

“Like you used the PRT?” Chrissie snarked. 

“Pretty much,” Sophia admitted.  “Everyone ignored my unsanctioned patrols because it kept the criminals on edge and I brought people in each night.  A few fudged reports and it made our department look great.” 

“Meanwhile they made me look like a bodybuilder to hide that I was the creepy shapeshifter the Empire wanted dead.” 

“The Empire knew who Sophia was,” I said, startling the girl.  “Lisa dug into it, Victor was sitting on it for a rainy day, even had some propaganda ready to roll out.  ‘She’s a hero and they let her do that to the Heeb,’ I paraphrased with an atrocious German accent.  “Join us and we’ll make sure that doesn’t happen to the right sort.” 

“I’m so glad we put all those fuckers in the ground,” Chrissie said with a grin while trying not to laugh. 

She wasn’t doing a good job of it.

There was a round of agreement, though some of Sophia’s enthusiasm had drifted away as she became absorbed in her own thoughts.  It was amazing how pretty much everyone at the table set out to be heroes in their own way, then had the world push them into villainy.  Granted, Sophia and Madison had less excuses than most.  Chrissie just wanted to fuck up the Merchants and ended up being the Teeth’s minor celebrity of the moment and rolled with it instead and had enough of a good time that she stuck with it.

Amelia… 

I pulled her into a hug without prompting, getting a sound of confusion from her as she bit into her burger but I didn’t care.  I would make sure that she was getting plenty of hugs in the days to come, because she needed them.

The minion with the camera made sure he got some footage of the hug, from behind of course.  Nothing with our faces would be shared online, but it would send the message all the same.  I honestly couldn’t wait to see the PHO threads erupt from all of this. 

“The question is, will Tinmommy allow it?” Sabertooth asked. 

Probably not, but it would still be fun while it lasted. 

The butchers all joined in on the laughter and I returned to my meal.  The rest of the school day would likely prove to be uneventful, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t spend the time making sure Amelia felt included and welcome, and most importantly, that she felt appreciated. 

“And loved,” Alkaline added. 

It said something that I didn’t disagree.

*** 

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen a PHO thread blow up and derail so quickly,” Lisa said. 

I laughed, leaning against Chrissie in the back of the car as I held the phone, the device on speaker so the others could hear the conversation.  The day was winding down and Lisa was about to head into the closed door meeting with the Medhall Board of Directors.  Thanks to Lisa’s manipulations around Coil’s death, and later the Empire slaughter, she’d managed to secure her place as one of the top shareholders for next to nothing. 

Quite the feat for someone under eighteen. 

Granted, all her legal documents had her emancipated with all the legal privileges and responsibilities that every adult carried, which was the only reason she was getting away with all this.  Hell, she’d even made sure her old identity was now linked to her new one, even if the court documents were sealed due to abusive parents.  An enemy Thinker could poke holes in all of it but it was all above board on a surface glance. 

My eyes had glazed over when she originally explained it, though I blamed that on Amelia’s weed.  

“It was quite a show,” I agreed.  “Three heroes banned is a new record.” 

Meteor and Jouster the first Q&A, and now Vista, Gallant, and Blackout were all sitting with pretty little Banned tags.  The best part of it was that Vista was the one to get Gallant banned by cussing him out when he got pissy over Amelia and he took the fucking bait. 

I was half convinced the Blackout ban was Aisha using her brother’s account.

“Not to mention Brandish making a burner account only to have it nuked after the first post,” Lisa said, laughing for a moment before she gathered herself. “Alright, business before time runs out.  I tried to reach out to Armsy and Assault after the morning reveal.” 

“And?” I asked. 

“They’re on an information blackout for the duration of the operation,” Lisa said.  “I even went so far as to message Legend, but he’s not answering.  I’m almost tempted to find his husband’s phone number and message him instead.” 

“Please don’t,” I said, fighting back a groan.  “What about Dragon?” 

“Also not answering,” Lisa said.  “Which is weird given I’m certain she’s also Tinmother.  If I wasn’t conserving Power use right now, I’d be delving deep into that one right now.” 

“That bitch is Tinmother?”  Sabertooth screeched. 

I rolled my eyes.  I thought that was obvious, hence my trolling her. 

“See, stuff like this is good,” Lisa said.  “Yes, you’re terrifying as all hell, but then you remind people that the scary side is the alternative to the playful and quirky side you prefer people see.” 

With a setup like that, I couldn’t resist.  “It’s all part of my master plan to get Alexandria into the harem.” 

“Manage that and even I’ll join in for the night,” Lisa said. 

Every bug in the city froze for an instant, no doubt missed by all but the most dutiful observers, of which there shouldn’t be any left in the city thanks to the Boston deployment.  I knew she was teasing me, it was her entire thing when it came to interacting with me.  Worse, I knew it had started as a way to disarm my more violent impulses when she was still new to the Teeth, and it had worked. 

“She cemented herself during the Empire attack,” Butcher said.  “I don’t like the whole no need to kill thing, but I’ll admit, it’s worked with her.” 

Big words, coming from my namesake.

Not every member of the Teeth needed to be killers, especially if we were going to expand to control the entire city.  We needed to be more welcoming to any walk of life that wanted to work with us.  Marquis had the right idea, we would be the stick that encouraged accepting the carrot.

“Anyway, we’re coming up on Parian’s,” I said, eager to change the subject before Lisa brought up the morning’s revelations.  “We can go over everything after your meeting.” 

“Alright, radio silence as always during these,” Lisa said.  “Be extra vigilant, I’ve got a bad feeling about the coming days.” 

Yeah, I did too, and striking while Lisa was indisposed would be a perfect time to catch us unawares.  I had Damien and Elliot on “patrol” with teams of Robbie’s men.  Rachel remained on standby for rapid deployment alongside Alice and Michael.  Robbie was in charge of deployments in my absence and had his own team ready for anything someone might throw at the Arena. 

The most damning warning was that Dinah’s numbers were shifting, which was clear proof that something was messing with her predictions.  We knew there were many Thinker blind spots out there.  Eidolon was one, Scion another, not to mention the Endbringers, which was a far more chilling thought. 

“Be safe Lisa, and don’t be afraid to shank a fucker,” Chrissie said. 

Lisa snorted.  “I’ve got one of Damascian’s knives tucked under my skirt if needed.” 

“Good girl,” Chrissie added. 

There was a moment of stuttering, and I couldn’t help but high five my girlfriend for rendering the Thinker speechless.  Amelia shook her head fondly and I did my best to ignore Sophia rolling her eyes across from us. 

“Let her suffer in the face of your happiness,” Damascian said. 

Fester nodded along with her.  “Annette always said the best revenge was living well.” 

I looked across Amelia, meeting Chrissie’s eyes.  I waggled my eyebrows then dropped my eyes to Amelia, hoping she got the message.  Then I leaned down and kissed Amelia on the cheek at the same time Chrissie got her other side.  The grumpy biokinetic squeaked, jumping slightly, and I could hear Lisa laugh across the car. 

“Glad to hear that my girlfriend is in good hands,” Lisa said.  “We can continue that conversation after I bend this board over and make them my bitches.” 

“Be safe,” I said, then perked up.  “Oh, Purity and Rune just entered my airspace on a patrol.  Should I remind them to stay out of Teeth airspace?” 

Lisa laughed.  “They’ll be expecting that.  Wait until they start relaxing for maximum impact.  Just don’t crash them into Medhall, after today those repairs will be my responsibility!” 

“Spoilsport,” I said, sticking out my tongue.  “Have fun railing the old fucks.”

The call ended just as Lisa gagged and I was quick to pocket my phone.  At the same time my bugs were checking Parian’s shop, making sure everything was copacetic.  I knew she had been approached by the Elite with a soft sell, and she hadn’t rejected them outright, just as Lisa had instructed.  While I wasn’t expecting them to just walk in with us there, it was a distinct possibility.  Thankfully the only people present were Sabah and Lily, which would be easy enough to deal with. 

“Is everything a sex joke with the Teeth?” Sophia muttered. 

Madison snorted.  “You get used to it.” 

“Try hanging out with Spree after one of his benders,” I said. 

Not to mention how bad some of the sexcapades of prior Butchers had been.  I really didn’t want to remember Quarrel’s last orgy just days prior to my own inheritance.  It had taken a week to get the smell out of my room, and that was with my bugs helping clean everything up.

The limo pulled to a stop at Parian’s shop, not quite on the Boardwalk, but only one street removed and still in the good part of the tourist trap.  Rent was half that of the main drag, even if it didn’t see as much traffic the difference balanced out, especially considering Parian’s going rates, even with the sponsor discount we got. 

A pair of enforcers were watching the car closely, despite not being on the main stretch, which was good.  It meant they were following their new marching orders.  I’d personally met with the Enforcers and told them in no uncertain terms that they were to treat everyone fairly, no more harassing those of color for the Nazis, no more picking up young women for an extra bonus from a cowardly snake. 

The men that had helped grab Lisa were present for that conversation, though they weren’t quite themselves anymore.  Alec had come through on that one, and both men experienced the terror that their former victims often endured, because they also grabbed girls for the Empire and ABB.  Both ended up in the pits afterwards, and I hadn’t bothered to keep track of them further. 

“And we have arrived,” I said. 

This time Sophia was the first out, though Madison and Charlotte weren’t far behind her.  I knew both would be heading out not long after to continue their help with the supply distribution in the trainyards.  Prior to my inheritance, the Teeth hadn’t taken care of the territory they claimed, and I was doing my best to change that.  The PHO thread that inspired things had been a stroke of genius, and allowed us to avoid many common pitfalls with donation events. 

Charlotte learned well and we were slowly helping the worst affected get back on their feet.  It would be a long term thing, and the plan was to roll it out city wide, but the Teeth didn’t have the funds to do so, not yet, not until we had Medhall secure and were able to use it to fund the charitable actions. 

That would be Lisa’s baby since she had some experience in the field.

I held out my hand and helped Amelia out, not that she needed it.  Her face was red as she avoided eye contact, but there was a smile plastered on her face.  Chrissie was right behind her, and grinned mischievously as she accepted my hand.  I returned a smile, but wasn’t quite sure what it was about until she pulled my hand close and kissed my knuckles. 

Needless to say my own face was quite warm following that and the Butchers were all rather vocal about the display.  I coughed, trying not to show just how flustered that one move had left me.  Judging by how Charlotte was laughing, I wasn’t doing a good job of it.

Rather than endure the teasing, I turned and marched myself into Parian’s shop, throwing the door wide.  Lily jumped, grabbing something from her belt as she turned, and barely stopped herself from becoming Butcher XVI.  She held the power charged throwing pin with wide eyes as she quickly realized how close she had come to inheriting.  

Right, don’t startle one of the few capes that Lisa thinks could one shot Alexandria. 

“Sorry about that,” I said with a gentle smile.  “Just trying to get away from the merciless monsters outside.” 

Lily lowered her hands slightly, though the confusion was evident on her face even as Madison and Charlotte stepped in behind me, still laughing among themselves.  Sophia was behind them, muttering about something only comprehensible to her.  Then came Chrissie, who was teasing Amelia as she led her along by the arm. 

“Shit, this whole thing might actually get rolling before long,” Alkaline said.

Right, which meant more conversations about relationships than I was really ready for.  Fortunately I had something to distract myself with that would never result in anything other than pain and death and a bit of schadenfreude. 

“Sophia here needs a hoodie,” I said, gesturing at my former bully.  “She’s not rebranding, so it shouldn’t take too long for, uh, your friend to whip one up.  And yes, I’m paying the rush fees.” 

Lily’s lips thinned as she looked over her former teammate.  Sophia was doing her best to seem disinterested, but my bugs were picking up how her eyes kept drifting to the various displays around the room.  Thankfully that whole mess was easy to ignore as Sabah swept into the room. 

“I would hope so,” Sabah said, looking us over.  “If I had known you were coming, I would have made sure Parian was present.” 

I winced, because it wasn’t fair to her, but at the same time, I hadn’t outed her to anyone.  Sabah was the one who chose to come down without her costume and made it obvious who she was to all present.  Granted, I already knew, as did Lisa and Chrissie just due to how often we interacted with them for business.  Regular spider silk deliveries from my workshop in the Arena’s basement were still being made. 

“Shit, no wonder you kept telling the Empire to take a hike,” Sophia blurted. 

I smacked my face; leave it to Sophia to shove her foot in her mouth at the worst possible moment.  Sabah’s eyes narrowed at the woman, and Lily actually growled.  It wasn’t quite as impressive as what Victoria pulled off during open mic night, but it was still respectable.

“Obviously you didn’t figure out shit,” I said to Sophia before she got any bright ideas.  “You know full well what the Teeth do to anyone violating the Rules and I trust the same will apply to her as well?” 

Sophia had the decency to shut her mouth after that. 

“Normally I wouldn’t go out of my way for her, but she was the odd one out at the table today,” I said, glad to move on.  “So, she’s going to sit here, nice and still, while getting fitted for a custom jacket.  She gets some say in the design, so long as she manages to sit still and doesn’t mouth off, otherwise make the damn thing pink instead of red.” 

Sabah’s frown morphed into a grin.  “I can do that.” 

I nodded, making note of another car pulling up outside.  The people getting out paid a passing glance at our own vehicle before moving towards the door.  I turned just as they arrived, noting the rather expensive suits each person was wearing. 

“Oh damn, that’s some high dollar stuff,” Ironsides said. 

The bugs I was placing on each of them had to agree, more so how they hadn’t tensed up when they caught sight of us.  There was no question in my mind that these people were with the Elite.  My only question was if they had powers or not. 

“Too calm to be unpowered,” Marauder said. 

“Stride’s all wrong too,” Chisel growled.  “They walk like warriors, not bureaucrats.” 

A check with bloodsight confirmed their pulse was elevated, but not as high as it should be for someone walking right into a group of known Teeth capes, even if we were out of costume.  More to the point, nobody in the room was in costume. 

“Can I help you?” Sabah asked. 

I took a step back joining the rest of my people as I allowed her to take command of the situation.  It was her shop, and she was free to pursue any deals she wanted as long as it didn’t directly endanger the people of Brockton.  Still, I made a subtle gesture, letting everyone know that we might be in for a fight.  Madison moved Charlotte behind them, ready to get her out of danger if shit kicked off.  Chrissie and I did the same with Amelia, keeping ourselves between her and the unknown capes. 

“I don’t like this,” Stratego said, his power unfolding over the room.  “They are entirely too comfortable with this situation.  They are expecting something, waiting for it.” 

I kept myself coiled and ready, and made sure to sweep through the relays, looking for anything out of place among those important to me.  Dinah was with Missy and Aisha at the Arena getting ramen, all three were nursing headaches it seemed.  I couldn’t see anyone setting up to ambush any of the active Teeth patrols, though Purity was circling the arena in a miles wide arc along with Rune, but neither were in a position to do anything for several minutes and I’d be able to react if they tried. 

Winslow was fine, all of the classes were done for the day and Blackwell was locking up for the night.  My senses expanded further, out to the docks where dad was…  Inspecting a shipping container with several others.  That wasn’t unusual, but the situation at hand had me looking for anything that might be out of place. 

I sent bugs into the container while I had some land on him.  He immediately paused his inspection and took a few steps back, eyes now far more alert as he looked about.  Meanwhile, my swarm was being far more thorough than his men with every minute detail I could detect.  The container was packed to the brim with boxes of electronics, nothing unusual about that, but one box smelled off to my swarm and they honed in on it even as I began to form up bugs to warn Dad.  I tore into the tape with roaches just as one of the dockworkers cut the lock to the container and Dad shouted a warning. 

As the lock snapped, a charged energy that permeated the air that set my bug’s instincts into overdrive.  Knowing something was deeply wrong, my bugs gave up completely on subtle, already buzzing out a warning to get away.  One of those to cut the lock screamed, my father looked over and— 

Everything in a thirty meter circle around the shipping container vanished from my senses.  Eyes widening, I drew everything I could from the swarm around it to get my eyes back on things.  I’d felt my bugs die before, but this hadn’t been anything like that, just they were there one moment, and gone the next. 

I’d sent too much of my nearby swarm into the area, and I was about to teleport when one bug crossed that line and vanished almost immediately.  The swarm’s eyes weren’t perfect, but from what I could see everything was still in place. 

“Something happened on the docks,” I said as low as I could. 

My bloodsight didn’t miss how one of the men heard it, how his heart spiked with excitement.  Outwardly nothing showed, but I knew better, these men had been waiting for the signal. 

I hit all three with a pain blast, dropping them to the ground as they wailed in agony.  Sabah jumped away with a yelp, not having been affected by my power.  Lily drew a baton and held it out towards me even as I approached the downed men.  My swarm flowed in, engulfing them as I pulled one of them upright. 

“What did you do?” I snarled, fangs growing and claws extending.  His precious expensive suit began to rot and decay in my grip as bugs started to bite into his skin.  “TELL ME!” 

“What’s going on?” Lily demanded, stepping close, but keeping the baton between us.

The man chuckled, even as my rot reached the man’s skin, turning his flesh necrotic beneath my touch.  “We hit the Butcher where it hurts.” 

Across the docks, my swarm finally got a better picture of what happened, the image resolved itself and my heart sank.  Without thought, I snapped the man’s neck and pulled myself through the relays, targeting a bug atop the DWU offices.  I arrived in a flash of fire, this time my eyes confirming what my swarm already knew to be true. 

There, in the shipping yards of the DWU offices, stood my father and a dozen others around the unknown crate.  Everyone was fine, not a blemish on them, yet not one of them took a breath or hair twitched in the breeze. 

It was like looking at an old picture, everyone perfectly preserved in stasis. 

“Oh dad,” I whispered, falling to my knees as the first tears fell from my eyes.