9

Examination 1

The paramedics decided I had been doing such a good job with Amy's splint that they had me escort her until the real doctors could properly put her arm in a proper cast. Amy and I chatted along the way while she lay in the stretcher and I sat beside her. I was wary of exposing my powers to the paramedics, but Amy vouched for me, and apparently knew them personally. It made sense if she spent a whole lot of time at the hospital, especially tending to emergencies.

The paramedics had been quite respectful understood the importance of secret identities. Rescuing downed heroes, sometimes having to remove costumes to treat injuries, was apparently part of their training. While I wasn't injured, they applied the same training and didn't ask for my identity at all.

Strangely enough, even though it was only a broken arm, Amy was rushed to the hospital with full sirens and lights. I suppose when it came to Panacea, they didn't want to take any chances at all.

"So… um…" Amy was looking kind of embarrassed. "I was saying the first time..."

"What is it?" I asked.

She leaned in to my ear and whispered, "Your back. Do you want me to heal it?"

It was really nice of her to keep that a secret. Patient confidentiality and all. "Yeah. Thanks a lot," I whispered back. Then a thought crossed my mind. "Hey, just as an idea... can you do it extra slow? I want to watch how it works as much as I can."

Amy looked surprised. "You can watch? It's on your back..."

"Through my bots," I explained. I closed my eyes so I could focus on what my bots were seeing. Well, it wasn't so much seeing, more "feeling", since not much light was shining through my shirt. I shifted almost all of my bots to my back over the burns.

"Okay, I'm going to start with the top left and work my way down," she said.

My robots watched as scar tissue moved out of the way, blood vessels opened up, fresh cells flowed into the space where my burns and scar tissue were. The skin moved out of the way, old scars basically dissolved. Cells didn't divide to replace them, they were just… constructed through Amy's power. There was so much to take in at once.

"Wait, wait, wait!" I said. "Can you slow down even more? You're doing so much at once!"

"Oh… huh… sorry. Nobody's ever requested that before," Amy said. She continued again, at half the speed. It was still too fast.

"Can you do it at, like, one tenth the speed you're going right now?" I asked. "Sorry, it's just so much to take note of and remember."

"If I went any slower, we'd take all day," Amy said. "We're, like, two minutes from the hospital."

"I think it might be better we don't do this all at once," I said. "Um... can we continue this when we go for burgers with your sister? If... if she's still okay with that..." I said.

Amy gave me a funny look. "You are so weird."

I just shrugged and laughed. "I've heard it's a Tinker thing. Once Tinkers get an idea, nothing else matters until you get a chance to actually build it. The wound is nothing, I've been dealing with it for weeks. I have to know how to design a bot that can do even one percent of what you did!"

"Well, you'd better not forget to eat," Amy said. "Healing takes a lot of energy from your body. Maybe we should finish it off when you have lunch with us? Does tomorrow work?"

A smile stretched between my reddening cheeks. It was really happening! I was actually getting to know Panacea and Glory Girl! "Um, yeah, that would be nice," I said.

"Alright, what time works for you? I'm pretty sure this arm is only going to need a cast and not much else, I'll be good to walk around tomorrow."

"Uh... whatever works for you," I said. "Do you want to sleep in tomorrow? Or is that too soon?"

"Don't worry, I don't have any plans," Amy said. "Especially since everyone's probably going to tell me to stop working for a while. As if I need my full arm to heal other people," she scoffed. "But the earlier the better. That way Vicky won't have any time to drag some blind dates into it."

"Oh... is it that bad?" I asked.

"She just doesn't get that I'm not... interested right now," Amy said. "You should watch out, she might try to set you up with some of the guys she knows too."

I had nearly forgotten what it was like to have friends. I wasn't ready for a boyfriend. What was I supposed to do? Heck, what kind of guys did Victoria know? What if they compared me to Victoria? I'd never be able to compare!

The deer-in-headlights look on my face made Amy laugh.

After my first ambulance ride – at least, the first one I remembered getting – Amy, Victoria, and I chatted together at the hospital until my dad arrived to pick me up. As everyone had suspected, it was just a broken arm and some other minor scrapes. She knew all the doctors and nurses there; they were happy to put her on the fast track to getting a cast.

In fact, I was pretty impressed with how quickly things moved; apparently Victoria had flown ahead of the ambulance to tell the emergency department what to expect. They were surprised I didn't have a phone to call my dad; Victoria lent me hers. She even asked to save the number so she could call me later.

That was an interesting experience. I hadn't given my number out to anyone for... well, ever? I don't remember if I had to give Emma my number; our parents had known each other since before we were born. Also I wasn't even remotely prepared; I ended up using my bots to write her number on my arm until I got home with a pen.

Without a more convenient way to contact them, Victoria recommended that I message her on "the forums." I knew she meant Parahumans Online, the de-facto website for just about all things cape-related. I used to lurk the forums before but never created a user account. Emma and I used to daydream about becoming heroes themselves, coming to the forum to keep up about the news. I pretty much gave up on the website since the bullying started, the dream dying along with her friendship. After today, though, I knew that there was no way for me to escape the world of Capes, and I had better keep up with cape news as much as I could.

I still had yet to decide on a username, but Victoria told me hers so that I could message her. When I got home, I decided to get a handle on the PHO community while my bots worked away in the basement.

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Topic: Brockton Bay Bank Bust!

In: News and Events ► USA East ► Brockton Bay

►DippityDoo(Original Poster)

Posted on 4 Mar 2011:

The Undersiders hit Brockton Bay Central Bank got hit today. They fought the Wards and got away clean. Pretty scary.

►WinRAWR

Replied on 4 Mar 2011:

I heard Barbie was there. Collateral Damage: One ceiling, one wall.

►CapeGrape

Replied on 4 Mar 2011:

Who are the Undersiders? I haven't heard of them. How could they take on the Wards AND Glory Girl and win? How powerful are they?

►Yipper

Replied on 4 Mar 2011:

Any details on the heroes? Why was it just the Wards? WTF was Armsmaster doing?

►TommyFun

Replied on 4 Mar 2011:

CapeGrape, the Undersiders have been around for a little while. They're small time. Or at least, they were. Just minor robberies like hitting a laundromat, a nightclub, a small casino, shit like that. I guess they've been getting bolder. They've never been caught, they don't usually take down other capes. They're just really good at getting away.

►Gwooopiste

Replied on 4 Mar 2011:

Tommy I heard those places are actually money laundering fronts for the gangs. Does that make the Undersiders actually heroes?

►hawnkytawnk

Replied on 4 Mar 2011:

Don't be stupid, they just robbed a bank. They're villains.

►KinOfPindles

Replied on 4 Mar 2011:

Maybe BBCB is a front for the gangs too!

►pair_of_docks

Replied on 4 Mar 2011:

Listening to your dumb ideas is making me lose IQ

►Bagrat (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)

Replied on 4 Mar 2011:

I've managed to dig up a few more details. Since it happened during lunch break, one of the Arcadia students (Panacea) went to visit the bank. Her first contact at the sign of trouble was her sister, who was the one to alert the other Wards who attend Arcadia.

The Protectorate members were on another mission, currently still classified.

All the Wards were in attendance, and the Undersiders managed to flee before the PRT or Protectorate could arrive in time. This mostly fits their M.O., they have a very good sense of timing and escape.

Of note, the independent villain Circus was seen aiding them; we don't know if she has permanently joined them or if it was a temporary alliance.

Total money stolen was under $50,000.

►Lordenglish

Replied on 4 Mar 2011:

Well, those small-timers managed to take down Shadow Stalker at least.

►Point_me_at_the_sky (Verified Cape)

Replied on 4 Mar 2011:

They had hostages. Including my sister. Fuck those guys.

►WoolyWinker

Replied on 4 Mar 2011:

Wow, talk about brass balls the size of boulders.

►LaughterhouseEight

Replied on 4 Mar 2011:

Holy crap, they took Panacea hostage? There's a fine line between brave and stupid, and they are waaaaay into stupid territory.

►o0O-Jaynor-O0o

Replied on 4 Mar 2011:

HAHAHA, sounds like a small-time group is getting too cocky. $20 says they piss off the Triumvirate by accident and get vaporized by next month.

►WinRAWR

Replied on 4 Mar 2011:

No, I bet they'll be taken down by the regular gangs way before that. All that work, $50k split 5 ways? Even the druggie Merchants know how to make a profit when they do a crazy crime

Jump to page: 1, 2, 3, 4

I stopped reading that thread. Nothing but speculation and random comments for pages and pages onwards. They didn't know anything I didn't already see firsthand, nor did they know anything that wasn't already on the Parahumans Wiki. Most of what people were talking about I could have refuted if I bothered to register an account and correct them, but I was too lazy.

Hell, I was certain I already knew more about the Undersiders than anyone else on the forums, and what happened at the bank. Even so, I still didn't know much. Clearly money hadn't been the priority for the Undersiders – was that just a diversion? Tattletale had been pulling some files off the bank's computers, but the way she was talking seemed like she wasn't doing that with her boss's knowledge.

I still didn't really know what to make of Tattletale and the other Undersiders. For one thing, she had asked for my help, and they had helped me. On the other... they were villains. I didn't want to say anything online and point any fingers just yet. See if I could catch any more news about them.

As I scrolled through, another thread caught my eye.

In: Capes ► Cape Sightings

Topic: Panacea in the Hospital – and not at work!

►UnrealHumanBean (Original Poster)

Posted on 4 Mar 2011:

I was sitting in Brockton Bay General today feeling like shit. Long lineup in the ER, apparently I'm not that important. Guess who flies in? Glory Girl. Obviously invincible girl doesn't need healing, so she must be taking her sister to the hospital, right?

So I'm all happy, thinking that Panacea will be here healing everyone. Even if she doesn't tend to me personally, that means other people are getting out of the way and a doctor can see me earlier, right?

NOPE

Glory Girl talks to the triage nurse, turns around, and comes back with Panacea on a wheelchair. Wheels her straight into the ER. She was holding her arm. Some other girl also went in with them, don't know who she was.

►ThePowerofBull

Replied on 4 Mar 2011:

Wow, how did she get injured? I hope there isn't anyone crazy enough to actually attack Panacea.

►WoolyWinker

Replied on 4 Mar 2011:

The Empire would come down on their heads for sure. Panacea's healed some of them before. Not to mention all the heroes who owe her their lives.

►WinRAWR

Replied on 4 Mar 2011:

Brockton Bay bank robbery. See the thread. She was a hostage.

►ErrHed

Replied on 4 Mar 2011:

WHAT. Who are these crazy mofos?

7 posts have been moved. Brockton Bay Bank Robbery discussion should be in the appropriate thread. - A_Real (Admin)

►ArmedAndLegged

Replied on 4 Mar 2011:

I'm more interested in who the other girl was. New cape?

►Point_me_at_the_sky (Verified Cape)

Replied on 4 Mar 2011:

She's a friend. Please respect their privacy.

►xX_Void_Cowboy_Xx

Replied on 4 Mar 2011:

Post deleted.

You have been banned for 1 week for this post. Discussion of civilian identities, cape or not, is prohibited on PHO boards. You should know the rules by now – TinMother

►CorgiJockey

Replied on 4 Mar 2011:

Wait, isn't Panacea a healer? Why can't she heal herself?

►-==Gradius==-

Replied on 4 Mar 2011:

No, she can only heal other people. It's a Manton Limit thing

►CorgiJockey

Replied on 4 Mar 2011:

How does that even work? I thought Manton limits meant powers can't affect other people directly?

►Grackenator

Replied on 4 Mar 2011:

If that was true then she wouldn't be able to heal anyone, lol

►CorgiJockey

Replied on 4 Mar 2011:

That's what I'm saying, how do Manton Limits even work?

►-==Gradius==-

Replied on 4 Mar 2011:

They work the same way all powers work: bullshit

Jump to page: 1, 2

I was glad that at least some people would be looking out for me, but I also knew that speculation would never stop. Tabloids were never in danger of going out of business. Just being seen near Panacea already led people to investigate who I was, maliciously or not. If, or when, I decided to come out as a full-on cape, this kind of speculation and attention would be non-stop. Good thing I had been mostly overlooked for now, but I knew it wouldn't last.

It wasn't really the weird internet stalkers I was worried about. It was the actual gangsters who may have found out about me. I was already on the lookout for ABB gang members who might have found me, looking to kill me on their boss's behalf. I didn't know how many may have seen Void_Cowboy's post before it had been taken down, nor did I know how accurate he might have been.

Lung ruled by fear, since the ABB didn't have as many capes as the Empire. He was powerful, but he couldn't be everywhere at once. He maintained a reputation for overwhelming force and retaliating with double the amount of destruction if he was attacked. A sort of mutually-assured destruction, in that sense. The fact that I ended up helping the Undersiders would probably mean he blamed me for their robbery as much as them. I kept my bots spread far and wide around the house for several blocks. Even if I couldn't fight them, if anyone came in the middle of the night, I would at least have enough warning to wake up dad and run for safety.

Despite all the worry that reading the internet forums had given me, there was something else that stuck out. Glory Girl called me a friend. In public. Not while just being polite in my company. Huh.

I couldn't wait to go at meet them again tomorrow. I just had to make sure I had enough bots ready for when Amy healed me.

I was busy rebuilding my bots with a design more suited for sensing cells and cell parts, determining the difference between different types of molecules, like fat versus protein versus water. I knew I wouldn't be able to make a perfect sensory bot by tomorrow, but it would be awkward if I kept being so fussy about my own healing. It was enough of a favour that she was doing to get rid of my scar tissue; I didn't want to inconvenience her any more.

Still, I stayed up overnight redesigning and building up my new bots. I didn't intend to really mass-manufacture these; they were too highly specialized. I just needed enough to cover a small section of my back to sense what Amy was doing.

The sun had come up again before I realized I really should take a nap before going out to meet with Amy and Victoria. I didn't want to see them only to fall flat on my face, after all. Thankfully, my alarm clock was one thing I hadn't yet cannibalized for parts yet, and I set it to just before noon. I didn't have as many bots as I wanted, but I had enough.

At noon, I headed out to for lunch with Amy and Victoria, hoping for the best. I still didn't have my own cell phone, but Amy had left her number with me. I guess I could call her on a pay phone if anything happened. Now, I just needed to find Fugly Bob's. I'd heard of the place, but never eaten there myself. It was a greasy burger joint, but not exactly fast food. Top-notch burgers that were more expensive than standard fast food. Popular with Arcadia and Immaculata kids (who didn't watch their weight), not so much for the Winslow crowd. I guess a hero like Glory Girl could afford it, both in terms of money and calories.

It turned out it wasn't too far from the Docks, sitting near the end of the Boardwalk. It had a nice view of the water and was still on the "safer" area of downtown. The smell of deep fryers and beef saturated my senses long before I arrived. Inside, I instantly spotted the unmistakable fountain of blonde hair that belonged to Glory Girl. I wondered if she had an extra superpower that made her look like she was in a shampoo commercial at all times.

They were sitting at the corner of the restaurant, about as secluded as the place could get. Amy was almost invisible next to her, slouched over with curly brown hair. She perked up and waved at me with one arm – the other was in a cast. I walked over to the table and joined them. Victoria looked rather sullen. "Don't mind Vicky," Amy said. "She's been grounded."

It seemed like a family issue, but with a family full of Capes, it was also the kind of thing that would probably end up all over the forums. The bad side of being on a team with a "no secret identity" policy.

Victoria perked up a little though and gave me a smile. "But I was allowed to come out just to say thank you to you, so thanks!"

"Uh, for helping Amy, or for getting you out of the house?"

"Why not both?" Victoria beamed. I suddenly felt a lot happier, just looking at her beautiful, perfect smile... directed straight at...

"Vicky... aura," Amy said.

"Oh, sorry," Victoria said. The feeling mostly disappeared, though I think I still felt cheered up that Glory Girl was thanking me personally. Probably. Master powers were weird to think about it, but at least I knew Glory Girl was no Heartbreaker.

"So yeah, after this lunch, she gets no solo patrols or dates until my arm heals," Amy said.

"Yeah, I couldn't even bring Dean or introduce you to any of his friends," Victoria said. "So, instead of it being a triple date, I guess it's just us girls!"

"Thank goodness," Amy muttered.

"So, you seeing anyone, Taylor?" Victoria asked.

"Um... no," I answered awkwardly. I shrank down a little. How could I compare to Glory Girl?

"Aw, I thought a nice girl like you would deserve the best guy on the planet," Victoria said with a grin. I just blushed harder. It was honestly the nicest thing anyone's said to me in a long, long time. And she didn't seem to be sarcastic about it. A little hyperbolic, but it seemed to me that Victoria didn't do anything by halves.

Amy patted me on the shoulder. "Don't worry, boys aren't everything. It's just Vicky who's obsessed with pairing people up."

Victoria laughed. "Forget about it for now. I want to thank you for helping out my sister," she said. "So order anything you want. It's on me!"

I looked down the menu. Unsure of what was good, I just picked Fugly Bob's Signature Burger combo. Victoria chose the Double Double and a milkshake, while Amy settled for just an order of cheesy bacon fries. Victoria flew – she seemed to take every opportunity to fly when she could (not that I could blame her) – over to the counter to place the orders. Amy turned to me and asked, "So… that power of yours… how does it work?"

"I just control a small swarm of robots," I said. "I only just learned some basic first aid… but I'm trying to get better at it. I've decided to stay out of gang fights for now, but I still want to help people. So maybe I can find a way to use my bots in medicine?"

"And I suppose med school is going to take too long," Amy pointed out.

I nodded. "Well, that and I don't think med school will teach me how to use my power to help people, not exactly. Maybe some kind of targeted healing. I think I can build my bots even smaller, and I have near perfect control. I'd need your advice for the design, though."

Amy nodded. "I see. Tinker? Medical tech isn't your specialty, is it? It's just personal interest."

"Yeah. I think my specialty is just large swarms of small, simple bots. What I do with them... I have to learn on my own," I explained. "For now, I think they're good enough to clean wounds, apply medicine, maybe stitch together wounds. I'll be able to make bots smaller than a blood cell soon," I explained. "If I learn more about biology I'd know how to design my bots better."

Amy put a hand to her chin. "Interesting. I'm pretty unique in the sense that I treat diseases at every level, from entire limbs down to DNA repair. Most of medicine has to deal with chunks of tissue, or a type of receptor spread through the whole body. Other healer powers often just boost the body's own ability to heal instead of directly targeting diseases. Everyone's different."

"Yeah, I think I wouldn't be able to do anything that wouldn't be possible with advanced technology," I said. "I have no power over biology specifically."

"Still, new surgical tools and techniques have made a huge difference in medicine. Just because your power doesn't specifically say 'healing' doesn't mean you can't do it."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," I said.

"On that note, do you want me to finish healing you?" Amy asked.

"Oh yeah! I spent all night making new bots that would let me sense more of what you were doing," I said. "Let me get them into position."

I watched, with greater clarity than yesterday, as cells moved, proteins and lipids and water moved en masse and formed into cells. Hm. I definitely couldn't copy what Amy was doing. She was pretty much just arranging things at the molecular level to create new cells. But I was getting a very good sense of how different cell types were arranged, at least for the skin. I was able to "see" the microscopic structure of the tissue and get a better intuitive sense of what it "looked" like than what I got out of a textbook, or what I could see with my own eyes.

I was starting to realize that this really could be a possibility. My bots could differentiate cell types and sometimes even cell condition. I didn't know exactly what the possibilities were for this – I'd need to consult with Amy and doctors to really know. A few more redesigns would really help me explore how much further I could go down that avenue.

"Thanks, Amy. That was really informative," I told her.

Vicky floated back to us, carrying a tray with far larger portions of food than I expected. She grinned. "Wow, Ames. Are you looking to take on an apprentice?"

I chuckled quietly. Yeah, that would be a dream come true, wouldn't it? Apprenticed to one of the greatest celebrity capes in the world.

"You know, that might be a good idea," Amy said.

What. I turned to stare at her. "Really?"

"Yeah. You don't have a team right now, right? Is there a reason you haven't joined the Wards?" she asked.

I lowered my eyes. "I... have my reasons."

"Still, not everyone's got invincibility. You've heard the PRT line, right? Independent heroes don't last long. You either join a team or get forced into a gang... what was the number? Fifty percent in three months or something?" Victoria said, face scrunching up trying to remember. "Well whatever it is, I heard Brockton Bay's even worse than the national average."

I nodded. I had forgotten the exact numbers too, but it had been in the pamphlet at the PRT building. I didn't have a real plan, but merely keeping my head down wasn't enough. Not enough to scratch the Tinker itch. I hadn't thought about what teams I could join. New Wave was always there, of course, but... it felt weird asking to join, since they were all family. "You... you guys would take me?"

"Of course! I'd love for you to join! I'll put in a good word for you with auntie Sarah," Vicky said. "You'd want her to join, too, right Ames?"

Amy gave me an awkward smile. "Especially if you work on your healing capabilities. To tell you the truth… healing people is pretty tiring," she said.

"I'll bet," I said.

She shook her head. "You have no idea… I've been doing it so much, everyone just takes it for granted. People come in and treat me like some vending machine. If I have to go home and there's still people lined up, they yell at me. If I heal their disease but don't make them young and beautiful again, they yell at me. If they have to wait more than half an hour, they yell at me. Ugh."

I think Vicky was surprised at that, too.

"So you want me to take a load off..." I started to say.

Amy flopped on to the table, resting her head in her arms while facing me. "I'm sorry. I'm not selling this very well, am I? I know it sounds like I'm just using you, but I want you to know what you'd be getting into. On the other hand, if you're willing to handle brain issues, we could cover each other's bases."

"Oh yeah," I said. I had forgotten that Panacea treated everything except brains. And herself. "I guess I could heal you, too," I joked.

Victoria was suddenly concentrating very hard on biting into her burger.

"I'll do it," I said. It wasn't just the prestige, the knowledge, or the opportunity to cozy up to a great cape. I could tell how Amy was feeling – working as hard as you could and yet everybody seems to be against you? Where have I heard of that before? She needed a friend, someone she could rely on. I knew she was close to her sister, but Victoria wasn't interested in medicine at all; she only picked up and dropped off Amy at the hospital.

Amy actually looked hopeful. "Really? People can be pretty mean at the hospital..."

"I can handle mean people," I said solemnly. "Trust me."

Victoria looked at me curiously. "Sounds like there's a story behind that one."

I wondered if I should tell them. It was our first real meeting. We barely knew each other. Maybe it was her aura making me trust her more? Then again, I only knew what the public already knew about New Wave heroes. I tried to clear my head. No, I wouldn't tell them that story in full. "Let's just say that it had to do with my trigger event and leave it at that," I said.

Both of them understood right away and decided to change the subject.

"So, Taylor... I know a guy at school who I could introduce if you're interested..." Victoria started to say.

Without realizing it, Amy and I coordinated our eye-rolls.

The late lunch I had with Amy and Victoria left me giddy for the rest of the day. Victoria had tried to stretch the day out as long as she possibly could under the excuse of thanking me more, but I was pretty sure she just didn't want to have to go home. Still, it was enjoyable being with them and I got to know them even better. The possibility of joining New Wave? Learning directly under Panacea? I mean, things weren't even close to finalized yet, but I was too excited to sleep. Instead, I was flooded with ideas for more bots, and I wanted to have them built as soon as possible to prove my worth to the team.

I stayed up late trying to manually direct my construction bots into building a newer, even smaller robot. Getting the sub-cell-sized bot was my main goal; if the bot could fit anywhere within the human circulatory system, that massively opened up the possibilities. Chatting with Panacea today had been enlightening. On our way to the hospital, she had taught me so much already. Not that I was going to be a doctor or a nurse any time soon, but it did give me a clear idea of the kinds of jobs my microbots would need to perform if they were to do anything more than first aid.

I was really starting to like the idea of using my bots for medical purposes. Healer capes were valued, and most capes on either side of the fight had an unspoken truce about the thing, like medics during war. It would let me keep tinkering and developing my bots without really exposing me to more danger.

Which meant I had to redesign their toolset. My chat with Panacea and watching the healing process had inspired me and given me a rough idea of what my bots would need to do. Again, I couldn't make them too complicated, especially when I needed them to be at least ten times smaller than my current set of bots. But size and function were almost one and the same for me.

That was my Tinkering ability's specialty. Once I realized what I needed, my mind flooded with creativity, running through dozens of ideas. In order to keep each robot simple, I had chosen to make at least two different types of general-purpose robots. Three at most. Even working in pairs, two different bots basically had three combinations of tools. Three types would have six. And that was just pairs, working in sets of ten to twelve would be huge in versatility. The problem was what the base designs would need to be to offer the greatest versatility and effectiveness.

This was a problem that would take many long days and late nights to figure out.

Suddenly, the bots I had scattered around the neighbourhood alerted me to something that looked suspicious. Someone dressed all in black moving in the shadows in our neighbourhood. Who would be wandering through the neighbourhood at 2:30 in the morning? Weird, but not that dangerous. They were alone. Probably not the ABB or Merchants looking for revenge against me or anything. I continued to work.

It wasn't until they arrived on the block my house sat on that I stopped. Okay, maybe they were after me. I didn't know my neighbours that well, but I was pretty sure none of them were particularly notable or had any gang connections. Maybe it was some creepy stalker? That thread on PHO already had several people banned for trying to speculate about my identity. Maybe someone was creepy enough to take the stalking offline.

I also heard gang members often forcibly recruited new capes. So someone from any one of the gangs that ran the city wasn't out of the question.

I left the basement, ready for a fight. I hadn't used my bots as weapons other than to scratch Lung's eyes, but that wouldn't save my life if they ran at me with a knife. I had as many bots swarm over my body as I could. They'd blocked Shadow Stalker's blunt bolt, so I could only hope they were effective against a knife... maybe a gun.

My bots outside were watching as the figure arrive at my house and stopped to check the house number. Their dark clothing, combined with the time of night, and my bots' poor eyesight meant I had no idea who it was. Just that someone was there. I had no doubts that they wanted to break in. They were probably after me, although I knew Dad had made enemies of some gangs for defending the Dockworkers and refusing to work with criminals.

I didn't want to grab the kitchen knife for myself, that would be way too lethal. Wait – there was something in the kitchen I could use. I quickly went for the frying pan. The bots crawling over my body added some strength, helping me lift the fairly heavy frying pan.

The intruder was looking around the house, probably looking for an easy way in. I kept an eye on them with my bots while keeping myself out of sight. I was about to grab the phone to call 9-1-1 when I saw him (I was guessing, given the haircut) nimbly hop up to the second floor. He was looking through the windows, again probably looking for me or dad. What if they were going after Dad?

Well, I could protect Dad a little with my frying pan. And if they were after me, then I could at least provide a decoy. Using the remaining bots inside my house, I had them carry my dirty clothes and stuff them underneath the blankets, arranging them into a vaguely human shape.

I tiptoed upstairs as quickly as I could. The intruder was still working their way around the upper floor with their climbing skills outside. I went back out to the hallway, between dad's bedroom and mine, ready to defend either of us as soon as he broke in. I stayed where no windows were visible. With my bots keeping an eye on the intruder, I could see them and they'd never see me.

And then the bots saw them swing themselves through the window without breaking it.

Oh crap. That was Shadow Stalker. Sophia Fucking Hess came to hurt me in my home? My fear flipped to anger.

The fight between her and Tattletale at the bank came rushing back at me. What had Tattletale done? Thrown a lamp at her. The cord. She had gone through the cord and it shocked her, hard.

My desk lamp wasn't close enough to do that, nor did I have any random wires. I had no taser or anything electric with me in the hallway. I did have bots, though they weren't made to electrocute, I could at least have them rub themselves against the carpet and build up a static charge in seconds.

Moving as quickly and quietly as I could, I rushed into my bedroom. She was ready to do something to my blanket double, looking away from the door. Good. She was distracted.

I stepped forward. Maybe she heard me, because she instantly went into shadow state before even turning to see me.

My bots lifted themselves up to touch her foot and released their static charge. She screamed louder than I expected for a little shock.

I swung that frying pan with my best Babe Ruth impression.

Author's note:

Enjoy a slightly early chapter, since I'll be too busy to post at my usual time tomorrow.

I have only just discovered that FFN spazzes out when it comes to converting word documents with lots of formatting. Fixing the formatting on the "forum posts" was more work than I thought it would be, and it somehow managed to affect the formatting in the rest of the chapter as well.