Interlude.
She pressed herself into the shadow, trying not to attract attention, to become invisible, though she knew it was useless. The damn dog stumbled while turning the corner and she fell off it, just when she wanted to say something to Grue, but she fell and didn't even have time to cry out, the team was already far ahead, since she was riding the last dog, and no one saw her fall. At any other time she would have called out to them, phoned them, but not now, when right after the fleeing Undersiders, Lung appeared on the scene.
Enraged, but controlling himself, perceives what happened as a personal challenge, very dangerous, if he discovers her – won't stop until he kills her in the most torturous way, most likely – will roast her in a metal cage, like in an oven. Wants to make an example of them, show everyone what happens when you cross him, make others horrified, – her power gently pushes at her temples and she winces, pressing into the shadow formed by the corner of the building and some low bush on the lawn. Big deal, Newton's binomial theorem, she thinks to herself, I already know that Lung won't stop at anything, the main thing here is not to fall into his clutches, then it'll all be over.
She tries not to look at Lung, the information coming from him is secondary, she already knows all this – that he perceived the casino robbery as a personal insult, as if someone had rubbed his face with a wet rag and that he won't calm down for a long time, that all the ABB are already on their feet, search groups have been launched throughout the city, orders to shoot to kill and "two more bullets on top" to be sure. This information is known to her, uninteresting and unpleasant. Especially now, when she's crouching, pressing into the corner of the building behind a low decorative bush Oregon grape (Mahonia aquifolia (Pursch) Nutt), flowering period May-June, yellow flowers, erect, branched clusters, the shrub has been treated with chemicals against aphids, the Brockton Bay municipality doesn't spare money on such nonsense – her power helpfully informs her.
She grits her teeth. The situation is extremely dangerous. However, no one has noticed her yet, and Lung himself seems to have decided to conduct a short briefing in this place. This is very good, from here they'll start the search and pursuit, no one starts searching right from the briefing location, inertia of thinking, they'll search thoroughly there, further away, but not right here. She has a chance. Wait until they leave and calmly head in the opposite direction, taking off her cape costume. Getting civilian clothes won't be difficult, there's an open window, and there's a tracksuit drying on the lines... the owner is a middle-aged man with radiculitis and diabetes, the suit was bought for sports, the owner is in the hospital? Dead? The owner is no more, his cohabitant washed it for the last time, sentimental attachment and tribute to memory.
She shifted her gaze higher, to the open window. It's cool outside, why is it open? Ah, there's a trace on the windowsill.
Sneaker print. Young man, athletic build, the window was opened for him from inside, he waited for it to be opened. He's walked this route before, wear marks are visible on the fire escape. The window was opened from inside by a girl. Schoolgirl. Fifteen-sixteen years old, already pregnant, the guy will have a surprise today. Higher, under the roof – a wasp nest. Strange. Atypical behavior. Strange. Someone is controlling the wasps, and not just wasps. Insects. They move along a stable route, divide into groups and prepare to attack. This is a Cape! Someone is controlling insects!
Tattletale shifts her gaze upward, squints. In the streetlight almost nothing is visible above, but the ominous buzzing makes her understand that there are very, very many insects. Next to her, a large black ant with shiny wings lands on a bush leaf and she freezes.
Very poisonous insect. Neurotoxin. Very dangerous. Unknown to science, which means artificially bred! Biotinker in Brockton Bay?! No, no, this isn't flesh manipulation, this is breeding, just very fast and under unique conditions. The specimen – an ant queen, strong, hardy, poisonous. Bred through selection. Bred to be poisonous, strong and dangerous. She's not alone. There are... thousands?! But the cape who made this specimen – can breed more. Millions of them. No, not like these, this is already an outdated model, can breed better, much better. Three... no, five times more toxic. Faster. Hardier.
She bites her lip. The presence of such a cape in Brockton Bay immediately makes the city a very dangerous place. Insect control, huh? She's scared, but at the same time curious, something inside her unfolds, gives her strength for further analysis. She looks more carefully at the insect.
The cape won't reveal their presence, they've hidden somewhere nearby, their power allows manipulating insects at a distance... what distance? Two hundred yards? Five hundred? A mile? Unknown. The cape is cautious, hesitating, this is visible from the insects' behavior, they don't dare approach.
Suddenly something stirred next to her, and she clamped her hand over her mouth to keep from screaming – from the small basement windows, from the drain grate, from everywhere – a wave of insects poured out, as if the earth itself was flowing, there were so many of them!
Screams, no not even screams, but howls, howls of despair and pain, shots in the air, some kind of scuffle in the very place where she had just seen the ABB fighters standing.
The dark mass that covered everything – these are insects. Millions of insects! Centipedes, cockroaches, house flies, crickets, woodlice, ordinary ants – everything that can be found nearby. They pose a danger. Unnatural behavior – they crawl into ears, nostrils, mouth, block airways, block vision. Without special equipment it's impossible to resist this cape. The number of insects... and yes, they control each of them individually! This isn't just a command to the swarm, this cape is simply a genius of multitasking! Each insect knows its maneuver, what exactly and how to do in a unit of time. But the most dangerous are the newly bred ant queens with neurotoxin. The cape overdid it with the lethality of the poison, even one bite can lead to paralysis and subsequent death, these people are doomed. But Lung's regeneration is still coping with the toxins and...
Flame struck in all directions, burning everything around, she barely had time to turn away and still felt how a wave of suffocating heat hit her face. Hot! She fell face down, covering her face and eyes with her hands, escaping from the fire.
The heat goes in all directions, I only got the echoes, Lung himself burned everyone who stood nearby, destroyed all the insects. All of them? The remaining poisonous queens and wasps flew down from the roofs, diving at Lung like small bombers.
Lung is growing. Regeneration is working, but not enough. For such a toxin – not enough. The number of insects in the next attack – more than two hundred. The number of surviving ant queens with neurotoxin – more than fifty. The cape panicked, they didn't expect that Lung could destroy so many of their insects at once and will now strike without restraint. Neurotoxin concentration, Lung's regeneration speed, coefficient for the absence of an enemy in direct sight... Lung can't be saved anymore.
She shudders at this thought. Lung can't be saved anymore?! But he's... he's practically the most terrible and mighty cape in Brockton Bay, no one in the whole world could fight on equal terms with Leviathan one-on-one for so long! Lung is a symbol of Brockton Bay, just like the Ship Graveyard or Armsmaster on his motorcycle. Lung is the invulnerable Asian Dragon! The longer he participates in conflict, the bigger and stronger he becomes! But... she licked her lips and again glanced to where the invulnerable Asian Dragon was writhing on the ground, belching clouds of smoke and tongues of flame., Lung can't breathe, his lungs are filled with insects that don't let him get air, they're tightly packed in the alveoli, the tiniest fruit flies fill the entire volume. Ears, eyes, groin. They penetrate inside through any openings. Lung didn't lose consciousness until the very end, he lived and felt how they were eating him from the inside, while unable to move, paralyzed by the toxin.
She almost threw up. Horrible death. From suffocation and poisoning at once. A cape of monstrous power has appeared in the city, who easily removed Lung from the board. A flick of the finger at the dragon figure and it's already flying, tumbling... how many more figures will this ruthless killer eliminate? No, no, no, the Undersiders definitely need to flee the city! Despite everything! And she has such a chance. She looks ahead, to where no one is moving anymore on the square, from where it smells disgustingly of burnt meat. She breaks from her spot and runs, dialing a number on the go.
"Tattletale!" – a voice in the phone.
"I fell behind! Pick me up at the corner..." – she stops and looks at the signs and then her attention is drawn to the unusual behavior of insects around.
They're agitated. Unusually agitated, the cape is trying not to attract attention, but their insects are twitching. Why? They're nearby! Hidden and conducting reconnaissance, observing. They're very close! Judging by the concentration of insects on the rooftops – in that alley. The insects are clearly divided by gender. Closer to the unknown cape – female specimens. Of course! Queens! The cape is female. Age... unknown. But she's on the street for the first time, this is her first outing as a cape.
Tattletale sighs. First outing and killed Lung? The girl will have serious problems, she just called down all possible troubles in this city on her head. The balance of power, very fragile and barely standing – is broken. Shattered and thrown in the dump. The ABB will have to become twice as harsh to at least defend their territory. Empire 88 will begin a full-scale offensive, the Merchants won't stay aside either, and a full gang war will begin. And... it would be good to stay away from all this, but something itches inside her, something says that this will be a useful acquaintance, and if the girl is on the street for the first time, this means she can be manipulated. Besides, challenging Lung on the very first night – isn't this a sign of suicidal tendencies? Primary triggers aren't the most pleasant thing, and if she caught a trigger and went to kill Lung, then her life isn't the most cheerful. And she, Tattletale – can become her best friend, the very first friend and comrade, a person with whom you can share anything and of course – protect from anything. Even from Coil. Her mouth went dry. It might work, she thinks, it might.
"Tattletale! Where are you?!" – the voice in the phone strains.
"At the corner..." – she gives the address. Only one phrase spins in her head – this is your chance, this is your chance, don't you dare blow it. She glances around the corner, a dark alley in front of her. There's practically nowhere to hide, only over there, behind the container. So she's there. The buzzing becomes slightly louder.
What am I doing, she thinks, while her power supplies information that right now on the rooftops of buildings around there are enough insects to not just destroy her and her entire team along with Bitch's monstrous dogs, but also devour them whole, dragging the bones to a secluded place. And in a day there won't even be bones left. She swallows, her throat is dry, there's no saliva at all.
Okay, she thinks, okay, this newbie can kill us all, but she's not a psychopath, I'll just talk, just thank her for everything, after all Lung came out for our heads, and she killed him, so we're already allies. No one will kill an ally right away, you need a reason, conflict, and there isn't one yet. Judging by the insects' actions, she's able to control herself, just keep your sharp tongue behind your teeth, Tattletale, don't provoke her and everything will be fine.
"Tattletale!" – and here are Bitch's dogs with her team members sitting on them. She silently signals for everyone to dismount. Grue shakes his head but slides down, he knows that when she makes such a face – it's serious. After him Bitch and Regent dismount. The latter grumbles something to himself, but she doesn't listen to him. Silently raises her hand and points to the alley. She needs to distribute responsibility, indeed, killing four at once is a bit more difficult than one. And then – she needs to show that they can be useful to her as a team. Such a psychological trick – there are several of us, and you're alone. Another reason why she didn't go into the darkness of the alley alone – is social approval. If they still manage to talk, if she doesn't set her poisonous monsters on them right away – then during negotiations some kind of society will form, albeit small, albeit temporary, but still. And within this society Tattletale has an advantage. It's simply wonderful that there are four of them and equal numbers of guys and girls. Sexual motives – another argument in this favor. Of course, no one will say it out loud, no one will ever admit it, but guys like girls and vice versa. Tattletale knew that Grue looked quite masculine in his costume, developed muscles and confident movements... the dream of any housewife-milf. Don't like muscle guys? We have Regent, a thin and arrogant bastard with a hypertrophied sense of humor... we have a society, a closed community, we won't betray, won't give away, we'll become your helpers, and she – Tattletale – the best friend. Because her choice right now wasn't rich, either flee the city without looking back, ignoring Coil's threats and constantly looking over her shoulder expecting his mercenaries, or – befriend the new cape. Controlling insects. Hmm. Lady Bug. She makes a "follow me" gesture and steps into the alley.
"Are you sure we should go here?" – Regent whines behind her. He doesn't like this. He doesn't like anything. My power reports that actually he's very afraid of Lung and his behavior – unhurried speech and gait with such laziness – is just bravado. Grue trusts me and silently walks beside me. Bitch – trusts Grue. Only Regent continues to whine.
"I'm sure. Into this alley, right here." – says Tattletale, stepping carefully, but with a straight back and not hunching her head into her shoulders. Can't show her fear, can't shrink, negotiations need to start at least from an equal position. But also can't take a fighting stance, under no circumstances can she do anything that will cause aggression. If they provoke the newbie, then they're corpses. And death will be quite torturous. After all, this newbie didn't hesitate for a second, directing her insects at Lung and his fighters. Okay Lung, everything's clear with him, but the others! When Lung breathed flame across the square – most of his people were already dead, it's clear that he finally finished them off, but still – she killed them. Considering that she controls insects through direct connection, it can't be that she didn't know this. First outing – a bunch of deaths. So it's not far to a Kill Order. The path to heroes, to the PRT is already closed to her, at most Rogue status. But more likely – Villain. Practical, cold-blooded and with terrifying power. She exhales air, calming down. Can't show her fear, otherwise we...
"There's no one here," – says Regent: "what are we doing here? Lung is looking for us, let's go home already."
"Lung isn't looking for us anymore. He has no time for us," – Tattletale replies, stopping and raising her hands so it's visible that she's unarmed: "just like all his lackeys. And the reason for that – is sitting over there behind that dumpster and carefully listening to our conversation." – dropping such a bomb she slightly shuddered. Grue shuddered and tensed behind her, Regent frowned, Bitch tensed up and her dogs growled. Insects flew down from the cornices, targeting them.
"Hey, hey, calm down!" – Tattletale threw her hands up even higher, feeling her heart jumping out of her chest: "Calm down. You can call back your legions, Lady Bug. I'm not threatening you and I'm not going to interfere in your affairs. I know that you can easily handle us all if you want... I just want to talk. Express gratitude. Well and... girls need to chat sometimes, right? If... you don't want to, we'll just leave. We'll leave fifty thousand dollars in a box here and leave. Your share. Do what you want." - she looks several wasps flew down right in front of her and formed something like a cross or the letter "X".
"Okay, as you." – she opens her bag and despite Grue's silent protest and Regent's sigh – sets aside several stacks of bills and wraps them in a plastic bag, slips a card with her number in there as well.
"We're the Undersiders!" – she says, placing the bag with money by the wall: "my name is Tattletale. If you need help – I'm always ready to help. And thanks again for killing Lung." – she was pleased to see how the wasps shuddered right in the air.