The Empire’s proclamation that the Major’s head was worth five million brought all kinds of bastards to the Bay, many of which were causing havoc just for the sake of it. The Major still managed to get out, often bringing Shadow Stalker with as she continued to poke at the beehive. Taylor often had to push the Major persona hard on those patrols, just to keep from snapping at Sophia and giving up the game.
Coil had given her a few jobs then, most were simple recon missions, all of which Taylor was convinced were cover for other missions he was having done across the city. At least, that was the theory Lisa came up with after a week of after action reports.
“There’s a pattern,” the Thinker said. “He’s having you watch for problem areas to put a plan in motion.”
Taylor was in school, but that didn’t stop her and Lisa from meeting up in cyberspace. The Undersiders were on standby for a job, that was all she knew and the rest of the team wasn’t to be informed, the recon missions played a part, and the current mission the Major was on looked to be the key. Lisa was gesturing to a 3D rendering of Brockton Bay, pointing out the areas she was known to observe, and areas the Undersiders had been hitting.
There was indeed a pattern.
“What would Coil want with a middle school?” Taylor asked. “The only thing I can find of note is that Vista attends.”
“She does,” Lisa confirmed. “She’s also friends with Brian’s little sister, Aisha, and another girl named Dinah. I met all three a few months back, nothing really stood out.”
Taylor frowned. “You think he wants further leverage over the team?”
“It doesn’t quite fit, but it is worth noting that Dinah is also related to Triumph,” Lisa said. “He’s breaking the Rules if he goes after any of them.”
“The Empire’s declaration probably put a hold on certain things,” Taylor mused. “There are a lot of idiots fighting in the streets for the ‘honor’ of claiming the Major’s head.”
Lisa snorted. “There’s also a bunch that claim you’re a fucking hero and came here to hunt anyone going after you for daring to assist Nazis with a manhunt. Needless to say, it’s keeping the Protectorate busy. Unfortunately, it meant Miss Militia hasn’t snooped more, even if the files she accessed were of considerable interest.”
She hadn’t added a name to Hirschfeld’s file, which was promising for her efforts to flip the hero into an asset. Taylor knew her father wanted another meeting, but she hoped Hannah would dig a bit deeper before arranging that. They were getting some classified details from Lisa’s intrusions into the PRT systems, but they still needed someone to access those systems first otherwise it would put a searchlight over her access to their computers.
Taylor spun the map around, looking for anything further, but kept coming up blank. There was something she was missing, but what could it be? “Anything on the mystery job he’s telling you to prepare for?”
“Only that it’s a distraction for something else,” Lisa said. “But that’s the most obvious thing ever. I don’t have enough information to avoid bad data paths yet.”
“Well, when the job comes down, I suppose I’ll scope out the area around the school,” Taylor said. “Coil doesn’t know I can be in multiple places at once, we need to play that up.”
“As soon as he figures out that the Major and Cyber are one and the same, he’s going to try to kill you,” Lisa warned.
“The second he kills my original body, the Major will go to war,” Taylor said. “There’s a reason I’ve tried to mask which body is being remotely piloted, and once my next body is complete, both will be remotely piloted.”
“You’ll be vulnerable until then,” Lisa reminded, pulling Taylor’s avatar into a hug. “You aren’t invincible, neither of us are. Please don’t forget that.”
Given just how vast the world had become since gaining a digitally connected brain, it was easy to forget that she was just a single mind. Taylor knew she could emulate an AI fairly well if she tried, she just wasn’t willing to truly give up that human connection. She wanted to live in the moments, which was why her shell still carried a cyber brain rather than a second remote connection.
Taylor sighed in class while the Major looked up at the sky, white clouds drifting lazily across the scenery. She had to take a moment to remember that the one looking at the sky was her current self. The others were also her, all one consciousness shared across multiple instances, but they were all extra, weren’t they?
The sky was above her, true and clear.
Unfortunately, so was Rune, and the girl had clearly spotted her.
“Lisa, eyes on Rune,” the Major said.
The Major had her rifle in hand, aimed in the sky, but the girl was unmoving, just sitting there rather than approaching. No cell signals were being sent from the platform that Taylor could locate, which just raised further concerns.
“She’s not looking for a fight, but wasn’t looking for you either,” Lisa said, looking through her eyes. “Rather, she did want to find you but hadn’t expected to. There’s no intention to harm either… Shit, invite her down, I don’t like the tangents my power is trying to explore.”
“Pretty sure her platform could still ruin my day,” The Major muttered, but trusted Lisa as she let her gun rest on its sling and waved the cape down. Rune hesitated for a moment, but began to descend, the Major waiting until she was closer to deliver a warning. “I would have expected a shoot first attitude from the Empire, give me one reason to not return the favor.”
Rune paused her descent, no doubt unnerved by that declaration. It wasn’t an idle threat, given that she had killed a man just inches away from her with a single ‘stray’ bullet. Taylor wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but she did recognize the opportunity. If she wanted the Empire pointed at Coil, and this was her chance to make it happen.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“Major,” Rune said, her voice trembling. Then her platform dropped to the roof and the girl darted towards her. Taylor almost reached for her gun, but Rune was only thirteen, and that hadn’t truly set in until she was right there, wrapping her arms around the Major in a death grip. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
Taylor blinked in three instances of herself, wondering just what she was dealing with. Lisa’s avatar sucked in a breath.
“Tay, they were forcing her to—”
The Major wrapped her arms around the trembling girl, even as she listened to Lisa’s insight. If she hadn’t already killed Crusader, she would have done so anyway. The girl slowly calmed down, but the tears flowed freely. Taylor wasn’t sure what to say, she was just a few years older than the girl, but she still felt like a child to the Major.
“I’ve got an idea of why you reacted like that,” the Major said softly. “Though, I would like to hear it from you, if that’s not too much.”
A sobbing hiccup was her answer, then Rune spoke.
“Kaiser tried to set me up with his son, who wasn’t interested. Pretty sure he’s a fag, and I offered to date him to keep up appearances. That worked for a bit, but Kaiser caught on and decided to give me to Crusader instead.”
Taylor took a deep breath back at Arcadia before her Avatar nodded. “Lise, I’m sounding a mask alert at Toybox, she’s coming back with me.”
“I’ve already sent Amy a priority message,” Lisa said softly. “I don’t like the signals she’s giving off but I want confirmation first.”
Taylor didn’t like disturbing Amy like that, but given the situation, she’d pay Amy from her own funds if necessary. “Rune, I’m going to bring you somewhere safe, is that alright?”
“Nowhere in this city is safe,” she muttered. “Kaiser has people everywhere.”
The Major hummed, retrieving her dimensional key. “He doesn’t have people in Toybox.”
She triggered the device and space distorted in that ever familiar way. She wasted little time guiding the young girl inside. She brought her in through the standard guest entry for safety reasons, but Melissa had come to greet them all the same. She had a generic domino mask on, but was otherwise in casual attire.
“Your notice said it was urgent,” Damascian said. “I wasn’t expecting you to drag a member of the Empire back here, at least not alive.”
“Let’s just say someone in the Empire is going to die today,” the Major said, forcing her voice even. “Rune is to be offered our full hospitality until Panacea can check her out.”
Melissa’s face blanked, all emotion vanishing in a moment. The implication was obvious after all and given the ties to Lustrum, she knew Melissa was in full agreement with that declaration. “I’ll get in touch with some people, see where we can bring her once Amy has checked her out.”
The Major nodded, leading the silent girl along through the halls of Toybox. She hadn’t stopped shivering ever since she had embraced the safety offered. Back at Arcadia, Taylor was seething, and Chris was more than a little concerned by how she ended up snapping a pencil in the midst of a lecture.
To say she was furious was a vast understatement, but it wouldn’t do to show that anger around Rune. She was a victim and Taylor refused to risk the girl thinking the source of her anger was her.
Taylor heard an announcement on Arcadia’s intercom, requesting Amy report to the teacher’s lounge, which likely meant Harry would be bringing her over himself. She had her own key to Toybox, as well as the personal codes needed to travel straight to both Vivian’s and her own labs.
Harry however could bring her to any room in the complex he damn well pleased.
They reached a room that would be at home in any small clinic, a simple examination bed and a few cabinets with a sink. Melissa immediately began to wash her hands and gloved up. It wasn’t necessary, not with Amy on her way, but the woman was falling back on what looked to be well practiced medical training.
She began checking Rune’s vitals, even with her costume intact and was just finishing up when Amy walked in. She wasn’t wearing her robes, nor a mask. Dodge at least had put one on, not that it truly did anything to hide one’s identity. Rune thankfully didn’t attend Arcadia, she attended the Catholic school near downtown.
“Do I have permission to heal you?” Amy asked, skipping all formalities. Rune just nodded dumbly as Amy accepted her hand. “Signs of physical abuse, but healed via regeneration. Othala’s work. Some of those include—”
Amy cut off, looking towards the Major with wide eyes. The Major mouthed one name and Amy nodded ever so slightly.
“Good news at least,” Amy said softly. “You aren’t pregnant, just late. I’ll patch everything up as if none of it happened and you’ll be good to go.”
“But the tests,” Rune said, her voice shrill.
“Can be wrong,” Amy insisted. “Don’t let it stress you, my power lets me see biology and I can promise you, you aren’t carrying his child.”
Rune broke down into tears and Amy tried to smile, but it was a brittle thing. Melissa stepped in, her bedside manner impeccable compared to the prickly healer. Class had let out during that time and Taylor took the opportunity to cross her old body back to Toybox and made her way to the exam room.
Poking her head inside, she gestured for Amy to follow. The girl didn’t argue, stepping outside where Vivian was also waiting. Harry took the opportunity to slip out as well, standing off to the side. Amy blinked at the sight of the explosives Tinker and was on her in a blink, clinging tight as she too cried. She gave them a moment, but Taylor wasn’t doing a good job of hiding her anger.
“How far along?” Taylor asked.
It took Amy a moment, and Vivian was clearly uncomfortable with the whole thing but went along with it anyway. “Six weeks, give or take a few days.”
Taylor’s blood boiled, and she punched the nearest wall, leaving a deep dent in the steel structure and shattering half the bones in her hand. She killed the pain receptors, she didn’t need that feedback at the moment. No, what she needed was something with a lot more kick.
Amy absently offered her hand and Taylor accepted the implied offer. Her bones were set in moments. During that time, Jacob arrived, looking a bit put out. He stepped inside without a word, moving to Rune.
“Hello dear, my name is Jacob and I’m a registered therapist with the PRT,” he said softly. “I have a feeling you won’t be comfortable with me personally, but I can ensure you’re taken care of far from here, if you would like.”
Rune nodded hesitantly, and Melissa helped her up.
“Are we taking her to Yamada?”
“She would be best for the initial evaluation,” Jacob agreed. “Mel, can I trust you to stay with her until they get her a proper handler?”
“I can do that,” she agreed.
Jacob turned to meet the Major’s eyes, a spark of fury could be seen looking back at her, carefully veiled by years of experience. She nodded, and left the room to meet up with everyone else while those more qualified helped the girl.
“Harry,” she said, stepping up to the man. “I need that rifle.”
“Going hunting?” Amy asked.
“I am,” the Major confirmed. “I need to send a message.”