#15.6p1

[krixwell-liveblogs]

Parian spoke, her voice quiet, “So you’re asking me to choose between being loyal to a friend who’s helped me, comforted me and kept me sane these past few weeks, or selling my soul for the… supposed greater good.”

When you put it like that...

“Saying you’d be selling your soul is a bit overdramatic,” I said.

“I’m an artist, I’m dramatic by nature.”

Hah!

“Then let me make an emotional appeal.  Come to my territory.  Let me show you what I’m doing there, and what I want to help you do for your people.”

Flechette’s ears: “Come into my t r a p .”

“You’ll just take the advantage of the situation to escape,” Flechette said.

Perhaps she might. What’s it to you?

“I don’t really think you can keep me,” I said, sounding calmer than I felt.

“We’ll see,” she responded.

I sent a command to Atlas.

Oh hell yes.

Either Atlas comes storming in, knocking Flechette over before she can pick up her jaw and make good on her threat regarding “if I see a single bug”, or Taylor’s signalling Ballistic. This ought to get wild in a few seconds, either way.

“Easiest option is that I send a message to Ballistic.  I really don’t want to do that, because it’s going to get people hurt or killed.”

Right. So you just went for the other option, eh?

Or did she get really creative with what she’s making Atlas do?

“His files say he doesn’t kill,” she responded.

On purpose.

“With his power?  It’s easy to accidentally go too far.  Combine that with the sheer danger your own power presents?  It’s like playing tag with guns.  Not saying I don’t respect your power, with the damage you did to Leviathan, but he can escalate harder and faster than you.  If you two get in a shootout, someone’s going to get hurt.”

“And it won’t be him.”

[krixwell-liveblogs]

This could have gone worse.  I might have to face some ramifications if the PRT took offense to my bringing up what had happened with Armsmaster, but somehow I felt like I couldn’t have let Flechette stay in the dark.

Again. Why did Flechette not know these things? I could understand her not believing them, but she should be aware of them, and the narration is implying that Taylor thinks otherwise.

I just wasn’t sure if that was for my sake or if it was for hers.  The money I’d handed away would hurt, too, but it felt necessary.

I think it was more for your sake. The common view on heroes and villains hurts you, personally offends you, so you do what you can to change it, even if only in one person.

I needed medical attention, and I felt like I had to check on my territory after I’d seen Parian’s.  I climbed onto Atlas.  His flight would be smoother and less jarring than walking.

Sounds like she’s going to her territory (in part) to get the medical attention. Shame, honestly. John Cleese is a fun character, even if he might be annoyed at her coming to him with such a relatively minor injury. Or maybe he’d be annoyed at her for not coming.

I heard another crash as Ballistic continued tearing through Dolltown.  I could have notified him that Parian was gone, but… no.

Nah, let him have his fun and discover that for himself.

Maybe this wanton destruction would give him a chance to vent and find release over whatever it was that was haunting him.

I’d have to get in touch with Trickster and Genesis to arrange our visit with the Mayor for tonight.  I’d have to deal with the threat on my life, whatever form it took.

Ah, yeah, that should be fun.

For me. Not so much for you.

I didn’t feel afraid.  Anxious?  Yes.  But not terrified, not quivering or panicking.  I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.  Grue had lamented my lack of survival instincts, not so long ago.  Had recent events worn them down even further?

Hrm.

I don’t like that either.

I shook my head.  I’d have time for introspection later.  For now, I had to plan.

It’s time for a different kind of thinking.

[krixwell-liveblogs]

“Stop it!”  Parian cried.  For a second, I thought it had to do with Atlas, but her shout followed within a second of my question to Flechette.

Flechette looked like she’d been slapped.  I stopped Atlas where he was, poised a few feet behind Parian.  I folded his scythe-like claws down and out of the way.

A six-foot flying beetle is sneaking up on her.

I do love that Taylor makes even Atlas lower his weapons.

Anyway, I get the sense that Parian is sick of all the fighting and is going to do an excellent job mediating here.

“Skitter… if we let you go, do you promise not to attack or interfere under any circumstance?”

If I let you go, I will never know, what my life would be, holding you close to me... Oh, sorry, don’t mind me, just flashing back to my entire life and one of my favorite songs growing up.

“Parian?”  Flechette asked.  She sounded almost hurt.

Yeah, I can understand that. Her almost-girlfriend is pretty much saying she’ll hear the enemy out and consider joining them.

“It depends, are you going to go confront Ballistic?”

“Honestly?  Yes.  You said he’d keep coming until he took us out.”

It’s a bad idea.

[krixwell-liveblogs]

As if to punctuate my statement, there was a sound of a building collapsing nearby.

“Well then,” Flechette said.  She adjusted her grip on the spike of metal that she held between her fingers.  A dart.  She poked it through the armor of my wrist.  When I tried to move my arm, it was fixed to the ground.  “I guess I’ll come back for you later, after Ballistic’s left.”

...do you really think that’ll work? You know Taylor can signal Ballistic to come and help free her.

“Undo it, release me,” I said, pulling harder.

“No.  And stop struggling.  Unless you can tear that costume, you’re not going to pull free.  It’s bonded.”

To both the costume and the floor?

“You’re making a mistake,” I growled.  “I’m only trying to help.”

“And I’m doing my job.  I get that maybe your intentions are good, but I’m obligated to take you in, especially now that I’ve heard your confession of intent to seize the city.”

Dammit, Taylor. I told you to be careful when you said that.

“How many wrongs have been done by people who were ‘just following orders’?” I asked.

I directed Atlas in through an open window.  Every set of eyes was on Flechette and I, which made it easy for him to slip into the room.

...are you telling me.

That a six-and-a-half-foot beetle.

Flew in through the window.

And nobody noticed.

My bugs had identified tripwires Parian had set, and navigating Atlas around them wasn’t too hard.

I’ve got a lot of suspension of disbelief in me, but this is a bit much.

[krixwell-liveblogs]

She’d seen Atlas.

“I brought him in here as insurance,” I said.  “I was thinking about taking Parian hostage if you went ahead with my arrest, but she started being reasonable and I told him to back down.”

Nice.

“What is he?”

“Panacea made him for me, for fighting the Nine.  Just a big beetle with sharp claws.”

“That’s what you were using to fly around, when we were fighting the Nine?”

I take it she didn’t get a good look at him back then, or just heard about Taylor flying from the records. She did know about Taylor taking Victoria out of the battle.

I nodded.

“Creepy.”

“Look,” I said, seeing a chance to regain control of the conversation.  “I’ll extend my offer a third time.  Join us, Parian.  We’re not as scary or as bad as we look at first glance.  You’ll see that if you check out my territory.  I’m not threatening you or extorting this out of you.  You can say no-”

There are two ways this can go: Either Flechette cuts her off, or Parian does. I’m going with Flechette with some protests with dwindling confidence.

“Because I have a weapon at your throat,” Flechette said.

Heh.

“Because it’s her call,” I said, my voice firm.  “Because I really do think she’ll be safer overall.”

“From those people who ‘aren’t as scary or bad at first glance’,” Flechette said.

Right.

“From all the other capes and unpowered individuals who would prey on her and her people.”

“I can’t,” Parian said.  “No.  I have to turn down your offer.”

Aw.

[krixwell-liveblogs]

“You seem to be missing the point that you’re under arrest right now,” Flechette spoke.

Right. Except to actually bring her anywhere, you’ll need to get away from Ballistic.

I sighed.  “And nothing I say is getting through.”

“It’s exactly what I was talking about before, you’re just using information Tattletale fed you to try to screw with my head, fill me with doubts and paranoia.”

Is it working, even a little bit?

“And how would I know you’d be here?  I’d have to get the information from her in advance, remember?”

Something something bug sense.

“Tattletale told you I’d be here.”

Okay, that’s admittedly possible.

Fair enough. But then why would Taylor let Flechette stab her?

“So your interpretation of events is that I knew you were here, I came prepared with all this made up information on Armsmaster to mess with you, and I just let you stab me?”

As if mentioning it reminded my brain, I could feel the pain radiating from my shoulder.  At least she’d left the spike in there.  It seemed even better at preventing the bleeding than I’d guessed it would be.  A snug fit?

I mean, is there even a hole?

I wouldn’t bleed to death in the next ten minutes.

She didn’t venture a response.

“Flechette, if you don’t believe me, you can look at the armband Dragon gave us for the fight against Leviathan.  Armsmaster fried it with an EMP to keep me from broadcasting Leviathan’s location to anyone, and then he moved in only after he’d thought Leviathan had killed me.  It’s on top of a ceiling panel in the shelter on Slater street.

Unless they’ve cleaned that up.

Women’s bathroom, above the middle toilet.  I couldn’t keep it in case Dragon used it to track me down, but you can go grab it if she hasn’t sent someone already.  Get a tinker you trust to look at it.”

Dragon would probably like to be able to track you down.

[krixwell-liveblogs]

“I love how the so-called ‘good’ guys get to revise events to make stuff more convenient for them.”

History is written by the victors, and the public likes to accept the heroes as victors by default.

“It’s a perk.  People tend to trust your version of events when you’re doing what’s right,” Flechette said.  The spike she gripped between two fingers tapped against my throat, but didn’t pierce the fabric.  She wasn’t using her power or she could have killed me.

That’s... quite a multifaceted line. We’ve got an admission that Taylor is right (though not necessarily about Armsmaster), mixed with a jab at how Flechette doesn’t believe Taylor is telling the truth because she’s a villain, mixed with a threat implying that Flechette would get away with killing Skitter. Nice.

Don’t do this, Flechette. I liked you.

“You’re implying that you guys are doing what’s ‘right’ that much more often than we are.”

We’re really getting into some of the core themes of Taylor’s arc, here, huh?

[krixwell-liveblogs]

Colony 15.6

Howdy!

So. Taylor’s gotten herself Flechetted.

The only reason I can take Flechette seriously as a threat to Taylor is her ability to ignore Taylor’s armor, and the fact that she’s already gotten in a good hit on her. It means Taylor is starting this fight, if she chooses to fight, at disadvantage, and one of her usual advantages in fights that involve her body (it’s not every character you have to use that qualifier for) is nullified.

Taylor still has her bugs, but Flechette is in a position where she can threaten to deal more damage if she sees even the slightest movement of the bugs in the room.

And then there’s Parian, whom we should seriously not underestimate, though she might be more reluctant to fight here.

We’ve also got Ballistic knocking on the door with the odd car or two, thus far unaware that Taylor is stuck in here.

This is a pretty solid setup, leaving Taylor in a tricky situation without having to make her opponents particularly powerful in order to make it feel tricky.

I do think talking is likely to be the way out - continuing the previous chapter’s illustration of Taylor trying to do Tattletale’s thing - but it might come to blows anyway. Uh, further blows.

I don’t really have much in terms of speculations here, so let’s jump in and see what Wildbow does with this situation!