I'm HALPING! Pt 7 (Patreon)

[A/N: This chapter commissioned by @Fizzfaldt and beta-read by Lady Columbine of Mystal.]

What.

I'd thought I was immune to surprise by this point. Sure, Zach had done some pretty amazing things, but I'd taken each of them in my stride. Getting me out of my locker had been pretty cool, I had to admit. Smacking Assault all the way to Boston had blown that clear out of the water … and then he'd used a van and a signpost to eliminate one of the biggest threats to life and limb in the continental United States. After that, the result of his remarkably unequal fight against Oni Lee, Lung and Hookwolf had been highly amusing but not overly astonishing.

If I thought about it seriously, it wasn't a huge surprise that the Chief Director of the PRT showed up, along with Eidolon. I mean, seriously. Eidolon. The man was a God on earth. It wasn't hard to figure out why they were here. Even if Zach wasn't a parahuman, he was still pretty good at what he did. Maybe they were here to offer him some kind of honorary position in the Protectorate? But it didn't really surprise me that they showed up.

No, what surprised the crap out of me was what he said when they did. I wasn't sure what was a greater shock to me, that the Chief Director was actually Alexandria, or that Eidolon was Zach's dad. I mean, my dad was pretty cool and all, but being Eidolon's kid? That'd take care of all the 'my dad can beat up your dad' arguments in the schoolyard. Though I really couldn't see Zach having arguments like that.

For some reason, it never occurred to me for even an instant to question what he'd just said. On the surface, sure, it sounded pretty unbelievable. But even though I was surprised as fuck, I accepted Zach's revelation from the moment he said it. Almost instinctively, I knew this wasn't some sort of off-the-wall joke, like the one where he claimed to be an Endbringer. As astounding as it seemed, I somehow knew it was true.

Both the Chief Director and Eidolon stared at him for a frozen moment. I was also staring, but at them. What do you say to people at a moment like that? About fifty different things tried to make it to my vocal cords at once, with the result that I just stood there with my jaw dropping open.

Eidolon stretched his arms to either side in opposite directions, palms outward. A silvery bubble popped into being around him and Chief Director Costa-Brown, then expanded rapidly in all directions. It quickly overtook Dad, Zach and me; it tickled as it passed over us. A moment later it had frozen in a sphere (I guessed—part of it was below ground) composed of semi-transparent white hexagons, each one about two feet across. The only people inside the sphere were Dad, me, Zach, Eidolon, the Chief Director … and Tagg.

The idiot with the dislocated shoulder stared at Zach, then at Eidolon and Costa-Brown. “What the hell?” he blurted. “Director, is that true? Are you a parahuman?” Clumsily, he staggered to his feet, one arm hanging at an awkward angle. “That runs counter to so many of our regulations. I demand that you stand down until an independent investigation—”

Eidolon snapped his fingers, and Tagg dropped like a puppet with the strings cut. Then the green-cloaked hero looked over at us, as if to ask: Got a problem with that?

I shrugged. The asshole had arrested my dad and shoved a gun in my ear. So long as he didn't actually kill Tagg, I was fine with it. Though something did occur to me; I gestured at the bubble. “Isn't this kind of flashy? Tells people there's something to worry about in here.”

“They don't even know it's there.” Eidolon looked down at Tagg; the unconscious man's shoulder went back into place with a resonant click. “Anyone who sees it forgets about it. The time in here is also sped up by a factor of ten. They aren't going to have enough time to start wondering what's going on. Which means I've got all the time in the world.” He raised his head to give Zach a hard stare. “I don't know who you are, boy, but I'm going to warn you just once. Wild accusations like that could get you into a lot of trouble.”

“I have made no wild accusations,” Zach said simply. “I know that you are my father, and I know Alexandria when I see her. My brothers and sister have described you both to me very clearly. I do not see why I would be in trouble because of this.”

“More to the point,” I said, “Zach doesn't lie. Which means … wow.” It was only really beginning to sink in at that point. “You're really Alexandria?”

The Chief Director … blurred. She came straight toward me, which meant that all I could really see was her hand reaching in my direction. It was way too fast for me to react, but that was okay, because she never reached me.

There was a sound like … I couldn't describe it, because I'd never heard a sound like it before. Think of the sound of a fist hitting flesh, then make it steel hitting granite. It was almost, but not entirely, unlike that. I found myself focusing on the tips of Alexandria's fingers, six inches from my throat. She wasn't getting any closer because Zach was between me and her, his left hand holding her right wrist and his right hand holding her left shoulder. She had her left hand on his right arm, trying to move it but not succeeding in any noticeable way.

“I am not supposed to hurt superheroes, but I will do so if they threaten Taylor,” Zach said evenly. “Please do not try to harm Taylor again. I will be displeased.”

“Let her go!” shouted Eidolon. Some kind of green glowing energy began to build up around his hands. “I won't warn you twice!”

“Father, don't do this,” Zach said firmly. In the moment of distraction, Alexandria lifted her feet off the ground and twisted her body so that she could swing her legs around at him from the side. That was as far as I saw, before they both blurred again. Half a second later, I staggered as a wrenching crack shook the ground under my feet.

Suddenly, Alexandria was lying face-down on the ground … no, face-down in the ground. She was literally half-buried in the street, visibly struggling to get up, but not getting anywhere. This was because Zach was leaning over her, the middle three fingers on his right hand pressing downward between her shoulder-blades. He looked a little ruffled, and the left sleeve of his t-shirt was torn, but his expression was one of mild introspection.

“I will let her go,” he said, raising his face to address Eidolon. “But I require your promise that neither one of you will attempt to attack Taylor again. If that happens, I cannot guarantee your safety. Speak to her, Father.” He let up on the pressure, stepping away from Alexandria. A moment later, she wrenched herself out of the depression, leaving what looked like a perfect mold of her face—indeed, the entire front of her body—in the ground. She rolled on to her back and collapsed with a groan. Her business suit, I noted, was somewhat the worse for wear.

“I am not your father!” Eidolon retorted. “Stop calling me that!” The energy intensified. “How did you do that? When did you trigger? What powers do you have?”

“Eidolon? Sir?” I waved my hand. “Zach isn't a parahuman. He said so himself.”

He stared at me, then at Zach. “Is that true? That you're not a parahuman? I find that very hard to believe.”

Zach nodded. “It is true. I am not a parahuman.”

“Is it any harder to believe than, for instance, you being Zach's dad?” I raised my eyebrows. “You gotta admit, he's pretty cool.”

“I am not his father!” he screamed. “I know this for a fact! I've never—I mean, I …” He trailed off, apparently unsure of how to finish that sentence. “I'm just not his father, all right? It's literally impossible.” The energy around his hands faded away.

It only took me a second to figure out what he was hedging around. “Holy crap, you're a virgin?” I said before my brain could engage its common-sense filter. “How does that even happen? Surely you've got—mmph!” I reached up and grabbed the hand which had covered my mouth, and pulled it away. “Dad! Seriously?”

“Taylor honey, you don't want to say things like that to superheroes,” Dad advised me, though the twitch at the corner of his mouth betrayed an incipient smile. “It's a little personal, and they might get upset.”

Alexandria scrambled to her feet, then backed away from Zach until she was standing next to Eidolon. “He's stronger than me. How is he stronger than me?” The look in her eyes wasn't quite fear, but it was getting there. “He's got to be Brute twelve at the very least.”

“Uh, no, he's apparently not a parahuman at all,” Eidolon said. “I'm not sure what else is going on here, but that much is clear.” At her disbelieving look, he shrugged. “I guess it's a thing?”

“Okay,” said Alexandria, looking directly at Zach. “If you're not a parahuman, how are you able to do this?” I smirked, pretty sure of what Zach's answer was going to be. Their expressions were going to be priceless. She shot me a sharp glance. “What's so funny?”

“Nothing.” I chuckled. “This is just Zach's little joke, is all. Tell them, Zach.”

I had to admire the way he could pull off the poker face while he told it. “I am an Endbringer. Behemoth and Leviathan are my older brothers, and the Simurgh is my sister. They have told me all about you. It is why I am so pleased to meet you, Father.”

Alexandria blinked once, very slowly. Eidolon didn't react at all that I could see, but I couldn't see his face, so that didn't mean very much. When he spoke, his words were slow and measured, as if he was choosing them one at a time. “You … have got … to be joking.”

“I am not joking,” Zach assured him earnestly. “Taylor has taught me how to tell jokes, but that is not one of them. The only jokes I know how to tell are about firemen and suspenders. Would you like to hear them?”

“Uh, maybe later, Zach,” I said. “You said that you were joking about being an Endbringer.” I felt the twinge of betrayal. Did he lie to me?

“No, Taylor.” His voice was warm and sincere. “You assumed I was joking, and at the time I felt you would be happier thinking that I was, so I did not correct you. Now it is a good time for you to understand the truth, so now I am correcting you. Do you understand?”

I thought back about what he'd actually said, and how I'd reacted to it. He'd actually told me the real truth, and I'd thought he was being silly. Here he was, helping me and being the kind of friend I'd needed since forever, and I'd just ignored what he was saying because it sounded kind of unbelievable. “Oh, crap. I'm so sorry, Zach. I should've listened to you.”

He gave me a sunny smile. “That is all right, Taylor. It is better that you thought that, because you would have had that to worry about as well as everything else.”

I had to admit, he did have a good point there. “Okay, yeah, got it. I am kinda curious though. Endbringers have been killing people for decades. If I believe you're an Endbringer right now, why aren't I freaking out? Why aren't I afraid of you?” Because I really wasn't, though intellectually I knew I should've been. But even knowing what he was, to me Zach was … Zach. He was a loveable goofy big puppy who was there for me, and was kinda cool, even when he got things wrong. And he was getting fewer things wrong all the time.

“The answer to that one's obvious,” Eidolon said harshly. He pointed his hand at Zach, the green glow building up once more. “It's an infiltrator into society. It's got a Master/Stranger rating as well as a Brute rating. Step away from it, miss. I don't want you getting hurt by accident.”

“Oh, for crying out loud!” I shouted, getting more irritated by the second. “Seriously, did you not hear me before? He's not a parahuman. He doesn't have powers! I mean, even if he is an Endbringer, look at him! He's Zach!”

<><>

Zach

Which gave Zach his cue. He had to appreciate that about Taylor; even though she did not know about his more-than-human abilities, she certainly made it easier for him to use them. Perhaps, he mused, she knew more than she thought she did.

He had not arrived fully formed in Brockton Bay with all the knowledge that he held now. On that first night, he had been aware of his capabilities, and that his purpose was to help. His wandering feet, and what he now recognised as the subtle guidance of his sister, had led him to help Naomi Hess.

Interacting with her had unlocked part of his social capabilities; or rather, it had brought his knowledge of them to the surface. With just a few words, he could convince others to see him as 'normal', as someone who posed no threat. This had the side effect with aggressive opponents of making them see him as a pushover, but that was rarely a problem.

Later, once he heard the name 'Taylor Hebert', the full knowledge of what he was supposed to do snapped into his awareness. The friendships he had formed were discarded the moment they showed themselves as being opposed to his set purpose. In addition, he gained the knowledge of one final (and very important) social ability.

In order to protect Taylor Hebert, he had to remain by her side and have full use of his capabilities. However, as a normal person, she might feel intimidated or even threatened by the very force he used to protect her. So he was now able to make people discount and even temporarily forget the exact details of what he had done and what he could do. As a result, Taylor could happily ignore the fact that she'd seen him throw Hookwolf more than half a mile, and still appreciate the humour of the villain ploughing into the back of a dog-catcher's van. Zach was quite proud of that joke.

Up until now, he had enjoyed a certain amount of success in deflecting the curiosity of the superheroes who had attended the incident at Winslow. Time and again, when he had stated that he was not a parahuman, they had simply believed him. Father was harder-headed than most, possibly because he was Zach's progenitor, but Zach believed that he could be brought around with a little more effort. Once, of course, this particular argument was dealt with.

Staring at his father, he exerted his will.

<><>

Taylor

“Oh, right, yeah.” The glow died down from Eidolon's hand and he sheepishly rubbed at the back of his neck as Alexandria glared at him. “Right,” he mumbled. “Forgot for a moment.”

“So did I,” Alexandria said, just a little stiffly. “We both misunderstood the situation.” She took a deep breath. “So, how is it that Eidolon is your father? And you say that Behemoth and Leviathan and the Simurgh are your siblings? How does that even work?”

“I was brought into existence by Father's need,” Zach said cheerfully. “So were my brothers and sister. Father needed a credible enemy to battle, to maintain his title as the world's most powerful hero, so Behemoth was created. He is really not that bright, but we love him anyway. Nor was he enough of a challenge, so Father created Leviathan.” He waggled his hand back and forth. “While Leviathan is smarter, they needed someone to really do the thinking and plan the attacks that Father needed to respond to, so the Simurgh was created. She tells the others how to show up to the best effect and make Father look really heroic.”

Eidolon was making noises like a malfunctioning garbage disposal at this point, but Alexandria seemed to be taking it in. At least she wasn't trying to attack me or Zach any more, which suited me just fine. I had a great deal of respect for her as a hero, and I didn't want to see her get hurt.

“If that's true,” she said, eyeing him carefully, “what's your purpose? To destroy this city? Because, no offence intended, you don't look all that impressive.”

“No offence taken,” Zach said. “I am here to help Taylor Hebert and ensure she remains happy and healthy. It is the purpose of my existence.”

Which did explain quite a lot, in my opinion. Behemoth and the others were really good at causing havoc and destroying stuff, and Zach was really good at helping me. But I was still curious about something. “Zach … do your siblings want to do what they're doing, or are they only doing it because Eidolon told them to?”

“They do not care either way,” Zach said. “But Father needs to keep looking like a hero, while his friends search for a way to beat Scion. So they have to keep doing it.” He looked apologetically at Eidolon and spread his hands.

Finally, Eidolon seemed to find his words. “That's not true!” he bellowed. “Any of it! I'm a hero! I save lives! And I didn't father you, or any of the Endbringers!” He turned his head toward Alexandria, his tone angrily pleading. “Tell them!” She gave him an appraising look, and didn't speak. Even without being able to see his face, I could sense his air of betrayal. “What? Not you too!”

“I'm sorry,” she said slowly. “I wish I could say it was all nonsense. I really do. But … I've known you for more than twenty years. You've always had a fixation on being the greatest hero in the world. When your powers started declining, you became almost frantic to find a way to restore them. And when Behemoth came along, you threw yourself into the fights as if you didn't care whether you lived or died. If I step back and look at it sideways, it does make a really twisted kind of sense.”

“No.” He shook his head stubbornly. “I don't believe it. I won't believe it. I'm not a villain. I didn't simply create the Endbringers out of a whim to show off my heroism.” Dramatically, he pointed at me; I tensed, but there was no glow around his hand. In any case, I knew Zach wouldn't have let him hurt me. “And what about her? I don't know her. I've never met her. There are millions in need around the world at any one time. Even if I could create Endbringers to order, why in God's name would I create one for her?”

He had a distinct point; one I was kind of curious about myself. My eyes found Zach's, but before I could ask the question he was already answering it. “My purpose was to save Taylor from being trapped in that locker, and both help her and keep her happy from then on. I do not know why you created me for this purpose, but I am very pleased that you did. Taylor is a good person, and I have enjoyed helping her. I have spoken with my brothers and sister, and they all agree you are the one who created us. By any reasonable definition, that makes you our father.”

“So you say.” His voice was less impassioned now, but he obviously didn't want to concede the argument quite yet. “But all you've said is that you 'know' something. That's a long way from proving it. In fact, making heroes doubt themselves is a classic ploy for villains in popular fiction, and I have no doubt that it's been used a time or three in real life. So do you have any kind of actual proof for all of this?”

As Zach paused, looking serious, I had a brainwave. “Zach. Remember how you punted Oni Lee into orbit? You said your sister was taking care of him.”

“Wait, seriously?” interjected Dad. “You actually punted someone into orbit? You do know I was just joking about that, right?”

Zach smiled at him. “Yes, but it was a good joke, and Taylor and I both appreciated it when I did it.” He turned to Eidolon. “Yes, I have proof. Let me show you.” He gestured, and the translucent bubble around us vanished like smoke in the wind. Then he looked skyward.

“Wait, how the hell did you do …” Eidolon's voice trailed off as he followed Zach's gaze. Shading my eyes, I did the same. Far above, a tiny white dot impinged on the otherwise flawless blue vault of the sky. As we watched, it grew larger, descending with dramatic speed. When it was still only the size of my thumbnail, I thought I saw a black-clad figure in among the multitude of wings.

A shiver went down my spine as my brain confirmed that yes, I was looking at the Simurgh. I'd only ever seen her in pictures and in rare pieces of footage. Possessed of a bizarrely semi-angelic appearance, her very presence promised madness and death to whoever came too close. But now she was coming here, to Brockton Bay. Even with Zach at my side, I felt a flicker of fear.

“Do not be worried.” Zach placed his hand on my arm, the physical reminder of his presence putting me more at ease. “She does not mean you harm. But I have told her about you, and she wishes to have met you.”

“To have met me?” That was an odd way to put it, even for Zach. “What do you mean?”

“Are you insane?” Alexandria pointed up at the approaching Endbringer. “Did you call her here?”

“I cannot be insane, but yes, I did,” Zach said cheerfully, then turned back to me. “As for what I meant, she cannot see the now. She can only see the past and the future. She can foresee meeting you, and she can remember it, but she cannot experience it in the now.”

I blinked. “That sounds weird.” Then what I'd said caught up with me. “I mean, I don't want to offend her, it just …” I trailed off, not wanting to dig myself in any deeper.

“Do not worry.” Zach chuckled. “She is not offended. Anyway, she thinks that being stuck in just one moment is also weird. Letting time go past at one second per second is so very limiting.”

“Right.” I tried not to think about it. Not that I had the time to do any casual thinking right at that moment, because the Simurgh had landed directly in front of me.

My first thought was wow, she's tall. I'm tall for a teenage girl, but while the Simurgh was shorter than her older brothers—I honestly surprised myself by thinking of Endbringers like that—she was nearly three times my height. Her bare feet, as pure-white as the rest of her, touched down gently on the rough asphalt, barely seeming to brush it. Opening her wings and spreading them wide in various directions—she had a lot of wings, and they opened at some pretty weird angles—she released the black-clad form of Oni Lee. He fell to his knees, ripped the demon mask from his face, and threw up all over the ground.

If Zach hadn't been right there beside me, I probably would've been terrified all over again. Lee had tried to kill me twice in the last hour, and there was no guaranteeing that he wouldn't try again. Except that … well, he didn't. Instead, as he recovered from his vomiting fit—I supposed that if I'd had an elevator ride like that from low orbit, I'd be puking too—he took one look at me and scrambled to get away.

<><>

Alexandria

In the distance, the Endbringer sirens began to wail, but neither Rebecca nor Eidolon moved. A strange calm had overtaken them; the Simurgh was not yet singing, so the fight hadn't begun. If she did anything at all hostile, they'd be able to act instantly, but it looked as though she wasn't even paying attention to them.

Not even bothering to get to his feet, the Asian cape scrabbled away on his hands and knees until he reached Eidolon, then clasped the hero around the knees, babbling away in Japanese nineteen to the dozen. If Rebecca was any judge, it sounded like he was one good scare away from soiling himself. Though from the way he clipped his syllables, he wasn't even a Kyushu refugee, but from Honshu. Possibly one of the western prefectures. So he'd never faced an Endbringer before.

Eidolon looked down at the prostrate villain, then at her. “This is Oni Lee? What's he saying?”

Rebecca didn't take her eyes off the winged monster before her for a single second. “Yes, apparently it is. He's saying … 'take me to jail, please get me away from her, I want to go to jail' … and more, but in the same vein.” It took her a moment to realise that he wasn't saying it about the Simurgh. He was saying it about Taylor.

As Rebecca spoke, the Simurgh crouched so that her eyes were on a level with the Hebert girl's. Some of her wings scraped the footpath behind her, the delicate-looking feathers gouging out chunks of concrete with brutal ease. The teenage girl did something few had done; she looked fearlessly into those grey-white blind-looking eyes. “Uh, hi,” she managed. “It's, uh, nice to meet you?”

The smile that formed on the Simurgh's lips was somehow unsettling in its perfection. One bone-white hand raised briefly in what could have been a wave, then the Endbringer nodded to the boy with the green eyes. He nodded back; an instant later, she was flashing skyward as fast as Rebecca had ever seen her fly.

All around them, the PRT men had been scattering to defensive positions. It was a tribute to the brief nature of the Simurgh's … 'attack' wasn't the right word. Intrusion? Flyby? Visit? In any case, it was telling that the incident was over so quickly that the PRT men were still on the move when the white dot winked out far above. Tagg, almost at her feet, had slept through the whole thing. She was glad of that; the reactionary idiot probably would've done his best to get killed. Again. Perhaps, she mused, it would do him good to be posted to someplace like the Eagleton quarantine zone for a while, where he could have the release of keeping the Machine Army inside the set boundaries. Peace, quiet, and ordinary people obviously didn't agree with him.

The distant sirens hiccuped and shut off. She ignored them, taking a few steps closer to Taylor Hebert, who was speaking with her father. Zach met her halfway. She still had trouble thinking of him as an Endbringer, though the sight of her body-print in the asphalt made visualising it a little easier. The number of entities on the planet able to do that to her could be counted on the fingers of one hand. “Is that enough proof for you?” he asked, apparently seriously.

“It's a really, really good start,” she replied cautiously. “Will you be inviting your … siblings … over for afternoon tea, very often? I can't help imagining that it might cause unavoidable disruptions.”

“They do not eat,” he replied immediately. “I do not need food, but it still tastes nice. I will be careful about making sure that they do not hurt Taylor or make her unhappy.”

“You know …” Over the course of her career, Rebecca had engaged in diplomatic negotiations of all kinds. On the one hand, there were the times that required her to charge right ahead, driving the opposition on to the back foot. With her perfect memory and command of every relevant fact at her fingertips, she was good at those. On the other hand, there were also the times when a gentle suggestion was better than a battering-ram. This was one of the latter. “I was thinking. Taylor might be unhappy if they actually attacked any cities. And killed people, I mean. Just a thought.”

“Do you think so?” He actually managed to look thoughtful. “I will ask her.”

Rebecca looked over his shoulder at Taylor. “You do that.”

<><>

Taylor

Hello.

The one word resounded in my head. It hadn't entered by my ears, but I'd heard it nonetheless. It sounded … beautiful. Of course, I'd heard all about the Simurgh's scream, how it sounded like music that was just a little bit off, so eventually it drove you mad. This didn't sound anything like that. It was like I'd just been greeted by someone with wind-chimes for vocal cords.

I also got the impression that she liked me. This was probably because Zach liked me, but still, it felt really weird to have an Endbringer—I mean, a known Endbringer—say hi and give the impression that she approved of me. Well, my day had started out at 'horrific', so the weirdness of associating with Zach was kind of soothing. The worst thing that had happened was Dad being arrested by that idiot Tagg, and we'd managed to get that dealt with pretty quickly. With Zach around, I was pretty sure they wouldn't try that again.

Raising my head, I watched the Simurgh depart. Was it wrong to decide that a visit by an Endbringer wasn't the worst part of my day? Even when said Endbringer was the sister of the guy who I was hanging around with? I couldn't tell any more.

“Taylor?” It was Dad. “Are you okay?” He was looking a little pale himself; I guessed that he'd been more concerned about the Simurgh than I was. Then again, he hadn't seen Zach in action for himself, so he didn't have the certain knowledge that nothing was going to hurt us.

“Uh, sure,” I said. “That was kind of weird, and a bit scary, but she just wanted to say hello. I wonder how many other people have been that close to her.” From what I'd seen in the news, not many and not for very long. Though Oni Lee had been next to her for a lot longer than I had. I looked down at where Eidolon had encapsulated the man in some sort of opaque force field. “Is that gonna hold him? He can teleport, you know.”

“All the reports say that he needs line of sight.” Alexandria moved up alongside me; Zach didn't react, so I relaxed as well. “Now, you know my secret, and I don't want that spread around. The trouble is, I'm reasonably certain that Zach isn't going to allow me to make sure you don't talk. I really don't want to piss off an Endbringer who can make me think he's a teenage boy before unscrewing my head, so this is what it's come to.” There was nobody else close enough to hear us except Eidolon, but she kept her voice low anyway. Her face creased in a grimace of distaste. “What's your price to keep my secret?”

It actually took me a few seconds to realise what she was talking about. “Oh, uh …” I paused, glancing at my father. “Dad?” This was a really big secret. Probably the biggest I'd ever held. There was no way I'd make a decision this huge without checking in with him.

“Hmm.” That was Dad's negotiating voice. People occasionally acted like it was his fault the Dockworkers' Association was in the state it was, and they were right, just not in the way that they thought. He was one of the reasons it was still running. “I'm assuming someone as high up the political ladder as you are has a few strings you can pull. Taylor currently attends Winslow High. I'd like her transferred to Arcadia, immediately if not sooner. In addition, no legal penalties for anything she's done today, and all damage to my house is to be either repaired or paid for today.” He paused, rubbing his chin.

Alexandria blinked. So did I, as I watched her business suit slowly returning to its pristine condition. This was not a power I'd ever heard of her having. But then I glanced over at Eidolon, and saw a faint glow about one of his hands. Very tricky. Also, awesome cool.

“Is that … all?” asked Alexandria, her voice uncertain for the first time that I'd met her. She'd probably been thinking Dad would ask for a million dollars or something. Not that I'd have a problem with that. Even over and above getting out of Winslow forever, and going to Arcadia, a million dollars could … oh, wait. I'd been so taken up with everything else, I'd managed to temporarily forget that Dad was already worth a hundred million dollars. So scratch that.

Dad smiled slightly, not unlike a cheetah spotting a limping gazelle. Normally, I figured, the simile would've gone the other direction. But this was definitely his time to shine. “I'm going to need the paperwork for the bounty for the Nine cleared without any roadblocks. And don't try to bullshit me that there won't be any roadblocks, because when this much money is involved, there's always people who can find reasons for the whole amount to not be paid out, or not all at once.” Huh. It seemed that his thought processes were paralleling mine. Great minds really did think alike.

She drew herself up, managing to look offended and regal at the same time. There was no way I could pull that off, even in my wildest dreams. “I assure you, there'll be no delays.”

“Right.” His tone was dubious. “I'll believe that when I see it. Just let your accounting department know that if they try anything clever, I'll be visiting, and bringing Taylor with me. And you know who'll be coming along with her.”

I smiled at Zach, who returned it. Alexandria wasn't smiling at all. “Noted,” she said warily. “Anything else?”

“Yes.” His voice was still deceptively mild. “I'm going to be using that money to clear the Boat Graveyard and get the ferry back into operation. The trouble is, there are people in the city council who've been pushing back on any such improvements for the last ten years. So I'd really appreciate it if you dropped a word in Roy Christner's ear to spread the message that it would be a really bad idea to make me waste my time, money and resources while I'm getting this done.”

“I understand, Mr Hebert,” she said. “I do. However, I need you to know that I skimmed a basic dossier on Brockton Bay before I came here, and apparently there are sound reasons for not reinstating the ferry.”

“With all due respect, ma'am.” His tone denoted not much respect at all. “You don't live here. The gangsters have better transport than the ordinary civilians. There are bus lines that regularly communicate between the north end of the city and the south. Bringing the ferry back up is not going to suddenly create an influx of crime into Downtown. The criminals are already there, and some of them wear business suits. And some of those don't want the ferry up and running for reasons that have nothing to do with the crime rate, and everything to do with personal profit and political capital.” He shrugged. “Of course, if you wanted to take out the Merchants while you were in town, I wouldn't object. Zach's been kind enough to remove the capes leading the ABB.”

“Or Zach could do it,” I suggested. “I mean, if that's okay with you, Zach?” After all, why get Alexandria to do something for us that we could already do for ourselves?

“Would this make you happy, Taylor?” he asked eagerly. “I could do that for you. Do you want them alive?”

“Let's … not kill anyone for the time being,” I suggested. “It makes things a lot less complicated all round. And yes, it would make me happy, but don't run off right now. We can wait until everything settles down again.” I was thinking that midnight might be a nice time. Let everyone wake up to a Merchant-free city.

Eidolon sighed. “The news crews are coming back,” he said, his voice heavy with resignation. “It appeared that everyone saw your sister's little visit.” While his face was hidden, I was reasonably sure he was giving Zach a dirty look.

Involuntarily, I glanced at the damaged curb, where the Simurgh's feathers had scraped away concrete like a knife through butter. That led my eye to the impression that Alexandria had made in the street, with Zach's assistance. It was a very detailed impression; I had no doubt that if anyone made a cast of it, the result would be recognisable.

“Uh, we might want to do something about that,” I said, gesturing to the hole. “I'm pretty sure we don't want a Chief-Director-shaped pothole outside our house. People might talk.”

“This is getting more complicated by the moment,” muttered Eidolon, but he stepped over to the hole anyway.

“And it might only get worse if you remove these 'Merchants' from the scene,” Alexandria pointed out. “Power vacuums are a real thing, by the way. Removing one gang simply invites other gangs to fill the gap. You've already done that by taking down Lung and Oni Lee. I believe the other large gang in the city is a white-supremacist organisation with ties to Gesellschaft; do you really want them expanding their operations?”

“I don't know about this Gesellschaft thing,” Dad said, stumbling over the name a little, “but as far as I can tell, the solution's simple. Put Director Piggot back in charge of the local PRT and give her the resources she needs to do the damn job. Capes and PRT personnel both. This city's a shithole. It's been circling the drain for the last ten years or more. This is because it's always had more villains than heroes, with capes backing up criminals so the cops can't do anything.” He fixed Alexandria with a glare. “If something official doesn't get done, then something unofficial will get done. And we won't be saying nice things about the PRT once Zach has put out the trash once and for all.”

Her expression was more than a little sour by the time he'd finished. “I presume these are more of your demands? Because you're beginning to reach the limit of what I consider reasonable.”

Eidolon did something with a power that made the asphalt flatten itself out, erasing the spot where Zach had pressed Alexandria into the street. Then he turned his head to look down the street. “They're here,” he announced, just as a news van tore into view. I couldn't see the paint job from this angle, but I had a suspicion of which one it would be. Some people, it seemed, were more anxious to get the scoop than others.

“That's it for the moment,” Dad said. “If I think of anything else, I'll let you know. Taylor, did you have anything to add?” He ignored Alexandria's scowl and grinned at me.

“Nothing right now,” I decided, though I had been wondering how she'd react if I asked for a pony. Not that I wanted a pony, but the look on her face would've been hilarious. “Just, you know, don't tell anyone about Zach, okay? They might get the wrong idea.”

Alexandria rolled her eyes. “Do I look like an idiot?”

I snorted, and Dad chuckled. She gave us both a dirty look. Together, we turned toward the news van as it pulled to a halt. “So how do we play this?” asked Eidolon.

“We say nothing, in great detail.” Alexandria's voice was firm.

Dad nodded. “Got it.”

Yeah, I thought.  Because that never goes wrong.

Part 8