With Great Power: Descent into Darkness
And we're back! Thank you all for waiting so patiently while I dealt with some issues, it means a lot to me. While I was away, I had a chance to scroll over some of my old stories and well, I'm not gonna say anything definitive, but some of those abandoned fics might be picked up at the orphanage, if you know what I mean...
Anyway, enough of my yapping. Let's get to what you all came here for!
~~~
“So at what point did you guys look at this place and think, ‘Oh hey! That looks like it'll be easy to break into!’? Cause I’m really not getting it.”
Taylor posed the question to the group of three men that she had webbed up nice and snug in their own little cocoon. They were textbook crooks, with ski masks and everything, and they were about as happy as one could expect them to be, tied up as they were.
“The better question is, why did they do it in the middle of lunch rush?” Glory Girl asked as she walked up, tossing another webbed up crook on the ground beside the cocoon, “It's three o’clock in the afternoon. Don't you guys have something better to do than be criminals twenty-four seven?”
None of the men responded, not that either of the heroines expected them to. Not long after leaving Parian's shop, Taylor and Glory Girl ran into this group trying to break into a storage unit in the emptier parts of town. It was a nice storage unit too, one with an alarm and a security camera that actually worked posted just outside. Not really the kind of place you would break into unless you really wanted whatever was inside. Though if that were really the case, you'd usually bring more than a crowbar and a couple duffle bags.
“I guess being a criminal is a full-time job.” Taylor offered, stroking her masked chin thoughtfully. “They have to prepare to heist, get caught during the heist, and then get sent to prison for the heist on top of that. I bet they don't have a lot of downtime in that kind of busy schedule.”
As the group of men lamented their new and extremely sticky circumstances, Taylor glanced at Glory Girl as she floated down beside her. The girl was staring at the bound crooks with crossed arms, disapproval in them or even just for their lifestyle expressed in every part of her body, before it gave way to relief as the sound of sirens approaching rang over the buildings nearby.
“Oh great, the cops are here. That means we don’t have to babysit anymore.” The blonde said, her arms falling back to her sides with relief. Taylor tilted her head, listening to the wails grow closer.
“That was fast. I had to wait almost an hour last time.” She commented as she crawled up the wall, perching herself on the roof so that she could see over the buildings to watch the cruisers approach.
Glory Girl’s cape fluttered as she floated up to watch alongside her, “There’s a station near here so they usually respond faster. You should probably start memorizing their locations. It makes it a whole lot easier if you don’t have to wonder how long you’re gonna have to wait.”
Taylor glanced at her, the corners of her lips turning softly upwards, “Is that another piece of wisdom from my heroic senior?” She asked, a teasing lilt slipping into her voice. Glory Girl gave her an amused glance, before her face twisted in mock seriousness as she nodded.
“That’s right.” She gave Taylor a shrewd look, blue eyes rolling up and down Taylor’s makeshift costume. “And I can’t help but notice you didn’t bring a note-pad with you. Sloppy work, Spidey. Are you planning to commit all of my brilliant advice and anecdotes to memory? You’ll never pass the class that way.”
Taylor giggled before turning and zipping up to the roof of a taller building nearby, seeking a better vantage point that was out of the police’s way as they pulled into the area. “Sorry to burst your bubble professor, but I actually have a pretty good memory. Just ask any of my teachers.” She reached into her pocket as Glory Girl once again floated to her level, pulling out a fat wad of bright green bills and waving them around, “I remembered your lesson on the Vigilante Rights Act, didn’t I?”
Glory Girl’s facade gave way to humor, “Spidey, that's like, two hundred dollars.”
Taylor shrugged as she stuffed the money back into her jacket, “And that’s two hundred more dollars than I had ten minutes ago. At this rate, I’ll have enough for that costume by the start of next week.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Or Monday, if you aren’t a filthy heathen.” Taylor shrugged.
“I don't know about filthy, but Amy calls me a heathen when I hide her cigarettes. Sometimes I wonder if she forgets that her powers don't work on herself. Her lungs are probably blacker than a coal mine at this point.”
“Sounds like you're not hiding them well enough. My mom hid my dad's cigarettes all the time and eventually he just gave up.” Taylor asked idly, watching as the cops rolled up to the scene down below
“She keeps getting them from somewhere! I hide one pack and I find another in her pocket an hour later.” Glory Girl rubbed her face in exasperation, “I think she has a supplier at a hospital. Why couldn't she stick to caffeine like the rest of us teenagers?”
“Mystery of the universe, I guess.” Taylor shrugged, looking at her companion, “Wanna go find some more baddies to beat up? Maybe they have the answer.”
“I doubt it, but you know I'm always up for beating up idiots.” Glory Girl grinned, her eyes sparkling with mischief as they met Taylor's, “Hey, wanna race? I wanna see how fast you can really go on those little webs of yours.”
“Oh sure, just call months worth of work on an extremely complicated chemical formula ‘little’, I don’t mind at all.” Taylor griped dramatically as she stood up, “Where do you wanna go? I need to map route to beat you there.”
Glory Girl snorted as she landed on the side of the building, “Good luck with that; I'm the fastest flier in this city if you don't count the Nazis. How about the bank downtown? The one with the fancy marble pillars inside?”
Taylor knew of the place though she hadn't been in years. Still, she nodded, already plotting a route with the tallest buildings for her to build speed, “Alright, that works. Do you wanna count or should I?”
“You can count. You'll probably need the advantage just to keep up with me anyway.” Glory Girl buffed her nails on her dress tauntingly.
“I'll take any advantage I can get, oh wise senior.” Taylor said sarcastically as she perched herself on the edge of the building, “Ready?”
“Whenever you are.”
“Five…” Taylor took a deep breath and Glory Girl shifted a bit further on the edge of the building.
“Four…” Taylor's muscles tensed under her costume. Glory Girl clicked her tongue at the slow count.
“Three…” A grin spread across Taylor's lips, unseen by her fellow heroine who was staring at the clouds in boredom.
“…”
“...”
“...Spidey? You gonna–?”
“twoonego!”
“Wait, what?”
Glory Girl was left a step behind as Taylor launched herself off of the building, taking advantage of the other girl's distracted stage to grab a quick headstart. Her powerful legs launched her miles, sending her soaring straight over the building across the street as she straightened into a plummeting dive, grinning widely as she slung a web at the building beside her.
Swinging out of her dive, Taylor climbed into the sky on her webs, launching herself off of the tallest building nearby and plummeting down to begin her next swing. She was already gaining speed, but unfortunately, Glory Girl wasn't going to take her false start lying down.
“That was a dirty trick, Little Spider!” The girl called over Taylor's shoulder, making her glance back.
Glory Girl had already caught up to her. She followed after Taylor leisurely, effortlessly keeping up with and then passing Taylor who was putting her entire body into getting to their next destination quickly.
Taylor’s eyes narrowed behind her goggles as Glory Girl’s cape fluttered past her. Glory Girl turned and gave her a cheeky wink, clearly taunting her as she overtook her effortlessly, and a small spark of competitiveness flared to life in Taylor’s chest. She wasn’t going to be beaten so easily.
Taylor’s muscles bunched underneath her jacket as she dove low, shooting through the air like a falling javelin, gathering momentum and scaring all of the civilians on the street below her. At the last possible second, so close to the ground that she could see the individual grooves in the pavement, she thrust a hand out and slung a web onto the sturdy concrete building just in front of her. Her fingers wrapped around the threaded white line and her muscles burned with the effort required just to hold onto the web.
Glory Girl’s shocked gasp fell to the wind as Taylor launched through the air like a bullet. The wind pushed her hood straight off her head, leaving her hair flowing freely as buildings and billboards alike passed her by as nothing but blurs. She flipped in the air, slinging another web and jerking herself towards a parking garage where she ran along the concrete side like it was solid ground before leaping off into another arc, eager to keep her momentum going.
Though this was supposed to be a race, that didn’t stop Taylor from really enjoying herself as she swung across the city like she could fly herself. Said flight was accompanied by excited shouts and whoops as she gave into the adrenaline coursing through her, a mile-wide smile spreading across her face even as Glory Girl caught up to her and started flying alongside her, smiling in bemusement.
“Having fun, Spidey?” She called, her voice barely audible over the wind rushing into Taylor’s ears. The spider-themed heroine just turned her grin towards her, yelling back in a voice undercut by giggles of pure excitement.
“Of course I am! Have you ever done this before? It’s like the best parts of swinging on a swingset times a million!” Taylor stretched an arm out and her next arc brought her underneath Glory Girl where she flipped upwards, spreading her arms wide to catch the wind, “I’ve only been doing it for a little while and I’m already totally addicted!”
Glory Girl's smile shifted and a look of reminiscence crossed her face, “I can imagine. I remember when I first got my powers. Mom grounded me a million times because I kept breaking things in the house, flying around without looking. It’s just so much fun.”
“Right!?”
People pointed and pulled out their phones to take pictures as Taylor swept low, running along the railing of a restaurant to bleed off a little speed and give them a bit of a show. One of the patrons, a teen around her age who she was pretty sure was actually in one of her classes, held out a hand for a high five and she slapped it happily before leaping into the air again with a loud yell of excitement.
“You're a performer at heart, aren't you, Spidey.” Glory Girl laughed as Taylor rejoined her, “They're gonna have a field day with you on PHO.”
“I'm just having fun, GG! Maybe you should try it some time!” Taylor said cheekily, laughing as Glory Girl blinked in surprise at the nickname before narrowing her eyes competitively.
“Methinks you're getting a bit too big for your boots there, Spidey. You think I don't know how to have fun? I'll show you how the pros do it!” Glory Girl said, before her straight-laced flight suddenly became much fancier.
Their race soon became something of a spectacle for the people below them as they began to enjoy their time in the air over trying to win. Taylor flipped and twirled, showing off the incredible flexibility granted to her by her power while Glory Girl similarly looped and spun around unaided by any earthly objects.
A few minutes of fun later, far away from their intended destination, Glory Girl suddenly stopped in mid-air, coming to a dead halt in the middle of the sky as her eyes caught on something in the distance. Taylor gave her a confused look as she swung past her and the girl pointed, “Look! We've got company.”
Taylor followed her finger, eager to see what she was pointing at. Two figures were standing on a rooftop overlooking the street just ahead of them, a tall figure in glowing armor and another, much shorter one in a bright green dress and visored helmet. The taller of them was waving towards Taylor or more likely Glory Girl, clearly wanting them to come over.
Taylor recognized the pair of course. Anyone who kept up with the cape scene in Brockton Bay would. Vista and Gallant were the poster children of the Wards program, a way for underage parahumans to join the Protectorate in an unofficial-offical capacity. Taylor couldn't remember how many times she had rewatched Vista's inauguration in particular, practically glued to the screen as one of the youngest parahumans ever recorded pledged herself to uphold the peace and protect the innocent. Enough that Emma got annoyed and threatened to break her DVR if she didn't stop making her watch it.
Saddled with that kind of heroic awe, Taylor was a bit wary of approaching the two of them. Unfortunately, her choice was taken from her by her companion.
“Come on! Let's go talk to them. Maybe they want to patrol together.” Glory Girl didn't give Taylor a chance to respond as she flew ahead, heading towards the heroes with a wide smile on her face. Taylor watched her go before sighing and following after her. Hopefully she wouldn’t make a horrible first impression.
“Hey you two!” Glory Girl said as she and Taylor landed in front of the pair of young heroes, “ Are you guys out on patrol?”
Gallant stepped forward, looking almost ostentatious in his glowing armor, “Good afternoon, Glory Girl. Yes, we were just responding to a break-in a little ways from here. We were taking a break when Vista spotted you two… racing?”
Taylor blinked. Another break-in? At three o'clock on a Saturday? Must've been some sort of epidemic.
Glory Girl nodded, floating closer to Gallant, “Yeah, we were gonna race to the bank downtown but we kind of got sidetracked. Spidey here is still getting used to the whole flying thing.”
“Ah, I see. I remember Kid going through the same thing when he first built his hover board.” Gallant turned towards Taylor, holding out a gauntleted hand, “It's nice to meet you, Spidey.”
Taylor cringed even as she reached to shake the other teens hand, “Nice to meet you but uh, my name's actually not–”
Before Taylor could correct the other teen and give him her actual name, Glory Girl interrupted her, grabbing Gallant’s hand before it could even make contact with Taylor's, “You can give her the pitch later!” She said as she pulled him away, “I need to talk to you real quick, Gallant.”
“Vicky!” Gallant hissed as he was dragged away from the perplexed heroine and to the other side of the roof, far enough away that Taylor couldn't hear whatever they were saying.
Taylor slowly lowered her hand, watching as Vicky turned to face the armored Ward with a big smile which gave way to a quick frown as Gallant shook his head in clear disapproval of her actions.
“That… was weird.” Taylor said as she watched the two talk just out of earshot.
“Not as weird as you think.” The only other person on the roof muttered, causing Taylor to jump. Somehow she had forgotten that Vista was even there.
Though, as she turned to face the younger girl who was watching the other two heroes with her hands on her hips, Taylor wasn't sure whether or not that was for better or for worse.
Vista had been one of Taylor's favorite Wards since she joined a little under two years ago. Due to her age and the fact that she was the only girl cape on the Wards, it was easy for Taylor to put herself in Vista's shoes and sympathize with the other girl.
She never imagined she'd be standing in front of her though. As she was left alone with the girl, Taylor tried not to fidget too much as Vista's visor stared her way. She was clearly waiting for Taylor to say something but Taylor wasn't sure what.
“Uh, so how about that weather, am I right?” Taylor said in an awkward attempt to break the silence. “Not too hot but definitely too humid, right? Especially in the morning…”
Vista slowly, without saying a word, turned her head to look at Taylor. She tilted her head, staring at the heroine like she was fascinating. Or stupid. Taylor sighed, slumping her shoulders and hanging her head, “Sorry, I'm a little nervous. You're kind of one of my idols, you know?”
That took the girl by surprise. Vista's shoulders stiffened and her head bent as if she had been physically struck with shock, “Me? Seriously?”
Taylor nodded, “Yeah since you’re kinda the only girl hero anywhere near my age, at least in the Protectorate. I was super excited when you first got signed on, pointing at the TV and all that jazz. You’re as cool as Miss Militia in my books.”
That took the girl aback and there was a pause before she managed to speak, "Oh. Well, thanks! I always looked up to Miss Militia before I joined. I never expected to be compared to her though.”
She drew herself up a bit, looking at Taylor more intently, “You know, I've heard about you working around town. You've done a good job. Are you planning to join up? We'd be happy to have another girl on the team and the benefits aren't bad. 401k, trust fund, free costumes, health insurance… we even get dental!”
She said it so earnestly that Taylor couldn't help but smile, “Dental, huh? That's a pretty looking offer. I've been meaning to get my molars looked at; I'm pretty sure I've got a cavity.”
“Yeah, it's great!” Vista's smile became a bit strained, “If you don't mind waiting a few months for an appointment with the on-sight dentist. His office is almost always booked.”
“Ah, darn. I already have an appointment in two months.” Taylor tsked, “That's too bad. I don't think I could join if you guys have such a lackadaisical tooth care system.”
Vista's face visibly fell and Taylor immediately felt bad for her joke. She must have really wanted another female Ward on the team.
“If it makes you feel any better, I wasn't really planning on joining anyway.” Taylor offered, “I work better alone, without all that red tape to worry about. It's just easier for me.”
“It might not stay that way forever, Spidey.” Vista's voice was grave, “Independents usually do pretty good at the start, but once you start making a name for yourself, people are gonna start gunning for you in one way or another. You'll be worse off if you don't have anyone to turn to.”
“I’m not completely alone. I've already teamed up with other heroes and I'd say I'm doing pretty good so far.” Taylor said, thinking of Emma and even Shadow Stalker, wherever the girl was now. Not to mention…
She glanced over at Glory Girl who was gesturing intensely to Gallant, saying something that she couldn't hear from this distance. They'd already teamed up a few times and unlike Shadow Stalker, Taylor didn't really see a reason that might end any time soon. Working with the blonde was pretty fun.
Though it seemed like Glory Girl wasn't having a very good time right now. Whatever she and Gallant were talking about was clearly getting her heated. Taylor could actually feel Glory Girl's frustration from where she was standing, tingling against her skin like a subtle heat wave.
Taylor watched as Gallant held up a hand, interrupting the girl in the middle of her rant, something that definitely didn't do anything to endear her to him. He stayed that way for a moment, seemingly listening to something inside his helmet, before he nodded his head and put his hands down.
Taylor didn't know what was said next but she did see and feel Glory Girl's emotions turn on a dime, going from annoyed to less annoyed and even slightly hopeful in an instant. They exchanged a couple more words before turning as one back in Taylor's direction, making their way over.
“Good news, guys! We've got a situation at the mall!” Glory Girl said cheerfully as she floated over. Taylor tilted her head as Gallant sighed.
“That's a good thing?” She asked, genuinely perplexed by the blonde's good mood.
“Of course it is!” Glory Girl grinned, slinging a strong arm around Taylor's shoulder, “We were having a lot of fun with just the two of us, Spidey. Imagine the kind of fun we can have with all four of us!”
“Console says there's an issue at the mall. Reports are confusing but it's clearly a parahuman’s power at work.” Gallant explained, “We've been asked to go investigate and deal with it if possible. If not, Miss Militia, Assault, and Aegis are on patrol right now and available for backup.”
“We've actually been given the go-ahead to act on our own?” Vista sounded surprised.
Gallant nodded, “With Glory Girl and Spidey here, we technically have the minimum threshold of heroes to engage. Within reason!” He added on as a large smile grew on Vista's face.
“He's basically saying that they can do what they want unless a B-List villain shows up.” Glory Girl ‘whispered’, floating over Taylor's shoulder, “They aren't allowed to fight anyone who can actually hit back.”
The information, though clearly spoken to make fun, was useful to Taylor and only reinforced her decision not to join the Wards. She couldn't imagine having to wait for approval to help people.
“We aren't full members of the Protectorate, Glory Girl.” Gallant said, ignoring the way his petite companion puffed up indignantly, “Unlike New Wave, we can't go around fighting anyone and everyone just because we feel like it.”
Glory Girl frowned, “We don't do that either. But we also don't sit around waiting for approval to do our jobs and help people.”
“That's not–!” Gallant took a deep breath, “Now’s not the time. We have a situation to deal with so let's go do that.”
“Right. Let's do that.” Glory Girl said tersely. Lifting off the ground and into the air, she turned a look Taylor's way, “I'll see you at the mall. Try and keep up this time.”
“This time?” Taylor sputtered indignantly, “I smoked you during that last race!”
“Only at the start and only because you cheated. Let's see how you do when the shoe’s on the other foot.” Glory Girl stuck her tongue out teasingly as she shot away, flying towards the mall and leaving Taylor behind.
Taylor growled, running towards the edge of the roof.Just before she jumped off, Taylor glanced back at Gallant and Vista WI had watched the whole interaction silently, “By the way, my name's Widow, not Spidey. I don't know why she keeps calling me that.”
Gallant's voice was amused, "I'll mark it in the logs.”
“Please do.”
~~~
“Well that’s certainly something.” Gallant said, perplexment in his voice as they all stared at the sight before them.
Taylor had seen a lot of things in the parking lot of the only mall in Brockton Bay. Flashing police lights, bonfires, tents, even traveling circuses back when those were even still a thing and not just a vague memory in the back of people’s minds. As she landed on a building overlooking the parking lot however, she was met with a sight that could only come from one’s wildest dreams. Or any nightmares involving geometry.
“It’s… a cube?” Glory Girl said as they all stared at the large cordoned off area in the middle of the parking lot. Sitting in the middle of a crowd of cops and civilians, planted on the concrete like it had always been there, was a huge black cube. It was absolutely massive, bigger than Taylor’s house by far, and static periodically flashed over the smooth black surface, like a television screen that was on the fritz.
“A big one. Who could have done this?” Taylor asked, wracking her mind for any capes in the city who could be responsible for such a display. Beside her, Gallant shifted, his armor clinking against itself as he stepped forward.
“I think I know, but I hope I’m wrong. I’m not really in the mood to deal with those two today.” His voice was exasperated, like an exhausted parent dealing with a misbehaving child who wouldn’t let them get any sleep. He turned to Vista, “Lower us down by the barricade. I need to speak with the chief.”
Vista nodded and twisted her hands like she was trying to solve a rubix cube. The air in front of her twisted, light and space distorted in a way that made Taylor’s head hurt to look at this close up. Gallant waited for the shift to stop before walking through, followed quickly by the girl herself moments before the world snapped back into place, leaving Taylor and Glory Girl alone on the rooftop.
Now that the world wasn’t bent like something out of a surrealist painting, Taylor could see the pair had reappeared right in front of the police line. Gallant was already talking to presumably the one in charge, a portly man who filled out his uniform a bit better than most. Taylor and Glory Girl watched from a distance before the blonde turned to her, jabbing a thumb at the object of everyone’s interest, “While they’re dealing with the boring part, I’m gonna go check that thing out. Wanna come with?”
“Shouldn’t we wait? It could be dangerous.” Taylor said, eying the massive cube. Glory Girl waved her off, floating up into the air.
“Nah, it’ll be fine. I’m pretty sure I know who this is and they’re… not really that dangerous. Annoying at best, really.”
She knew who it was? Taylor had been wracking her mind this entire time trying to think about who this could possibly be. No villains or even heroes had powers that could make a two story tall cube that looked and acted like a giant, broken TV screen?
“Come on. Let’s go get a closer look.” Glory Girl stepped off the roof and floated down towards the cube. Taylor hesitated for a moment, weighing the pros and cons of messing with the possibly dangerous object before them. Though Glory Girl said it wasn’t dangerous, Taylor wasn’t so sure. Something about that thing, looming over the crowd like a monolithic, obsidian obelisk, gave her the heebie-jeebies.
“Come on!” Glory Girl stopped a small distance away, floating in the air with her hands on her hips as she noticed Taylor wasn’t following. “What’s wrong? Are you a spider or a chicken?”
The literal preschool insult fell upon Taylor like a splash of cold water and her eyes narrowed underneath her mask, insulted to the core that someone could even think to call her something like that. She couldn't believe she thought Glory Girl was her friend.
Taylor didn't really care, of course, but the other girl's words did their job of getting her off of the roof and into the air. She swung down towards the cube quickly followed by her companion who soon overtook her, and together they came to a stop just before the looming cube, taking in its smooth black surface.
Nobody tried to stop Taylor as she walked up to the cube alongside Glory Girl, not even the officers who were the crowd away from the strange object. Maybe they saw Taylor with Glory Girl and assumed she was supposed to be here or something.
“It’s just one giant screen.” Glory Girl said as Taylor siddled up beside her.
Taylor looked up at the cast expanse of black before her and found that she was right. The flickering static that flashed across the face of the cube was just that, television static. It made Taylor's hair stand on end and her face feel fuzzy. Her danger sense was definitely picking up on something now that she was this close, which was why when Glory Girl reached forward to touch the screen, Taylor's hand automatically reached out and latched around the girl's wrist before she could make contact.
“That's probably not a good idea.” Taylor said as Glory Girl glanced at her in confusion, “I've got a feeling that if you touch that thing, we're gonna be in trouble.”
Unable to feel what Taylor was feeling, Glory Girl raised an eyebrow at her hesitation, “Oh come on, Spidey, where's your sense of adventure?”
“Around five feet behind us behind the yellow police tape.” Taylor said tersely, the tingling in the back of her head making her a bit tense, “A look is fine with me but I really don't want to touch that thing until we know what it does.”
Glory Girl's lips turned down in displeasure, “Wow, I didn't think you were that much of a wimp. It's just a little touch, what's the worst that could happen?”/
While Taylor was struck stunned with disbelief that she had actually asked that, Glory Girl's hand moved forward that last inch and made contact with the black cube. Taylor's danger sense rang like a siren in the back of her head and she reached up with her other hand and latched onto her companion’s shoulder, preparing to launch them both backwards, but the moment that she laid fingers up on the blonde's costume, she froze, struck stuff by an inexplicable force. Blinding white light consumed her vision as the cube lit up like a light bulb, moments before that same force pulled them both inside.
Colors blurred through Taylor’s vision, a tunnel of LED lights burning her retinas and causing her to slam her eyes shut for fear of damaging them. She could still see the lights play out behind her eyelids though, and could feel her body shifting as she was pulled onto the black cube alongside Glory Girl.
And then, just as quickly as it started, it was over, and the two heroines were spat out of the whirling vortex of color and noise into a place much different than the one they just left.
Desolate, craggy landscape surrounded them in every direction, covered in low-hanging, dark clouds of impenetrable smog that flashed periodically with lightning caused by the heat and static within. Glowing rivers of lava painted the world a dismal red, the magma one of the only sources of light in whatever hellish place they had suddenly found themselves in. It was the type of place that brought to mind the very essence of suffering with a mere glance.
The piece de resistance, and the only thing really worth looking at if you didn't want to view the soul crushing scenery, was the massive castle looming directly in front of the heroines. It rose high into the air, made of dark stone and iron spikes that jutted out in defiance of any airborne creature they could possibly live here. It seemed like it was pulled straight out of a fantasy novel. The kind where none of the heroes actually live to see the ending.
Feeling off, Taylor looked down at her clothes, finding that her usual jacket and pants had been replaced with dark leather armor that was thick enough to stop a blade. What it didn't cover was instead occupied by thick cloth, and two wicked looking daggers were hilted on her hips, slung through two holsters made of the same material as her armor.
A quick glance at her wrists showed that she still had her web shooters, which was good, and her hood had been replaced with a similar one made from leather as well. Her goggles were missing though, and her mask had been replaced with a bandana that was much harder to breathe through.
As she pulled against the fabric that was constricting her airflow, a frustrated growl made her look to her left, and she paused at what she saw.
Whatever changed her clothes had similarly affected her friend. Glory Girl's usual white dress and cape combo had been replaced with a full suit of medieval armor. Shining silver engraved with gold caught every light around them as the blonde stared at her attired with irritation.
A long, gleaming sword was slung at her hip and an ocean blue cape fell around her shoulders in a similar fashion to her previous one. There was a symbol on it in silver, some sort of crest, but it didn't mean anything to Taylor.
Glory Girl also still had her tiara for some reason. Taylor had to admit, it brought the outfit together. Really gave off princess warrior vibes which she was pretty sure was the whole point of the thing in the first place.
“ABANDON ALL HOPE, YE DOOMED SOULS WHO HAVE ANSWERED THE CALL!”
Taylor and Glory Girl jumped as a booming voice came from all around them, leaping out of every crevice to address them. It was dark and sinister but there was an almost fake quality to it that definitely lessened the intimidation factor. As Taylor looked around for the source of the voice, Glory Girl let out a groan that rang almost as loud.
“Oh no, I was right. It's them.” She said, annoyance pulsing outwards from her in literal waves. It made Taylor's hackles raise and she looked over at her, preparing to ask who ‘them’ was, when the voice burst forth again.
“PALADIN OF LIGHT, AND AGENT OF DARKNESS! FATE HAS CHOSEN THEE AND THOU HAST ANSWERED! DOST THEE HAVE THE METTLE TO SUCCEED WHERE ALL BEFORE YOU HAVE FAILED?”
Glory Girl flew upwards, wobbling as her armor clanked around her limbs. She looked around at the smog surrounding them, her expression blazing with anger and annoyance, “Uber! Or is that Leet!? Either way, if you don't get us out of here right now, I am going to shove my foot up YOUR AS–!”
“YOUR JOURNEY BEGINS!” The voice loudly cut her off in a slightly panicked tone, making her flinch back, “DO NOT KEEP THE KING OF DARKNESS WAITING, OR YOU MAY FIND YOURSELF WITH A NASTY SURPRISE TO CONTEND WITH!”
The twisted gates in front of them opened with a droning creak, revealing the castle's cavernous interior. Torches burned to life, lining a long hallway and clearly directing them inside.
Glory Girl floated back down, huffing as the voice disappeared. She looked just short of stomping her feet as she turned to Taylor. “Argh! I hate those two! Any time they show up it's always some sort of ordeal.”
“You know this never would have happened if you didn't touch the cube. You know, like I told you." Taylor said, earning herself a nasty look from the blonde heroine. A spike of something more uncomfortable than mere annoyance slid across Taylor's skin, making her tense up again, but after a moment, Glory Girl’s shoulders slumped and the feeling disappeared.
As Taylor slowly relaxed, Glory Girl grabbed the sword at her hip, unsheathing it with the rasp of metal sliding against leather.
“Might as well smile. You're on camera until we get out of here.” She grumbled as she trudged past Taylor, dragging her weapon behind her.
Taylor looked around for any hidden surveillance equipment before shrugging and following after her. She knew about Uber and Leet: the resident jokes of Brockton Bay. Minor villains at best and general nuisances at worst, Glory Girl wasn't wrong when she said they weren't really dangerous. As long as they played along, things should be fine.
Besides, it might even be fun. Taylor always wanted to play Dungeons and Dragons.