Sacrifice(Worm SI Fanfic) (2024)

"You should have worn a suit."

"We are going to my friend's house for dinner, not a gala. I'm wearing my nice sneakers. I've done more than enough."

"You should have combed your hair."

"My hair is fine, Grandfather."

"You look like a bum."

"Grandfather, are we seriously doing this again?"

"You need to make a good impression on her father, and you need to make sure that they do not think we are ruffians."

"We brought them warm sake! That is literally the most gentlemanly thing we could do! This cost a hundred bucks!"

"We should have sprung for a cake."

"The sake was

"As a gift for the father. You should have thought of a gift for both of them."

"Oh my god, you're so annoying,"

The two of them were walking to Taylor's house, ready for the dinner she had planned. Idris was dressed normally, whilst his grandfather was wearing a three-piece suit like he was going to a wedding. No matter how much Idris had begged, the man had refused to change, wanting to make a good impression.

"Watch out for the third step, I think. It's supposed to be rotten."

"They can't afford to fix a broken step?" his grandfather asked, an eyebrow raised.

"We don't know their situation, so we can't talk. And you're acting like we've fixed the crack in the living room wall."

"That is different! That is too expensive to fix! I will find time to fix it myself!"

"You've been saying that for three years. I might as well fix the damned thing myself."

"Do it then! You need to learn how to fix things anyway!"

Idris gave a non-commital nod and then knocked on the door. The Hebert's house actually looked really nice, especially for the area they were living in, and aside from the rotten step, the house looked fine. A little worn, yeah, but nothing a good coat of paint couldn't fix.

A few seconds later, the door opened, and to Idris' surprise, he found himself looking up at someone.

"Hello," said Danny Hebert. In canon, Danny had been described as a tall, thin, balding man with dark hair, large green eyes, glasses, and a weak chin.

Whoever said that was a f*cking liar.

Danny wasn't stupid buff, but one glance at his physique told you that before he'd become head of hiring, he'd been a dockworker. He had a sleeper's build, muscle that wasn't really visible unless he used it. He had a bit of a gut, but nothing outrageous. His green eyes were piercing as they locked in on Idris and his grandfather, and whilst he guessed the man had a weak chin, he didn't think it mattered much. Danny Hebert looked like someone who could knock you out in one hit.

Idris could respect that.

"You must be the esteemed Idris," Danny said, a small smile appearing on his face. "Taylor's been talking about you for months."

Even though it was something to be expected, Idris couldn't help the way that his cheeks warmed at that. It made sense: he was her only friend, the only person to treat her like a human being at high school ever since she started going to Winslow but he couldn't help the pink blush that spread across his cheeks.

"Hello! Nice to meet you! We bring sake!" his grandfather said jovially, his accent thick and his English broken. "Beautiful house you have, very nice!"

"Oh, thank you!" Danny said, turning to his grandfather. "And you must be the grandfather. It's nice to meet you as well. Please, come in."

Idris was thankful for that. Even with an enhanced physiology, the chill of the wind was starting to make him shiver. It hadn't snowed yet, but it was only a matter of time. How his grandfather stood there, seemingly unbothered by the chill, he did not know. Now that he thought of it, the old man never complained about the temperature, whether it was broiling hot or freezing cold.

The inside of Taylor's house was thankfully warm, and just as nice as nice as the outside. It was very cozy, with big, worn couches with comfortable-looking cushions, a nice black rug in the living room, with one of those televisions that looked like an old school computer monitor, with the Nightmare Before Christmas playing, the volume low. There was a dinky little tree in the corner, with an almost ridiculous amount of tinsel and baubles covering it, damn near drowning the little thing, but aside from that, there were no other Christmas decorations. A soft, sultry voice sang a Christmas carol from the kitchen, and the smell of rich meat and cheese was heavy in the air. It was different from what he was used to, as he'd been Japanese in both lives, but it felt comfortable and nice.

Like home.

"Idris, you made it!" called a familiar voice from the kitchen.

He turned with a smile to Taylor… and froze.

Taylor was wearing a long-sleeved black shirt, navy blue jeans, and white socks as she set down a foil pan of lasagna next to a tray of garlic bread, the cheese still bubbling on the surface.

The clothes were normal; it was just the fact that they fit Taylor perfectly. Taylor usually wore baggy, dull clothes that made it hard for her to stand out in a crowd, so he never actually saw her curves.

But he could certainly see them now. Yeah, she might not be Emma, but Taylor had nothing to be ashamed of. Canon Taylor's self-esteem must've really been in the gutter if she thought she looked ugly. Then again, this probably wasn't Canon Worm, so maybe his Taylor was prettier than the original.

Wait, his Taylor? When had he started thinking of her as 'his?'

He was brought out of his thoughts as he found himself engulfed in a hug, Taylor's soft hair tickling his nose, a subtle scent enemating from her. Was…was Taylor wearing perfume?

Damn, she is soft…

"Did you find the place okay?" Taylor asked as she moved back. Not enough to leave his arms, but enough that she could look up at him. The cute little smile she aimed up at him made his cheeks burn even more. "It's a bit hard to find the house at night, especially if you haven't been here before."

"Oh. uh, no, we didn't have any problem with it," Idris said as he regained his composure. What the hell was wrong with him tonight?

"You look great, by the way," he added.

Danny cleared his throat loudly, and with a little jump, Taylor moved back from his embrace.

"Oh, right. Uh, thank you. Anyway, you came just in time: dinner ready! We can all just sit down now, and I'll serve everyone."

"Sounds good."

************************************************************************

"This is too rich."

"That's what the garlic bread is for; to cut the richness."

"So they can afford to buy this much cheese and meat, but can't fix their own step?"

"We can afford this too! You just don't know how to cook anything that doesn't involve rice!"

"I am going to be on the toilet all night because of this."

"Oh my-you're not even lactose intolerant! Let me eat in peace, please! You can whine when we get home!"

"Huh?"

He looked up from his whispered conversation with his grandfather, only to see the two Hebert looking at them across the table: Danny with some mirth in his eyes, and Taylor with worry in hers.

"Everything alright?" Taylor asked, a hint of nervousness entering her voice.

"Oh yeah, he's just complementing the food," Idris lied without hesitation. "We don't often eat meals like this at home, he's wondering what the recipe is."

"Oh, it's not that hard, actually," the girl replied, her face brightening. "It's my mom's recipe, I've been able to make it since I was twelve."

"You make this?" Grandfather asked, gesturing to his plate.

"Yeah, I do a lot of the cooking in the house. Dad's alright, but he's usually too busy to make anything," Taylor said.

He hadn't noticed it before, but there was another different thing about Taylor; she was relaxed. When they were in Winslow, she was always full of this nervous energy, and always looked like she was ready to bolt. Not here, though. Here, she was joking, and laughing freely, and for once, it looked like she was actually comfortable in her own skin. And why shouldn't she? This was her house; her safe place from the world, where she could be as quiet or as loud as she wanted, without anyone judging her. It was probably the same(or close enough to) reason why she had refused to bring the topic of bullying to her house in canon. She didn't want it to infest every part of her life.

And here, it hadn't.

Grandfather nodded slowly, a pensive look on his face as he took a bite of lasagna.

"Nice choice. I loved your mother, but she couldn't cook for sh*t unless it involved rice."

Idris stared at his grandfather in shock. "Um, what?"

"I'm just saying, I don't mind eating heavy foods like this. I've needed to put on a few pounds anyway."

"You two-faced son of a-"

"So, where do you live, Idris?" Danny said, smoothly interrupting him. "I hope we didn't make you drive too far."

"Um, we live on Norton Drive, actually. We're only about twenty-five minutes from here."

"Norton Drive," Danny said, rubbing his chin. "It's been a while since I've been there, but that's in ABB territory, right?"

Danny's tone hadn't changed, and yet, the air felt…tenser, for some reason.

"Dad," Taylor said in a warning tone.

"It's just a question, Taylor, nothing serious," Danny said. And yet Idris felt that the man was lying. Danny was probing for something.

"Yeah, it's no problem, Taylor. And you're not wrong sir, we live smack dab in the middle of ABB territory."

"You guys have any problems with the gangs?"

"No, not really. One of Oni Lee's resting spots-the empty apartments that he takes naps in between fights-is only a couple blocks away, so we don't have to deal with the other gangs like the Sons of Yang or the Black Monsoons."

Danny nodded and took a bite of the lasagna. After he swallowed, he asked.

"And what of the ABB itself?"

"We don't have problems with them. We pay protection money every month, always on time," Idris explained. "We're actually lucky in the sense that the protection money is actually useful In other places in ABB territory. No one dares makes trouble where Oni Lee sleeps."

Danny nodded absently, and the tension that had filled the room suddenly disappeared.

"So, how's school treating the both of you?"

Taylor choked on her garlic bread.

"A-actually Dad, I was thinking Idris and I could go for a walk around the neighborhood, while you and Mr. Takafumi get to know each other. C'mon Idris, let's go."

Danny looked at her, perplexed. "We're still having dinner…"

"We'll finish up when we get back. See ya!"

*************************************************************************

For a good minute, the two of them just walked together, hand in hand, the street lights illuminating their path. They didn't want to go too far from the house, just enough that they could get some privacy. Taylor was wearing a very bulky winter coat that he assumed belonged to Danny, whilst he regretted just wearing a denim jacket for dinner, despite his grandfather's comments about dressing to impress.

"...you haven't told your dad about the bullying," Idris said finally.

"...no, I haven't," Taylor replied. "I just…he has a lot on his plate. He's trying to get the ferry proposition through, he's getting work for the Dockworkers, and he's dealing with all the little problems that come along in administration. Telling him about petty little acts of bullying, just seemed useless. And what could he really do? Ask the school to stop it. The same school that called me a compulsive liar and threatened to put a black mark on my record if I kept 'falsely accusing,' the Trio? They'd just give him empty platitudes, and then the three Wicked Bitches of the West would be on my ass for snitching."

That actually coaxed a laugh from him. "The Three Wicked Bitches of the West? Where'd you get that?"

She shot him a coy smile. "You gave me the idea. I can't remember exactly when it happened, but Emma said something to me in class, asking what book we were reading for the assignment, but she was saying it in this really nasty tone, and I could tell that there was a punchline coming(about me, obviously), and then you cut in and said we were reading, 'The Lion, the Witch, and the Audacity of this Bitch'. After that, I knew I had to make something just as funny."

Oh yeah, he did remember that. It was an old meme from his world, but when he'd said it to Emma, the whole class had burst out laughing. (Honestly, Idris was more surprised that the entire class knew what book he was talking about. Winslow wasn't exactly the kind of place that encouraged reading.) Emma had turned so red that she'd looked like a tomato, and had stomped out of class looking pissed.

Good times.

"Have you ever thought about what to do after High School?" Taylor asked suddenly.

OIdris blinked. After high school? He…he'd never thought that far. The only things in his mind pertaining to the future were the gangs, the Endbringers, Jack, Cauldron, and Scion. He'd never thought about stuff like College or a job.

"I'll probably get a job online," he said truthfully. With his Healing Springs power, he could sell bottles of healing water to whoever he wanted, and by using his Crystal Flames power, he could put the water in stasis, leaving the water inert until the crystal was removed. He could probably go for at least a hundred dollars a bottle if he wanted to be generous, and even a thousand if he wanted to be greedy. Not a lot of people would disagree with either price, considering the product. Add in the anonymity of the Internet

"Yeah, I figure that's a good idea," Taylor agreed. "If you're good with computers, you probably have a decent career ahead of you. I…don't really know what to do. I'd like to go to College, yeah, but that's because it's what my mom would've wanted for me. But besides getting an Associate in General Education, I'm not really sure what to do. I could be a teacher, like my mom, but after everything I've seen kids do, I'm not sure how comfortable I'd be in that environment. I'm sure if I ask my dad, there'll be a job for me in DWA lined up for me, but I don't think that's what I want to do with the rest of my life. I also really don't…care too much about Brockton, if I'm being honest. This is the city where my mom died, where my best friend betrayed me, and where everything went downhill for me. I never saw the glory days, like my dad did. I don't know what this city was like at its best. For me, this place has always been a prison. I don't even know if I want to stay here."

Idris shouldn't have been surprised as he was. After triggering, Canon Taylor had always had some great, overarching goal of some sort. First, it was becoming a hero, then it was turning in the Undersiders, then it was saving Dinah, and after that it was killing Coil, Killing Jack, joining the Heroes, and saving the world. She'd always had a goalpost to reach, a summit to climb. His Taylor didn't have that.

And for some reason, he decided to give her one.

"Why not go for President?" he joked.

She stared at him in bemusem*nt. "...what?"

"Aim for President. A lot of problems in the States could be fixed if we had competent leadership who made life easier for parahumans and normals to coexist. Get rid of the bill that stops parahumans from selling their own stuff. Find some way to interject Tinkertech into our militaries. Give schools better funding and make sure that anti-bullying campaigns are successful. Find a way to make the world stop sucking so much. The US is still a major superpower in the world because we haven't completely destabilized as parahumans grew in number. There's a lot of good we could do if we got our sh*t together."

He sort of meant it as a joke. It seemed like such a ridiculous goal, especially in Worm. Wanting to be president, especially with the deadline that the world was (unknowingly) under. Not to mention the absolute slog that a girl from Brockton with a 1.9 GPA, no extraordinary skills, and who hadn't even finished high school.

If he had just been a bit more observant, he would have seen her spine straighten, and a gleam enter her eyes.

"Yeah…yeah, there is that," she said, her voice trailing off.

Then she turned to him. "You know, I never really got to thank you."

"For what?"

A small smile came across her face. "Y'know…everything. It took me a while to realize this, but the real reason I never said anything back to Emma when she went after me wasn't because I wanted to be the bigger person; it was because I was hoping that one day, she might apologize, and I might get my sister back, and I didn't want to do anything to possibly jeopardize it. I didn't want to hurt her, because I still loved her. But now…I don't really…care about Emma, anymore. I don't care about her opinion, I don't care about what she says, I'm not even sure if I'd care if something happened to her. I don't hate her, I just feel…nothing. And I don't know if that's good or bad. I just know I don't want her in my life anymore.

"But I do want to ask you something; why me? I'm not the only kid that gets bullied at Winslow, and I know you don't intervene when it comes to other people. That's what I thought you were, at first; a crusader who tried to fight bullies and make things right. But you didn't. If it didn't concern you, you didn't care...unless it was. I'm not going to judge you, because I chose to step aside too, and I never made a fuss about it; I was too concerned about myself and hiding from the Trio, and I was glad that someone was finally taking my side. I just...I wanna know why you chose to help me. What made me so special, out of all the other people at Winslow that you could have helped? Why me"

As he looked at her, he wondered if he should lie, and just say it was chance, that it could have been anyone. But that wouldn't be true. He did it so that Taylor wouldn't make enemies of the heroes. He did it so Taylor wouldn't get her nerves destroyed by Bakuda. He did it so Taylor didn't have to fight gang members like Hookwolf and Lung.

He did it so Taylor didn't have to suffer. So that she could actually live, and be content with her life.

"Is it so hard to believe that you're worth saving?" he asked, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "Is it so hard to believe that I saw someone worth protecting when I looked at you? I didn't want to do a bullying crusade; I wasn't out to save the little guy. I decided to be selfish. I decided to intervene with one case personally, and I chose you because I just wanted to see you happy."

It's the least I could do, after you died, broken, saving the world.

All those orphans Skitter had protected, all those civilians Weaver had saved, all the teammates that she'd had, and in the end, she'd died alone, not even sure of who or what she was.

But he couldn't tell her that, of course. He couldn't tell her that he'd interfered in her destiny and changed it so irrevocably. He couldn't tell her how the world owed her a debt, even as they had condemned her. He couldn't tell her that he'd possibly doomed the world just so that one lone girl could find a measure of happiness in a dying world.

He wasn't sure if he got the entire message across, but judging by how seconds later his arms were full of a teary teenage girl burrowing her face in his chest, muttering whispered words of thanks, he had done a decent job of it.

**********************************************************************

By the time they got to the house, his nose and fingers were hurting, and Taylor's sniffles had started to become concerning. He was actually hoping to sit inside the warm house and get some feeling back into his body before they had to leave again. The heater in their car was broken, and his Grandfather refused to have it replaced.

And yet, he's getting on the Heberts for not fixing their damn step.

But Fate had other plans, becuase Danny Hebert was standing on the porch, his arms crossed as he looked at them walk towards him.

"Dad? Is something wrong?" Taylor asked as they got closer.

The burly(seriously, how did anyone look at this man and consider him a beanpole?) man shook his head.

"No, nothing's wrong. I just wanted to talk to your friend for a little bit. He's not in trouble, it's just guy talk," Danny clarified. "If you want, you can pack some of the food so that they can take it with them."

Taylor gave her father a look, then turned to Idris, and pulled him into a hug.

"This was nice," she whispered into his ear. "Come back soon, okay? Even if he scares you."

Then she was gone, leaving Idris with a six-foot tall dockworker who had seen him get handsy with his daughter all night. Awesome.

At least there wasn't a shotgun.

"First of all, Idris, I'd like to apologize for the little interrogation back there," Danny said. "I understand if that made you feel uncomfortable, but I just wanted to check something."

"Uh, sure," he said, putting his numb hands in his pockets. "I didn't really mind, but what was that about, anyway?"

"Oh, I just wanted to make sure my daughter's newest friend wasn't a gangb*nger."

That…was actually a valid concern, especially in a city like Brockton.

"How would those questions prove that I'm not in a gang?"

"Well, I know you're not ABB, because an actual ABB member would have never mentioned anything about where Oni Lee sleeps, especially to a man who lives on the outskirts of Empire Territory."

Huh. That was a good point, wasn't it?

"I also wanted to see if your grandfather would answer for you, or try to correct you. It's not uncommon for the ABB to have elder members accompany younger members outside of ABB territory, and refer to them as family, so if you were a gang member, he would have made sure that you didn't say anything incriminating, or at least watched you make sure that you didn't end up revealing something negative about yourselves. Instead, he barely paid attention to our conversations, unless it was to complain about my house or my daughter's cooking."

He actually didn't know that. That was another tidbit of information the book had neglected to mention.

"And finally, I already knew where you lived."

That also made-wait, what?

Danny stared at him impassively. "A few days ago, an old family friend called me and said he was concerned about Taylor. That his daughter told him my kid was hanging around gangb*ngers, assaulting students, and generally making a nuisance of herself. He called me to make sure I didn't let Taylor veer off the right path. "

Emma. he had to give it to her, she certainly was devious; this was the kind of thing that would have blindsided him. There'd been an unwritten rule at Winslow to keep things between the students and to leave parents and teachers out of their affairs. Now that she had officially breached it first, he would have no problem sending out those pictures and videos to her parents.

"So, I called a couple of guys that live in the ABB part of town," Danny continued. "And I asked to find out everything they could about an Idris Takafumi. With such a distinct name, I had all the info I needed about you within two days. People said that you were quiet and lonely, but that you took care of your grandfather, and never even looked in the ABB's direction. You could be a wannabe, of course, but I saw none of that tonight. And you didn't lie about anything tonight, so…I trust you with my daughter. And I'm happy for the two of you."

"Thank you, sir," he said honestly. He'd been worried that Danny would make him stop being friends with Taylor(though he kind of doubted that Taylor would listen). "I…I care about Taylor, a lot. I'd never do anything to hurt her, or put her in danger."

Danny gave him a soft smile and put his hand on his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Thank you. And I know you will. Because if you don't, no one will ever find you again."

Did…did Danny just…with a straight face-

"Idris!" his grandfather boomed as he came through the door, two plastic containers almost building with lasagna in his arms. "Ready to go home?"

"Uh, y-yeah, Grandfather," he stammered, moving away from Danny. It was interesting; he could probably give Alexandria a run for her money, but the thought of Danny coming after him because Taylor was hurt legitimately left a shiver up his spine, and not from the cold. 'I'll help you with that."

"Thank you for coming here tonight," Danny said, giving his grandfather a little bow. "And thank you for the alcohol. I think I'll enjoy that more than Taylor will tonight, though."

"You welcome, you welcome! Enjoy for both of us!"

"I will, but before you go…"

A devilish smile crossed Danny's face, and to the Takafumi's shock, Danny began to speak Japanese.

"Next time, Honored Elder, be a little less judgmental of other people's homes," the man said in halting Japanese. " You never know who might be listening."

Grandfather's face was turning red.

"You-you can speak-and you heard-!"

"Twenty-six years in this city, and you think I wouldn't have picked something up? That'd just be embarrassing," Danny said with a sh*t-eating grin, laughing at Grandfather's sputtered apologies.

Idris liked this version of Danny a lot.

The dinner had actually been really nice, and he would be looking forward to coming here more often.

Though, since all the fun had been had, it was now time for work.

And that meant dealing with a problem that needed to be taken care of immediately.

*********************************************************************

Something was wrong.

Thomas Calvert had apparently been missing from work for two weeks now. And not just mean from his work as a PRT consultant. The company he owned hadn't heard from him in the same time span. A quick teleport to the Calvert family home(which was covered in a fine layer of dust) made him realize that Coil probably hadn't been there either.

So, what was he doing in his Coil persona that needed an entire two weeks of complete division from his civilian persona? Something this blatant couldn't be ignored; the PRT hadn't exactly stated that he was missing, but they were sending plainclothes officers to search all the places where they knew he frequented. To them, Thomas Calvert was a hard-working PRT employee that had mysteriously gone missing, and in a city where people like Victor existed, they needed to find him soon.

But to Idris, who knew him as Coil, there was only one reason in his mind why Coil would go off the radar for two weeks.

He was preparing for Noelle.

What else could it be? Noelle would be one of the only things that needed the full attention of two timelines, what with her hunger and her out-of-control power. He knew the Travelers were a thing here. An article had recently implicated them with the disappearance of dozens of homeless people in New York not too long ago, and Perdition, their time traveler, had also gone missing. They hadn't been seen since. So naturally, it had to be Noelle that had made Coil go under the radar.

But the only question he had was…why? Why had Coil suddenly decided to bring them in? In canon, the Travelers had only shown up during Bakuda's bombing campaign, but at this point in time, the Locker event hadn't even happened yet!

And yet…ever since he'd woken up in this world, he'd noticed that things were different than what he remembered. Events that had never happened in Worm transpired here, like Halogen's existence and Legend's interference. Some villains, like Uber and Leet, were actually renowned heroes here. Power descriptions of capes were different, which was something that he definitely had to check out if they were.

This wasn't canon. This couldn't be canon. This was some kind of altered version of it, an alternate world with the same names and faces, but shifted enough that you could tell the difference. But that didn't mean that his information was necessarily wrong; the baseline of certain facts still remained the same; There were three Endbringers that attacked every three months. Cauldron, in one form or another, still existed. Villains still outnumbered the heroes two to one.

And Coil needed to be taken down.

It had taken him a while to find Coil's hideout, but a tracking device modified by his technopathy power, a quick brush up against one of Coil's mercenaries whilst they were out getting food at a restaurant, and a quick scouting mission had led him to the bare bones of a construction sight, where the skeleton of what would become a high rise loomed overhead. He remembered from the book about the hatch surrounded by the rim of concrete, locked with one of those so-called Alexandria strength locks.

In response, he activated his Electric Armor.

A small gasp left his mouth as the scent of ozone filled the air, his body filled with energy, and he could suddenly feel on a level that he didn't think was possible. Sparks of electricity flowed around him, and a faint blue aura covered him from head to toe.

Like Armor.

He had barely tested the strength of this power, never really needing it before, but he thought he had a handle on it.

That was before he grabbed the lock and gave it, in his opinion, a gentle tug.

It shattered like so many pieces of glass, and he could see the remnants floating over his skin, repelled by his aura.

"I gotta be careful with this," he said to himself. "If I actually punched someone like this…"

Going down the dark stairway, his Lightning Armor providing light, he passed through a door with metal bars, and then traveled down a long hallway. The room at the end of the hall was small, with one other door and a small surveillance camera in one corner. The door he faced had no handle.

He was here.

Idris gave a cheeky little wave to the camera, then stepped to the door. His fingers sunk into it with ease, and with a quick tug, he tore it off its hinges. He had considered just punching through the door, but if anyone was standing on the other side, they'd be squished.

And he was right to do this because as soon as the door was removed, he found himself staring down at the barrel of a laser rifle. Or, at least, what he assumed was a laser rifle. It looked like one of those military-style sniper rifles but with a barrel on top where the scope should be.

"FREEZE!" the merc screamed. "Hands up, turn around and surr-"

Underneath his mask, he smiled and moved.
Things began to slow down. The man's voice instantly became ridiculously deep and slow, and with the utmost gentleness, he grabbed the laser rifle and shattered it with a squeeze.

Jesus, he was overpowered.

Behind the man, was the interior of the sub-basem*nt which consisted of two tiers with walls of poured concrete. The upper level he stood on was an arrangement of metal walkways that extended around the room's perimeter. Crates and boxes filled the level below, and Idris could see about thirty of Coil's people down there, all of them aiming their guns up at him. About two more were on the metal walkway, their arms slowly bringing their rifles up to eyesight.

Now, how to take them all out safely?

**************************************************************************

Roger Brickhause had been a mercenary for ten years. He used to be a member of the PRT Strike Forces before he had been fired for roughing up a villain that had been in containment. He'd soon found himself working for Coil, following the man's orders, and getting paid far more than he'd ever gotten as a law-abiding citizen. There were two main reasons why Roger had decided to trust Coil; One, Coil let them do anything they wanted to a parahuman they caught unless they were needed for something important. And Roger got to do a lot worse to the capes he caught than just kicking them in the ribs for blinding his best friend. The second was his power. Coil always seemed to know the best move to make, the right course of action to follow. Nearly every engagement they'd had been a success, and that kind of safety blanket had made him feel invincible.

Until now, when Coil was responding to any of their calls, a hostile cape had just broken through their defenses.

He yelled at them to surrender, to give up their weapons as he put on a face of aggression. Inside, he was sweating. No one was supposed to know about the base. No one was supposed to know about Coil. How had things gone so wrong? He raised his rifle, ready to blast a hole in the intruder, some kid wearing a Battery hoody and an Eidolon toy mask-

When his rifle shattered, and the kid was suddenly in front of him, the smell of ozone was thick and heavy as some kind of electrical forcefield around him blared with menace.

There was suddenly a pop sound, and he stared, stunned, as the boy seemed to quickly vanish, sucked into some unseen point in space until he was gone. All of this had happened in less than a second.

Cries of shock from below the walkway, accompanied by another pop, told him where the cape had gone.

He looked down and saw the rest of the squad, bringing their laser rifles up, their fingers on the trigger.

The cape's arm glowed magenta.

He tried to yell out a warning.

It was too late.

A wave of pink flames soared forward, and the cries of what were undoubtedly agony were cut short as they were engulfed by the fierce flames.

Another pop, and suddenly, the cape was in front of him. He put his arms up to guard his face, only to gasp in pain as a solid blow knocked the wind out of him. The aura had disappeared, but it seemed that the boy had plenty of natural strength to go along with it.

He was a trained soldier. He had taken down parahumans before. He was five foot nine but had decent muscle, and was trained in three different kinds of martial arts. He should have dominated a hand-to-hand fight.

Instead, he found himself being schooled.

His defenses were picked apart, and he found himself under an assault of blows.

A fist hit the side of his head. Another went for his sternum. A fearsome blow caught him in the throat. A beautiful kick, worthy of a master, slammed into his ribs. His head was grabbed, and a knee that felt like Zeus himself had crafted it crashed into his nose, making him see white.

Barely a minute had passed

When he came to, he realized that he was lying facedown on the col metal floor, and in the corner of his eyes, he could see the men who had been behind him being dismantled just as easily as he had been.

Trying to regain his breath back in some way, his eyes slid over the catwalk…and he paused.

Where he had expected to see the charred remains of the men who had been engulfed by the pink flames, he instead saw crystal statues of them, with thick shards of pink crystal on the floor, the pattern they were in making it look like…like waves of fire.

That was the last observation he made before a hand grabbed him, turning him onto his back, and a Velocity Brand Sneaker soared at his face.

***************************************************************************

After absolutely destroying the first main group of guards, it had been light work taking down the rest of the goons. There didn't seem to be that many people on base, and all it took was a blast of crimson fire to subdue them. He didn't want to risk hitting one of the mercs and end up killing them. It seemed that with Lightening Armor, even the slightest of movements had a disproportionate amount of force behind them. Even a slight shove could end up blasting a man apart.

Soon, he found himself in front of a black, armored door. Obviously, Coil's office. The place was still unfinished, so it was unlikely that the base had any of the armaments it had in canon, like the supposed bomb that could take out half of Downtown. He was pretty sure that had been installed after Noelle had been moved in.

Then again, the timeline was already f*cky, so it was probably best to proceed with caution.

He ripped the door off its hinges, and with nothing more separating the two of them, he finally met him.

Coil. The Bond Villain. The Big Bad. The Man with a second chance at everything.

Oddly enough, he didn't feel any anger toward Coil, even as he strode forward and, with a simple backhand, destroyed the heavy oak desk the man was cowering behind. He felt detached, even as he grabbed the man by the stuff of his costume, actually lifting him off the ground. This was supposed to be one of the worst human beings in the book, and he felt…nothing. It was almost like a chore, to be honest.

He drew his hand back, his fist releasing sparks of lightning as it glowed fiercely.

"-WAIT! PLEASE, STOP! I'M NOT THE REAL COIL!"

…and slowly lowered it.

"What?" he said softly. "What the f*ck do you mean by that?"

"I'm not the real Coil, I swear! I'm just a body double. He tells me what to do, and what to say via earpiece, and I do it! But he's been gone for weeks now, ad he hasn't communicated with me ever since. I've just been keeping everything going and making sure that the men don't get suspicious! I was never supposed to be in danger! He promised me!"

It was child's play to roughly rip off the mask, but when he did so, he realized that the man was telling the truth. Coil was black, lean, and looked to be lightly muscled in this universe if you checked the website for his construction company. The man underneath the mask was old, wrinkled, and white, with bad teeth and balding hair. He had the same body type as Coil, and he wasn't a decrepit husk, but he highly doubted that this man was Thomas Calvert.

Deactivating his Lightening Armor, and only relying on his enhanced physique, he slammed the man into the wall, hard enough to hear something creak in protest. The body double yelped in pain, and would have fallen to the floor had Idris not been holding him up.

"I'll give you one chance to tell me the truth," Idris said in a low, dangerous voice. "Where. Is. Coil?"

"I-I don't know!" the man said tearfully. "He called me here, about two weeks ago, and said that he owed some people a favor and that he'd be gone for a while. He emailed me all the passwords and Master Stranger Procedures to convince the men that I was him, and I haven't heard from him since! Please, I'll do anything, tell you anything, just please don't kill me!"

The man was still babbling on about Coil and the things he had, but Idris wasn't listening. Instead, his mind was focused on what the man had said.

He owed some people a favor.

It couldn't be them. Cauldron had no reason to take Coil. He was barely a blip on their radar; the only reason they knew about him was that he was a vial cape, and they had figured that he'd be the one to rule Brockton. So why had they taken him early? Was it because he was somehow essential to them? Was Coil actually a Cauldron member here?

Coils' body double was still talking, and Idris was still ignoring him, until something he said registered and rang a bell.

"-and-and if you need info on someone, I can take you to his pet's room, and we can ask her questions-erk!"

The man suddenly found himself choking as Idris' hand clenched around his throat.

"What did you just say?"

**********************************************************

"W-we call her the Pet because that's what Coil calls her," the body double said as he led Idris to the room in question. "All I know is that she's a girl that he snatched from the streets for her Thinker power."

It shouldn't be Dinah. He hadn't been able to check on her, not yet, but the Mayor's niece being kidnapped would have gone in the papers, just like it did last time. Unless…Coil had managed to conceal it somehow. Maybe with an Enchidna clone? But the clones hated everything that the original loved, so any clone made to replace Dinah would be found out in minutes. Unless…unless Echidna clones didn't work like that in this universe. Maybe they just followed whatever Noelle said…

They suddenly stopped at what looked to be a wall, and the double started running his hand across it.

"What is this?"

"The door," the double explained, moving his hand in small, circular motions, almost as if he was cleaning it. "It's sealed in tight so that no noise or light can come through unless the door is open. Coil wanted it like that; called it a deprivation chamber. He said that with no light, sound, or info traveling through, she'd eventually go crazy, and do whatever he said."

Idris frowned underneath his mask. Something about this scenario felt…wrong. There was a piece of the puzzle he was missing.

"You don't use drugs?" He asked tentatively. The double stopped and looked at him like he was crazy.

"Drugs? That'd mess up her power so badly; for her, her powers work like uh, what's that analogy? Oh yeah, garbage in, garbage out! You give her good info, she gives good results. If you give her bad info, you get sh*tty conspiracy theories that belong in a movie. Drugs would have her hallucinate, and we wouldn't know what info she'd be making use of."

Something just… clicked in his mind, when he said that. And Idris realized that before Dinah, there had been another Thinker girl that Coil had kidnapped off the streets and forcibly used her power to his benefit.

But it had never gone this badly for her.

"There it is!" the double said, relieved. A piece of the wall sank in further with a dull thud sound, and the previously unseen door released a hiss before sinking into the ground.

Feeling numb for the second time that evening, Idris walked into the room.

It was completely bare. No bed, no blankets, no sheets. Not even a damn pillow. He didn't doubt that Coil would keep everything in the room at a perfect temperature so she didn't get sick, but this…this was inhumane.

At the end of the room, was a girl.

She wasn't a small preteen brunette who had been kidnapped from her home, waiting for a savior.

She was a thin, almost emaciated blonde with mani green eyes and an unkempt appearance, wearing only a thin purple nightgown as the only thing sparing her modesty.

Lisa Wilbourn looked at him with fear, and cowered at his entry.