There were many places that Lisa Wilbourn would love to be on a Saturday night. Watching a movie, prowling conspiracy forums, messing with Alec; the list went on.
Unfortunately, she wasn't doing any of those things because her boss/kidnapper was an asshole. Instead, she was skulking around a bunch of rusty trains while the ambient humidity stuck her already suffocating costume even tighter to her skin.
Lisa followed behind Brian, pulling at the neck of her costume as she scanned her surroundings. Alec flanked her to the left, and Rachel brought up the rear with two of her dogs. Angelica was a bit under the weather tonight and Rachel was in a mood because of it.
Though, their reason for being there didn't exactly help.
"So why do we need another member again?" Alec asked, his cane striking out at random objects as he passed them by. A clear sign of his boredom.
"Boss's orders," Brian answered ahead. "We need more power on the team, apparently. They're going to be helping us on the tougher jobs."
"Do you even need it? You guys never get caught, right?" Their newest member spoke up uncertainly from Lisa's right. Lisa flashed the girl a grin.
"'You guys?' Did you forget you're one of us now, Skitter?"
Taylor's shoulders bunched together in the way Lisa noticed they tender to do when she was uncertain. Or guilty.
Must be tough, planning to rat your entire friend group out to the boys in blue...
"It never hurts to have options," Brian answered Taylor's question. " And technically, they aren't even part of the team. They're more like an independent mercenary sit by the boss. In other words, they don't get a piece of our cut."
Which was probably the only reason that Rachel wasn't kicking up more of a fuss. It was still clear to see that the girl was unhappy with the whole thing.
They continued through the trainyard, passing between rows of rusted train cars and shipping containers. The moon hung overhead, casting everything in silver light. Lisa found herself glancing at the warehouses that lined the edges of the yard, old brick buildings with broken windows and faded signs.
She wondered why they picked this place out of everywhere. It was out of the way, sure, but not exactly private. People had been here as recently as a few hours ago, Lisa could tell.
But they aren't here now, she noted, eying an empty pile of blankets tucked into a corner of an empty train car. Guess someone drove them out.
Coil, or their mysterious new ally? Lisa couldn't be sure. Either way, terrible place for a meeting.
Brian slowed as they reached a clearing between the tracks, a wide open space that had probably once been used for loading cargo. Lisa could see the faint outlines of old equipment half-buried in the dirt and gravel
"Let's wait here," Brian said, stopping in the center of the clearing. "Boss said they'd find us."
Rachel's dogs shifted restlessly, sniffing the ground and air respectively as the girl crossed her arms. "Better not be waiting long."
Alec immediately sat down, not bothering to put up a front to hide how over this he was. Beside him, Taylor shifted uncertainly on her feet, clearly unsure what she should be doing, before she took a breath and went carefully, almost inhumanly still.
Posture suggests she is focusing on her insects, Lisa's power supplied helpfully. Good. Less chance they'd be caught off guard with their own sentry keeping a lookout.
They waited.
Minutes passed, and Lisa found herself quickly becoming bored. There was only so much she could extrapolate from her surroundings before even her power was spitting the same information back at her. She pulled out her phone, checking the time.
Almost one in the morning exactly. Where in the world was this guy?
Her train of thought was interrupted by a low rumble that seemed to come from everywhere at once. It wasn't loud, exactly, more of a vibration that she felt in her bones than heard with her ears. The gravel at her feet began to shift, dancing in place as the sound grew and grew, quickly taking on some kind of beat.
They all tensed. Brian let out a rope of darkness that quickly grew to surround them, while Bitch's dogs began to bulk up, gaining mass at a rapid pace in preparation for whatever was coming
Brian shifted his stance, darkness beginning to curl around his hands. Alec had stopped poking at debris and was now watching the rooftops with lazy interest. Rachel's dogs growled low in their throats, their ears pinned back.
The sound seemed to be coming from all around them, bouncing off the walls of the abandoned trains and warehouses, trapping them in a cage of sound.
Lisa at first wondered if they were being attacked. Had Coil's new agent decided to snap their leash and get rid of some useful assets, or had the snake decided to cut them loose without a severance package?
But almost as soon as the thought entered Lisa's brain, it was discarded. If Coil wanted them gone, he wouldn't be so showy about it. They'd probably just go to bed one night and never wake up again. Moreover, the sound around them had settled into a peak. It wasn't enough to harm or even disorientate then.
If anything, it was almost like... They were at a concert.
Lisa realized what was happening then, but before she could voice it to the others, Taylor's head snapped up to a nearby rooftop, pointing with one clawed finger. "Up there!"
Lisa's eyes followed Taylor's pointing finger to the rooftop of the warehouse beside them. A figure stood silhouetted against the moon, stationary on the edge of the roof as they stared down at them.
They cut an intimidating figure, Lisa would admit. They were at least six feet tall, clad in gunmetal grey armor accented in glowing blue lines. Their helmet was narrow, with a dark visor that dropped down into a T that stretched a little over halfway down their face, glowing with the same blue light. Two long finds extended from the back of their helmet, looking strikingly like a pair of ears.
Lisa turned her power on full blast for a moment, trying to glean as much as she could from the figure, just to be safe. Posture and height suggests a male, eighteen to twenty-five years. Armor is Tinkertech and brand new; hasn't seen use yet in real combat. The way he's showed up suggests he's confident about his chances if things were to come to a fight. The music—
Lisa cut off her power as she felt the telltale signs she was about to get hit with a migraine, but she was pretty sure she'd gotten enough. This was definitely their guy.
The figure stepped off the roof and landed hard, the concrete beneath his feet cracking and spider-webbing, suggesting the armor weighed more than it let on. The gravel shifted and bounced, and the bass that had been thrumming through the air cut off abruptly, leaving the sudden silence before the ambient noises of the city came back to fill it again.
Birch's dogs growled in warning as the cape ross to their full height. Brian glanced at Lisa, who gave him a nod.
He seemed to relax somewhat at that, straightening from the tense hunch he had undergone when the cape jumped off the roof. Sensing his mood, the others followed suit.
"You our new friend?" Brian called out.
The armored figure straightened from his crouch, rolling his shoulders. The visor swept over each of them in turn, pausing on Taylor a moment longer than the others, before settling on Brian. Lisa filed that away as he spoke.
"What was your first clue?" He said in a heavily distorted voice
Brian didn't react to the sarcasm, finally allowing his darkness to dissipate fully. He crossed his arms over his chest, and Lisa got the impression he was trying to make himself seem bigger than he actually was.
"In the future, try not to scare your teammates on the first meeting," he said. "I'm Grue. This is Tattletale, Regent, Bitch, and Skitter."
Brian paused, clearly expecting the cape to give their own name in turn. He didn't. In fact, he seemed a bit taken aback by something
Lisa's power grabbed the thread. Uncertain posture. Seems surprised and uncomfortable. Not prepared for the question. Doesn't have an answer.
Lisa grinned, unable to stop herself. "He doesn't have one yet."
Everyone turned to stare at Lisa, then back at the armored figure. The cape's helmet tilted slightly, the blue glow of the visor flickering for a moment.
"That's not—" he cut himself off. "I have a name.”
"Which is..." Brian led.
"...Reverb," the cape said after a moment of deliberation.
Alec snorted, the sound cutting through the silence of the trainyard. "Reverb? Seriously?"
The armored figure's visor swiveled toward him, the blue glow intensifying slightly. "You have a problem?"
"Nothing at all," Alec said, raising his hands in mock surrender. "Just didn't realize we were signing up with a DJ."
Reverb's posture shifted, his shoulders squaring in a way that suggested he was about to say something, but Brian cut in before the situation could escalate.
"That's enough," he said, his voice carrying that particular note of authority that Lisa had learned to recognize as him taking charge. "We're here to discuss business, not rib bother."
Alec rolled his eyes but didn't push the issue, while Reverb simply stared at Brian as if he wasn't used to taking orders
"Nice entrance, by the way," Lisa said. "But next time, how about you make the concert a private thing so we don't catch the attention of everyone in the city?*
Reverb tilted his head once. "Every good cape needs an entrance. Figured I'd make mine count."
Lisa's heard what wasn't said. Reverb wanted the attention.
Well hello fellow narcissist, Lisa thought, somewhat amused by the revelation. Though I have a feeling his is a bit more natural than mine.
"Look, are you able to play nice with others or not?" Brian asked, cutting through the byplay. "We're a team. We need to know if you're going to be a problem."
Reverb paused, then shrugged, the motion a bit awkward in the suit.
"Not used to playing with others at all," he admitted. "But I can try."
The words were cocky, but Lisa noticed the way Reverb's stance shifted as he spoke. His weight wasn't quite settled, his hands hovering near his sides rather than falling naturally. Lisa eyed him.
Uncomfortable in this environment. Tension in shoulders suggests unease rather than aggression. Head keeps tilting like he's checking his periphery. Looking for threats that aren't here.
Intrigued, Lisa focused harder as Reverb turned to respond to something Taylor said
Recognizes this location. Has been here before. Associations with the place are negative. Doesn't want to be here. Putting on a front to compensate.
Lisa put the pieces together on her own and didn't care for the picture it formed. She knew that their friend was Coil's most recent "acquisition" but she didn't have any details beyond that. Given the way Reverb was eying their surroundings, this was probably where he was nabbed.
And Coil's just the type of sadistic asshole to bring someone back to where they were kidnapped.
Lisa filed the observation away, tucking it next to the growing pile of notes she'd accumulated on their mysterious new teammate alongside a small amount of pity.
Brian, either unaware of or choosing to ignore the undercurrents, pressed on. "The boss said you'd be working with us on an as-needed basis. Mostly backup for jobs that require a little more punching."
"Punching I can do," Reverb said, his distorted voice carrying a note of confidence that Lisa suspected was mostly for show.
Taylor, who had been quiet throughout the exchange, finally spoke up. "What can you do? Your power, I mean. It would help to know what we're working with."
Reverb seemed to consider the question for a moment. Then, he raised one arm. The blue lines along his armor pulsed, and a low hum filled the air. It wasn't loud, but Lisa could feel it in her teeth, a vibration that seemed to resonate in her bones.
Suddenly, the gravel at their feet began to dance.
It started small, pebbles skittering across the ground like they were being pulled by invisible strings. Then the hum intensified, and larger rocks began to bounce, lifting an inch, then two, then three off the ground. The sound built to a crescendo, and with a sudden crack, a nearby wooden crate simply... shattered. The pieces didn't explode outward so much as they fell apart, every nail and joint coming loose at once.
Reverb lowered his arm, and the hum died. The rocks dropped back to the ground, settling into new positions like nothing had happened.
"Frequency modification," Reverb said into the silence that followed. "In simple terms, I mess with sound and the waves that produce it. I can blanket a whole area in white noise or turn your bones to powder without ever breaking the skin.”
The demonstration hung in the air for a moment, everyone registering the destruction and the brief explanation of their newest members abilities.
"Impressive," Lisa said, and she meant it. "A bit melodramatic though."
"Useful, at least," Brian said. "We can definitely work with that."
"Good to hear," Reverb responded, his arms falling back to his side.
Brian straightened, his voice turning serious. "A few ground rules. I'm in charge on jobs. When I give an order, you follow it. We don't kill, and we don't do anything that puts the team at unnecessary risk. We aren't like the gangs. If one of us gets caught, we're fucked."
Reverb's helmet tilted slightly, the blue glow flickering. "I can work with that."
"Good." Brian's stance relaxed marginally. "We'll be in touch. The boss has your number, and we'll contact you when we have something lined up."
Reverb nodded, the motion stiff. For a moment, he seemed like he was about to say something else, but whatever it was, he seemed to reconsider. He took a step back, then another, putting distance between himself and the group.
"See ya later, Bunny," Alec called out. Reverb froze mid-step, his fingers brushing against one of the ear-like protrusions on his helmet. Then he dropped his hand just as quickly, his posture going rigid.
"Cute," he said flatly, his distorted voice carrying no hint of humor.
Then, he stomped so hard the ground beneath him cracked. A wave of invisible force pushed him upwards and carried him over the rooftop of the nearest warehouse. He landed somewhere on the other side with a heavy this, and then there was silence.
"He hops like one too," Alec snickered, and Brian sighed.
"We're done here," he said, turning away. "Let's go."
They quickly escaped the trainyard, loading up into the van they'd come here in. Lisa climbed into the passenger seat while the others filed in the back. Brian took the driver's seat, and soon they were pulling away from the curb, the trainyard disappearing in the side mirror.
They drove in silence for a few minutes before Brian spoke.
"Tattletale."
Lisa didn't look away from her phone. She was compiling notes on Reverb to port to her laptop later. "Hmm?"
"What did you get?"
Lisa held up a finger, finishing up her notes before putting the phone aside. She then took off her domino mask, tossing it to the floor beside Brian's helmet.
"He's quite a character," she said, letting amusement leak into her voice. "Classic narcissistic personality, for one. Might be even worse than me. That entire conversation was pretty much him trying to prove he's as big and tough as his armor makes him seem."
Brian's hands ran over the wheel, a tired expression on his face. "Fantastic. Does he have a problem with any of us?"
"He's got something against Regent, obviously," Lisa said, and he teen in question just shrugged. "Other than that, only Skitter seemed to rub him the wrong way."
"Me?" Taylor seemed shocked. "What did I do?"
"No clue. He just doesn't like you, I guess." Lisa shrugged and Taylor frowned, looking in troubled by the revelation.
"What else?" Brian asked.
"The armor's new but the way he demonstrated his power shows he's used to using his own tech so we're not dealing with a complete newbie. I actually think I know who he is. Remember that vigilante that was making noise in the Docks a little while ago?"
"The loud one?"
Lisa nodded. "Yep. Looks like they didn't get poached live everyone thought. Guess he was just building up his own supply."
Brian looked troubled. "I heard a few things about that guy. If it is him, I hope he's learned how to hold back."
"You already told him our deal. He won't kill anyone else," Lisa glanced at her phone. "I don't even think he knows he has. Seemed more negligent than vengeful to me."
"I'm not sure about this," Brian grumbled uneasily. "Any more red flags?"
"Oh, there's plenty of those. But none that should cause problems on a job. You did a pretty good job laying down the law, oh fearless leader. Whatever else he's got going on, he's keeping it separate from us."
Brian's grip on the steering wheel tightened briefly before relaxing. "Alright. I'll trust your read on this. But keep an eye on him."
"I'll add him to my cork board," Lisa said, settling back into her seat as the van slowly rolled deeper into the city.