Lisa stared at the number displayed on her phone screen with trepidation. She just finished a tough discussion with Rachel and Alec, where she gave them the same chance as Brian to break away. To her surprise, they didn’t. According to her power, Rachel considered Alfred top-dog now, and Alec liked having such a powerful cape in his corner.
She was just thinking about what to have for dinner when this latest interruption soured her already low mood. Deciding that she couldn’t just ignore him, Lisa breathed deep before tapping the receive icon.
“What is it this time?” she asked with exasperation.
“Hello,” the sarcastically cheerful voice came through. “How are you? It’s nice to hear from you, too!”
“Can it, doofus!” she barked. “I don’t have time for your shit. I’m tired, I’m hungry, and I have a headache.”
“I thought you didn’t get headaches anymore?”
“Not that kind of headache! I can still have normal migraines, too, you know? Like when I’m dealing with your – you know what? Forget it. Just tell me what you want.”
“All right! Sow-rree!” he snarked. “You don’t have to bite my head off, you know?”
Why was she ever afraid of this moron?
“For the love of God, just tell me what you want!”
“Okay, okay!” he finally conceded. “I’m done with Glory Girl. Now, I’m tracking The Travelers. Got any deets on them?”
She did. She shared it. She hung up.
Grumbling, she then started rummaging in the fridge for something to eat.
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Lisa stared at her laptop with dawning horror. In no time at all, she bolted to her room, changed into her costume, and called her teammates.
“I don’t care, Brian! Get your butt over here stat. And wear your costume!”
“It doesn’t matter, Alec! Your game’s not gonna save you if the whole city goes up in flames!”
“Rachel! Get your dogs. Be in the loft. Goodbye!”
“There has got to be a limit to his nonsense!” she groused to herself, unknowingly echoing the plight of a kinetic-manipulating hero.
“For fuck’s sake, you don’t get it, Taylor!” Lisa had lost her temper after a few back-and-forths with the bug mistress. “This guy is obsessed with keeping you alive! He will turn Brockton Bay into a wasteland if anything happens to you! We’re not for you, you inconsiderate brat! We’re here for the hundreds of thousands living in this city!”
“Why is he so focused on my daughter?” Danny Hebert cut in, purple with rage. “Is he a stalker?”
“No, Dad!”
“Kind of, but not really…”
“Ooooh, kinky!”
“Shut up, Regent!”
“Grr.”
“Did Bitch just literally say ‘Grr’?”
If there’s a God, he hates Lisa Wilbourn.
“I even told them that if they wanted to work with me, then they should call Tattletale.”
They should call Tattletale.
They should call Tattletale.
They should call Tattletale.
They should call Tattletale.
Oh, shit.
Oh, fuck.
Oh, shit.
Oh, fuck.
“Any news?” Brian asked, slipping out of the abandoned warehouse they chose as their temporary safehouse.
Upon meeting Lisa’s dead stare, he stuttered to a stop.
“You okay, Tats?”
“They’re going to be the death of me, Grue,” she whispered.
“Who?”
“The pair of toddlers I’m now babysitting, who won’t stop making a mess. The star-crossed lovers who can’t make up their minds whether they want to kiss or kill each other. The couple of smooth-brained idiots that will probably drive everyone around them insane before the end.”
Lisa was babbling. She knew she was babbling. But, it was either that, or she starts cussing out at the top of her lungs.
“I’m not sure how long I can keep doing this,” she went on, still whispering. “The PRT and Protectorate are probably coming after me soon. They’ll think I mastered that walking WMD!”
“Why on Earth would they think that?” Confusion coming through his distorted voice.
“Because he just designated me as his point of contact,” Lisa revealed with abject disbelief suffusing her words.
“Oh. Well, shit.”
Lisa started giggling uncontrollably at the dumbstruck bafflement in Brian’s reply. A quick peek with her power also showed the thoughts going through his head, turning her giggles into peals of laughter.
Oh, shit. Oh, fuck. Oh, shit. Oh, fuck.
At least Lisa wasn’t alone in her suffering. It’s good to have friends.