Interlude 4.y2 (Rachel)

Rachel and Angelica paid no attention to the other members of the Nine. Rachel didn't care as Labyrinth's power unraveled and left her stranded on the western side of the city.The two walked through the greenery that had not been touched by either Leviathan or the Nine, through hills that were not flooded like the rest of Brockton Bay. She glanced far to the south, where heroes struggled against Beast, trying to bring it down. Then to the east, where her pack of dogs was finally taking what was theirs by right.At the end of her path, Rachel saw a familiar sight: the tall black marble pillar, covered in names she could not fully read. And even if she could, Bonesaw's poison still lingered in her mind. Only a few names managed to get through the haze.Reaching the pillar, Rachel knelt down next to where the names of her dogs were carefully carved into the stone. They'd been clearly added after, with a tool. A combat knife.The dogs' names were written in two styles of handwriting. Rachel's was uneven, imprecise. Blackwall was surgical, and even when she had attempted to imitate Rachel's own handwriting, the difference was noticeable.Leaning against the marble, Rachel sat down and pressed her forehead against the cold stone. Angelica leant over Rachel's legs.She looked at her phone, filled with images from all throughout Brockton Bay. Then pressed on the keys to switch point of view.A cape, moving debris to rescue people trapped underneath.An officer, applying first aid to his own wounded leg.One of her dogs, chewing on a corpse.Finally, a girl, crying. Her father was pulling her away, desperately trying to run away from two of Rachel's dogs. They always enjoyed the chase, and so they were toying with the man and his daughter, giving them the slightest hope that they'd be able to escape.Rachel could see how their current path was a dead end. The girl was… young. Maybe the same age Rachel had been back when she left the foster home. She was bleeding from her arm and leg, leaving traces that the dogs would be able to follow from even the other side of the city.Weak people will never have a home.She shook her head. Then turned around, placing her back against the marble memorial.On the coast, Eidolon and other capes were still fighting against the incoming final waves. Even with Leviathan dead, his effect on the water would take more time to dissipate. Her dogs attacked even there, tearing at the city's defenses and allowing more of Leviathan's residual waves to strike at the city and destroy the infrastructure.At some point Rachel had realized that the capes wearing white and red were healers. She gave specific instructions to target them. It had been easy convincing her pack to do so, given that 'red' had already been their favorite color to chase back during Bonesaw's training. The more Rachel destroyed the city, the more her power helped her. She barely felt the pull from it as she continued to feed her power to all of the dogs within the city. New ways to influence the dogs became apparent to her: she could give different sets of mutations, could improve not only the dogs' speed and strength but their intelligence as well.Finally, she had begun to feel the way the city moved. Her instructions had always been simple. 'Kill!' 'Run!' 'Bite!' 'Wait!' - and the dogs followed them within an instant. By instinct she realized what were the weakest capes she could attack, where were the capes that her dogs could not win against, and when to attack the ones that needed specific tactics to kill. It felt… natural. She was hunting as she had always been meant to.But at the same time, she did not want to. Rachel felt this innate contradiction, fighting against the addicting push towards using her power. Angelica seemed to notice Rachel's distress, placing her head on Rachel's lap.Dogs began to die around the perimeter of Captain's Hill. Rachel felt the connections of her power cutting off. Anger filled her. Grief. More of her pack, dead. But before she could stand to face whatever was coming…From the sky, a large bug moved closer. Someone sat on its back.Taylor.The bug - a robot wasp - landed on the other side of the clearing reserved for the memorial. Taylor stepped off the bug, landing on the green grass, and controlled it to fly away. She glanced towards Rachel, then removed her mask and took out her glasses.Taylor looked mostly like Rachel remembered. Like the average nerdy girl. There was more muscle to her now. "Hey, Rachel.""Hm." Rachel grunted in response. But she also unhooked the latch on the inside of her helmet, letting it drop to the side. She still held her phone in her hand, sneaking glances at what was happening within the city.Taylor couldn't help but have a smile on her face, careful not to show her teeth."Lisa named a dog-shelter after you. The 'Lindt Canine Shelter'. It really took off."Rachel knew about that shelter. She knew it very well. The man with the daughter running away from the dogs had been the owner of that shelter.She had destroyed the building and freed the dogs inside. There were few, just the ones too sick to be moved. The others had all been evacuated together with the citizens when Leviathan attacked the city.Brockton Bay already had changed beyond what Rachel could recognize."You're taller." Rachel pushed away her feelings, commenting on Taylor's height.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there."She is as well." Taylor nodded towards Angelica. The dog had grown bigger over the months, true. Angelica didn't seem hostile towards Taylor. Wary, ready to follow Rachel's commands, but not hostile."Are you here to kill me?" Rachel finally asked."No. No," Taylor immediately answered, "I'm here to stop you from becoming a monster. Make the dogs stop, Rachel. Please.""Okay."Rachel whispered to herself a message that resounded in every one of her dog's ears, except Beast, "Sit."It echoed all across Brockton Bay, heard by every one of Rachel's dogs.The city became still. Quieter. Only Beast continued to fight the capes gathering around it."Him as well." Taylor pointed towards Beast.Rachel lied. "Can't."But even as the dogs stopped their hunts, Rachel did not stop feeding them with her power. Rather, she felt an immediate absence. Like something was wrong. The sensation was growing stronger every second that passed, an itching to order her dogs to hunt down everyone in the city, to shout another command."We all miss you, you know?""Who?""Us. Me. Brian. Lisa. Maybe Alec as well, but I'm not sure.""He doesn't miss me."Taylor sighed, "yeah… he probably does not. At least not in the way we do.""You don't miss me." Rachel narrowed her eyes. "You betrayed us. Me. Everyone.""... I know. And I didn't have time to fix things. But we do miss you, Rachel, and we would really like having you with us. You don't have to help as a parahuman, as a cape. You can stay with your dogs, undisturbed, just… Please stop this. Let go of your power.""Nowhere is safe from you. Them. Everyone. If I let go now, I'll never be left alone.""That's not true, Rachel-""I ran away from home, and the PRT found me. I ran away from them, and, and…" the name still escaped her. "And that snake guy found me. Then I ran away from everything, and still you found me. So this time I came back, and found you.""I know. I know. People are fucking terrible. They never care, and when they do it's too little or too late. Many heroes are corrupt, self-serving pieces of shit that don't see you or me as anything more than a name on a list of 'villains' to capture. I know, really. But… I don't believe you if you say that you hate everyone.""Words." Rachel answered, shaking her head. These were just words, nothing else."You didn't hate the Undersiders. There are people out there who you can trust. People like the woman who helped you carve those names." Taylor pointed at the memorial."You still betrayed me."Taylor visibly flinched."All that is philosophical shit that Lisa should think about. Not me." Rachel shook her head, then gently patted Angelica. "Siberian went on about chains and some other shit, but I don't agree with her. I think people like her, like me, just want an excuse to fuck everything up. Because everything fucked us.""That's it then? You get fucked, then you fuck up other people, and so on. Until the world burns and everything is fucked.""Yeah.""Please, Rachel. I-I… I beg you." Taylor crouched down, making sure she didn't make eye contact with Rachel. She made herself smaller, weaker. Putting herself in a position of inferiority. Using body language Rachel immediately understood.She had practiced."Stop this." Taylor's voice cracked on the last word.For a long moment, Rachel considered saying yes. Then she glanced up, taking a better look at Taylor.Rachel could see the outline of her face, the dark color of her hair and her glasses, but the details of her expression were… slippery. Escaping her memory the moment Rachel stopped focusing on them. She knew a Taylor, and she was pretty sure it was this one, but the doubt still gnawed at her. She failed to recall Lisa's or Brian's faces. When she tried to, the prickling sensation in her brain grew stronger. It wasn't Bonesaw's work, but something from her power. The same power that allowed her to understand her dogs so well.That was it then. Rachel whispered to the implant in her throat:"Hunt. Kill."The dogs moved. This time, truly with the intention to kill. Until now, she'd always held them back. To hunt and to play, to hurt, but not to push themselves to their limits. Now it was a true hunt.On her phone, the father and daughter were still in that dead end, trapped by the dogs. They didn't have any chance. The dogs leapt for them and bit into the father's throat, ripping it off. The daughter screamed. Then the dogs put an end to her, too.Rachel heard a click.Taylor stood there. Mask back on. Gun pointed at Rachel's head.Angelica growled towards Taylor, ready to jump. Ready for Rachel to empower her and bite at the enemy's neck. But… There was still hesitation in the dog."Run," Rachel whispered to Angelica, pointing in the direction away from Taylor. The dog took off running. Rachel took this moment to watch the city burn.She tried to recall good memories about the city. Anything, from all the years she'd spent here.Only blank faces came to mind. A bug landed on her outstretched finger. A butterfly. She focused on the bug, finding the pattern on its wings pleasant to the eye. She felt calm at that moment. Another butterfly landed on the side of her face.The gun fired.