She shuts her eyes, shoulders stiff. "I already know I can't tolerate Regent staying on the team when I go back. Like. Sophia and Shatterbird are just the ones he did since I've met him. I know he was... worse, before. Less discriminate."
She gives him a very brief look of wide-eyed mock shock, but isn't in the mood to keep that up at all.
Sighing, she shakes her head. "Especially for someone who's never killed anyone on purpose herself before. But Coil's never going to let Dinah go, and I can't leave her with him. He'll use her up. She's 12. I tried bargaining, tricking, buying- everything I can do. He's the one who decided it's him or me.
"And Shatterbird killed thousands of people like- days ago, in my world. Not her first mass casualty event, either.
Taylor props her elbows on the table, hands in her hair, bees crawling over her fingers. "Because I'm the one who will. My team doesn't like him having this kid drugged and prisoner, but they're not willing to go to war over it. And bringing the heroes in would just mean they wind up using her."
"Yeah, welcome to heroes." She shuts her eyes. "We told them about her prediction of the end of the world, while we were all fighting the Nine together. They said some things."
"That they'd need to get more numbers out of her. They'd recruit her. She's too young, and her power beats the shit out of her. I just want her to get to go home to her family.
"Since it's my- my team's fault Coil got his hands on her."
He just stares at her a moment. "Alright. Well, aside from the murder, that doesn't sound like a terrible plan. Is there - anything else you want to tell me before I go and listen for myself?"
She untangles one hand from her hair, to flip reluctantly through the pages again.
But she's not reading from it when she recites: "'Skitter is an unpredictable young woman tending towards acts of apparent kindness to those she deems her subjects and bursts of sudden and extreme violence towards those she sees as her enemies.' Someone wrote that about me, a few months back, to distribute and warn people. Pretty accurate, except for the subjects thing. They were just under my protection."
Taylor chews the inside of her cheek. "I'll be glad it's you when we're through this bit. But right now, I wish it was a stranger I could just be Skitter at."
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Ugh.
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Sighing, she shakes her head. "Especially for someone who's never killed anyone on purpose herself before. But Coil's never going to let Dinah go, and I can't leave her with him. He'll use her up. She's 12. I tried bargaining, tricking, buying- everything I can do. He's the one who decided it's him or me.
"And Shatterbird killed thousands of people like- days ago, in my world. Not her first mass casualty event, either.
"My dad was almost one of them."
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He sits back. "Why does it have to be only you?"
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"Since it's my- my team's fault Coil got his hands on her."
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But she's not reading from it when she recites: "'Skitter is an unpredictable young woman tending towards acts of apparent kindness to those she deems her subjects and bursts of sudden and extreme violence towards those she sees as her enemies.' Someone wrote that about me, a few months back, to distribute and warn people. Pretty accurate, except for the subjects thing. They were just under my protection."
She shakes her head, tired of this already.
"I'm a lot, Rags."
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Still.
"You aren't any more than you were yesterday," he reminds her.
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He deepens his voice. "Listen to me. I am a very serious stranger. I don't know anything about you."
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"Now who's the smartass."
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