Radha

Radha flopped down onto the couch, fuming.

"That was," she got out, "the WORST."

Camilla sat down to Radha's right and put an arm around her. Radha scooted closer, leaning her head on Camilla's shoulder.

"Look," Camilla said. "The fight's over, right? And we won."

"I didn't win," Radha replied. "Everyone else did, while I was lying there with my armor frozen by a fucking EMP. I hate knowing that they can do that to me."

At the table in front of them, Monica was disassembling the drone that broke in the fight. She looked up, meeting Radha's eyes with a determined expression. "I'll build a safeguard. For your armor, and my drones."

"Are you sure you can do that?" Radha asked.

Monica gave a vicious grin. "Of course I am. Being a tech cape means I don't have the kind of limits the rest of you do. Give me enough time, and I can do anything."

Radha buried her cheek into Camilla's shoulder. "I don't like that either. That means Roadripper will keep building better stuff, and I get left behind."

Camilla reached over, brushing hair out of Radha's face, and planted a kiss on her forehead. "You're not being left behind. You have us, remember? And that comes with all the best gear Monica can make."

Radha flinched, turning back away from Camilla. "It's not the same. And... ugh, there's all the other stuff, too. I'm pretty sure they were trying to keep me away from Keisha."

"It's such a shame, what she's doing to herself," Camilla murmured. "If she's as smart as you say, she'll have to understand that eventually."

"The more time passes, the more she changes," Radha growled. "She looks and sounds so different now. There aren't as many of those drugs around anymore, but she had to find one of the people who still makes them. It's so frustrating."

"You don't fucking need traitors," Monica spat. "If she comes to her senses, great, but don't hold your breath. I've seen the bullshit those people throw around to keep their side in line."

Camilla adjusted her grip, moving from Radha's shoulder to her forearm. Radha tensed, then shrugged her arm out of Camilla's grip in a way she hoped would look like a reflex.

"Wow, okay." Camilla withdrew her hand. "Just trying to help you feel better."

Radha looked away again. "It stopped working."

"Whatever." Camilla stood back up. "I can tease Monica instead."

Monica turned back, showing the screwdriver in her hand. "After I'm done breaking things. I'll be back at my computer soon, for my other project."

Camilla groaned as she dropped back to the couch. "Ugh, fine."

Radha leaned back against Camilla. She still didn't really feel like being touched right now, but it was better than hearing her complain. And sometimes being with Camilla like this was the best thing in the world, she didn't want to jeopardize that with too much pushing back.

Just have to strike a balance, Radha told herself, as Camilla's hand returned to her shoulder.

---

Isaac

As I caught up with the other motorcycles, some of the riders turned to glance over at me. Counting me, there were only six motorcycles now but still eight riders, so I was the only casualty. Er, Bladewhirl was.

One motorcycle, with two redcapes on it, fell back from the group to ride next to me. The driver's green and purple outfit identified him as Wyvern, who could generate a few kinds of acids and poisons. Radiance sat behind, her arms around him.

"Hey, Bladewhirl," Wyvern called out. "Glad you made it out, we were worried."

I let Bladewhirl's instincts guide my response. Confident, but playful. "Worried? Come on, you've seen what I can do."

Wyvern chuckled. "That's for sure. But man, getting caught like that was rough."

I took stock of the group. Roadripper was on one of the lead motorcycles, while the other had the team's leader, Sniper. Sniper wore a camo pattern - from what I'd heard, he'd fought in Iraq, and he didn't want anyone to forget it. Carapace rode behind them, alongside a motorcycle bearing the last pair of capes. Bladewhirl's memories supplied their names: Sculptor and Phantasm.

Before long, we were back in Hamilton. I'd been here before everything fell apart, and things sure had changed. Like in Cincinnati, much of the city had fallen into disrepair, but here, the redcapes' presence was palpable. We passed a building with a Confederate flag, one with a MAGA sign, one with a swastika... then one with all three. Isn't that conflicting messaging?

Once we got close to the city's center, Sniper pulled over to the side of the street, and the rest of us followed.

"I don't like how prepared the bluecapes were," he declared. "We'll reconvene tomorrow morning and figure out what to do about it. In the meantime, get some rest."

We rode off our separate ways, heading for home. Which, for me, meant figuring out where "home" was. I searched further into Bladewhirl's impulses for recognition, for the rest of the character I needed to play.

I followed my instincts from street to street, feeling more familiarity as I went. After a few minutes, an apartment building held my attention. This one.

I parked the motorcycle, found what seemed to be Bladewhirl's key and key card in my pocket, and headed inside. The door accepted the key card without complaint. Let's see... fourth floor. I headed up, picked out the most familiar apartment door, and used the key. It worked.

Just like that, I thought. Whatever she could do, I can mimic.

No, that was too far. I could make good guesses, but keeping up the ruse in face-to-face conversation would be harder. I'd have to limit the time I spent around the other redcapes, and avoid drawing their attention when we did meet.

Speaking of avoiding people, I finally had my own place again. First time since... well, since my old life ended. That was nice. I unbuckled Bladewhirl's sword and set it aside, followed by the dagger I found concealed at my hip.

But getting space to myself didn't change the promise I'd made to Cygnus. I unlocked Bladewhirl's phone, signed back into the messenger account I'd started using for cape stuff, and reached out to him.

Fenrir: Got to Hamilton. No issues atm

Cygnus: That's good. Stay safe man

Fenrir: Not really a man right now, lol

Cygnus: I mean, having boobs doesn't have to make you a girl

Cygnus: Can speak from experience on that!

Cygnus: Unless you want it to?

Fenrir: Well, I gotta get into character, right?

Cygnus: I'll take your word for it lol

Cygnus: Make sure to sign back out after this

Fenrir: Yeah def. I'll keep checking in when I'm clear

Cygnus sent a thumbs-up emoji, which I took as my cue to go ahead with switching accounts. Rather than going right back to Bladewhirl's, I returned to my civilian account first.

I found myself staring at my account's tag. With how I was reacting to being Bladewhirl, was it really still accurate? Based on stories I'd read, it seemed like most people imagined this type of situation as more unnerving than this. And, come to think of it, I had probably read more stories about that than the average person. Borrowing my prey's impulses certainly helped with adjusting, but even so, I'd been a lot less keen on being Nitroforce.

Plus, this chat was no stranger to pronoun changes. I changed the tag to a vague placeholder, then jumped into the conversation.

CHAMPION OF SEATTLE: okay mads wins this round

Hana @ Sewing: lmao

Hana @ Sewing: well now you know

CHAMPION OF SEATTLE: might qualify as some sort of cookie?

CHAMPION OF SEATTLE: but not a good cookie

CHAMPION OF SEATTLE: sin against cookies

Isaac (they?): you fucked around and found out

madison (she/her): he could have found out without fucking around! by listening to me!!!

CHAMPION OF SEATTLE: my curiosity demanded otherwise

Isaac (they?): even with limited ingredients?

CHAMPION OF SEATTLE: yes

CHAMPION OF SEATTLE: obviously

CHAMPION OF SEATTLE: what do you take me for

madison (she/her): a worse chef than i did yesterday, for one thing

CHAMPION OF SEATTLE: stfu

No one gave a sign of even noticing. Which, admittedly, could have just been politeness, or just being distracted by Shane's antics. Part of me was disappointed, another part wasn't sure what the hell I would say if someone asked about it.

Regardless, I needed to get back to playing my part. I switched accounts again, this time using Bladewhirl's memory to log back into her own account, and let her mannerisms take over.

Sniper: What the FUCK was all that?

Phantasm: some sort of ambush i guess?

Sniper: We were supposed to DESTROY them. Instead, y'all got your asses kicked. Again.

Carapace: are we really up to this?

Sniper: Did Andrew Jackson ask if he was "up to" consolidating control of the Deep South?

Sniper: Of course not. He did what it took to make America what it needed to be, and to hell with anyone who got in his way.

Roadripper: I can make more EMPs. Won't still have the element of surprise, though.

Sniper: Make even better ones. I want that silver bitch in the ground, along with the rest of those woke shits.

Roadripper: Oh, I will.

Roadripper: Speaking of that armor of hers... hmm.

Bladewhirl: you got an idea?

Roadripper: Not a new one, but I want to revisit something I tried a while ago.

Roadripper: Could give us more firepower if it works.

Bladewhirl: nice

Sniper: Good. Do it.

Sniper: That'll help against Rudianos, too.

Roadripper: It should, yeah. (((Hoffman))) won't know what hit him.

Ugh, chatting with redcapes was unsettling. I was pretty sure Rudianos wasn't actually Jewish, but apparently his name had convinced Roadripper otherwise.

I couldn't decide whether knowing I could soon be taking out more of Hamilton's capes made this less unsettling, or more. My speed of getting accustomed to murder was definitely unsettling.

Regardless, it was late. Before long, I turned in for the night.

---

I was in the middle of a field, filled with flowers I didn't recognize. Having only the light of the night sky didn't help, but I had the feeling I wouldn't recognize them even in the day.

A ripple went through the sky above. A shape formed, a woman made of stars and galaxies and the space between them. She floated down, and stood before me.

Even before hearing her speak, I knew who she was.

Pandora gave a warm smile. "Finally," she said, "a chance to speak face to face. Not your previous face, but a face nonetheless."

I glanced down. I was still in Bladewhirl's body, dressed in the civilian clothes I'd gone to sleep in after changing out of her ninja costume.

"I, uh..." How do I explain this to some sort of ancient guardian? I'm still trying to understand it myself!

Pandora waved a hand, as if to shrug off the response. "No need for concern, I've worn plenty of faces myself. I'm here to offer explanations, not to demand them."

I nodded. "Right, we got cut off last time."

"Indeed," Pandora said. "In particular, your mission to deal with the seal. I see you've already arrived, and are maintaining an effective disguise. Good work."

The scene around us shifted, the dream's background changing to a park, with a creek running through it. I felt recognition from Bladewhirl's impulses - it was nearby, and she'd know how to get here.

Pandora spread her arms, gesturing to the area around us. "This is where the resonance is strongest. As close as possible to this spot, use your power to incorporate another cape."

I took in a breath. "You mean, turn into a wolf, and eat them."

She nodded. "Yes. You've proven yourself skilled at doing so."

I've never intentionally transformed before, but... "Yeah, I can do that. Shouldn't be too hard. Will I know if it works?"

"You'll feel a change in the area's energy," Pandora said. "It will only be noticeable to capes in the immediate vicinity, so don't worry about drawing attention."

I took another glance around the area. "Okay. Anything else I should know?"

Pandora shook her head. "No, that's everything for now. I'll reach out again when I have more for you."

Behind Pandora, the sky began to light up with the first rays of sunrise. The scene blurred, and I felt myself waking up.

---

Sniper called a meeting for Hamilton's redcapes, and around noon, the eight of us reconvened in the group's office.

Sniper was in his usual camouflage gear as he addressed the group, minus the head armor. I'd heard that he could blur his appearance to blend into his surroundings, and while his rifle's bullets couldn't pierce nemenon armor, he could charge them with electric shocks to stun armored targets.

"So," he began, "last night was a mess. Those liberal assholes knew we were coming, and I want to know why."

"You think someone sold us out?" Radiance asked.

Roadripper spoke up. "If so, they could have done worse. More likely, it was a security breach. Anyone have any suspicious logins on your accounts?"

"Nope," Phantasm said.

I spoke up next. "Nothing here."

"Same," Carapace added. "I mean, I got an email about a login from a new device, but I think that was just because I got logged out and had to sign back in."

Roadripper scowled. "Did you sign back in after following a link?"

"I think so?" Carapace pulled out his phone. "Let me see... huh, that's a lot of emails about new logins."

"You got phished, dumbass!" Radiance jeered.

"I got..." Carapace's eyes went wide. "Oh, fuck."

Roadripper let out a sigh. "Okay, change the passwords to all of those accounts. And any others that use the same password."

"But I use that password for everything!" Carapace protested.

Roadripper glared at him. "This is why you don't do that. Quit whining and fix it."

"I... ugh, okay, fine," Carapace stammered. He buried his face in his phone, tapping frantically at its screen.

Sniper spoke up again. "So we've got that figured out. We'll have to assume any messages Carapace could see were compromised, and adjust accordingly. Carapace, we'll talk more about this later. And all of you - be more careful. We're not gonna fucking let this happen again, got it?"

The rest of us nodded obediently.

"Good. Moving on..." Sniper's eyes met mine. "What happened while you were separated, anyway?"

I drew on Bladewhirl's confidence, focusing on the story I'd concocted. "I ran into that new guy, Sonic or whatever. Gave him some pretty nasty cuts, he got away but I don't think he's in fighting shape."

Sniper nodded. "That's good. At least we got something out of this."

"Not enough," Roadripper argued. "We lost a big trump card now that they know about my EMPs. Surprising them with that in a proper fight could have turned it into a rout."

"True," Sniper acknowledged. "We'll need more tricks. Keep working on them, we can't have you falling behind Cybermind. And if that wolf monster is still out there, we need to be ready for it."

Roadripper nodded. "Yes, sir."

I stayed as quiet as I could for the rest of the meeting, leaning on Bladewhirl's mannerisms to blend in and avoid calling attention to myself. As I did, I kept an eye on Carapace. He still seemed on edge, and that was a vulnerability I could use.

At times, he glanced back. Sometimes meeting my eyes, but other times I was pretty sure he was looking at my chest. Which was uncomfortable, but also a reminder of how I currently looked.

Getting stared at by Carapace didn't feel new. Sifting through Bladewhirl's impulses, I sensed that this was part of a pattern, that he'd always paid an unusual amount of attention to her. I got the impression that some level of interest was involved, and I could definitely use that.

As we left, I slowed to match Carapace's pace as the others went ahead. "Hey, C. You doing okay?"

Carapace hesitated, looking surprised by the question. "I'm, uh... I'm fine. A bit embarrassed, is all. Like Sniper said, gotta be more careful."

"Still," I said. "Seemed overly harsh."

Carapace shrugged. "Well, Radiance is a bitch. Road's fine, usually. It gets annoying sometimes, but whatever."

And there's my in. "It does, yeah. Gotta get away from them every now and then. You want to grab something tonight?"

"Tonight?" Carapace blinked. "Like, dinner?"

I nodded. I kept my mind on the target area, and let Bladewhirl's instincts do the rest. "You like that pizza place on 21st street, right?"

Carapace's face lit up. "I love that place. Does 8 work for you?"

I grinned. "Perfect. See you there!"

As we headed in different directions, my brain finally caught up to me. How the FUCK did I pull that off?

---

Dinner passed with little event. I stuck to the pattern I'd used to get Carapace on board in the first place, offering just enough hints of interest to keep stringing him along. I'd never been particularly interested in guys myself, but it was fun to know how it was making him see me, and impulses from Bladewhirl continued helping me along.

When we finished, Carapace and I stepped out of the pizza place and into the warm night air. He turned to me.

"So, uh, what now?" Carapace asked.

I gave him a smile. "Follow me."

I lead Carapace across a couple of streets, to the nearby park. The same one Pandora had showed me.

"Man," Carapace remarked. "I haven't been here in years."

"It's a nice place, isn't it?" I asked. "Come on, let's head to the creek."

At this time of day, no one else was around. I fell back, letting him take the lead. My hand went to the concealed dagger at my hip, confirming it was there.

He's been mostly okay, while I've been here. But he helped attack Cincinnati twice, and he'd do it again.

His eyes still on the creek, Carapace spoke up again. "I think the first time I came here was-"

Sharpening it with Bladewhirl's power, I drove the dagger into his back.

Carapace gasped, his words turning into a gurgle. I withdrew the blade, then struck again. This time, he didn't make any more sound.

I pulled the dagger out again and let him fall to the ground. It felt like I was supposed to wait for something to happen... no, that was the other times. The other times I'd killed people, they'd killed me first. Carapace wasn't even armed.

But Pandora hadn't just said to kill a cape here. I only knew one way to transform, so this time, I'd have to take that step into my own hands.

Shame. I liked this body.

I turned the bloodied dagger to face my own chest, calling on Bladewhirl's power again to ensure a strong, clean strike. I lifted the knife, then drove it home.

SCHKT!

I collapsed to the ground, my vision fading once again. Hunger bubbled back up inside me.

My body fell away once again, crumbling to ash as the wolf emerged. Well... no, that wasn't it anymore, was it. This was my real body, now. Bladewhirl's was just a costume I'd worn, and only for about a day.

I towered over Carapace's corpse, then leaned over to scarf it down. I just had dinner, but that was with my other stomach. When I finished, I shrunk back down, now in his body.

As I finished, I felt a chill pass through me, too deep to be from the surrounding air. The change Pandora mentioned, from fixing the seal. It worked.

I took stock of my new body. I could feel Carapace's power to increase the sturdiness of objects, not that I had anything suitable on hand. Otherwise, it was fine, nothing wrong with it... unless I compared it to being Bladewhirl.

Okay, there was definitely something to this. And I'm figuring it out just as I start acting like a serial killer. Artemis would have a field day with that.

But I couldn't let myself get distracted. I needed to get moving before anyone could notice and ask awkward questions. My old body was an unrecognizable pile of ash along with everything I'd been wearing, so there wasn't much I needed to clean up - just the knife, which had fallen out when I transformed, and some grass with blood on it. I pulled up the grass and tossed it into the nearby river, then rinsed the knife before stowing it away. Should be good enough.

My job finished, I resumed my walk through the park, trying to calm my nerves. I scanned Carapace's impulses for the location of his apartment, and headed for it.

Another redcape down. Let's see how long it takes before they have any idea what's going on.