It was about an hour later that we were gathered in our warehouse hideout, taking care to make sure that we weren’t followed. My hasty explanation to Taylor about misremembering details clearly didn’t convince the girl completely, but she didn’t push the issue. Lisa did look at me with suspicion, though.

  “So, let me get this straight,” Danny started, taking off his glasses and rubbing his face in a stressed manner. “You’re saying Leviathan is about to attack this city, and we’re meeting to discuss what to do about it?”

  “Yup,” I answered, putting an extra pop at the end.

  “And you’re not taking this straight to the authorities, why?” he asked, eyeing me with a baleful glare.

  “Because we have our safety and anonymity to think about, Danny,” Lisa answered for me, though she was sounding extremely unsure even as she spoke. “We can’t just pop up at the PRT and start blabbering. The consequences for us would be catastrophic. Only a massive idiot would just share information like this without thinking about how it would then paint a huge target on their back.”

  “Why not just go as Seraph?” Danny directed the rather obvious suggestion to me.

  “That’s our most likely move,” I divulged. “But, not the only one. Depending on which choice we go with, this could mean huge changes for not just the Undersiders, but you and Taylor.”

  “What do you mean?” the girl I just referred to asked sharply.

  It wasn’t only her, either. Everyone turned to me with undisguised interest.

  “Well,” I began, “it occurs to me that, barring our civic duty of reporting the approaching disaster to the powers that be, this could also be an opportunity.”

  Out of nowhere, Lisa burst into cackling laughter. The others were taken aback, with Rachel’s eyes growing so wide that she almost looked like a regular girl, instead of someone perfectly willing to tear your throat out. This went on for nearly a minute, and when she finally got control over herself, the blonde gave me a beaming smile.

  “You got me!” she crowed. “All this time, I thought you were a himbo with more muscles than sense, but I was wrong. When did you come up with this?”

  Confusion spread through the rest of the group, though Danny seemed to be getting over it fast. In fact, from the way his expression was clearing up, he finally caught on to what I was thinking.

  “On the way here,” I replied sheepishly. “I was debating whether this was another mistake on my part, which got me thinking about all my other mistakes, and… well, it just built on from there.”

  “Can somebody please explain what the hell you’re talking about?!” Taylor demanded, face flushed with impatience.

  “You’re planning on leveraging this information, aren’t you?” Danny asked, and now he’s the target of his daughter’s look of shock. “Probably to negotiate pardons for the Undersiders? Maybe clear Taylor’s name? Have the PRT drop their investigations into your activities?”

  I snapped my fingers his way. “Give this man a cookie! That’s exactly what I’m thinking.”

  “Wait,” Taylor suddenly spoke up, looking outraged. “You’re using our information on Leviathan’s upcoming attack to twist the PRT’s arm?”

  Stolen novel; please report.

  This was met by Lisa's scoff of derision. “Being kind of presumptuous there, aren’t you, Tay? There’s no ‘we’ or ‘our’ here. Alfred’s the one who got this info. Only he gets to decide what to do with it.”

  “And I’m using it for everyone’s benefit!” I jumped in, not having the patience for another argument. “Think about it, Taylor,” I pleaded, meeting the girl’s angry gaze. “We can finally explain that the swarm over the city and the thing out at sea weren’t your fault. We can let the PRT know that the Undersiders were being coerced or threatened by Coil to commit crimes. If we pull this off, you can finally walk in the daylight as the hero you always wanted to be.”

  I was doing so much sugarcoating here that it’s a wonder my teeth haven’t rotted. Reality wasn’t nearly so kind as I was painting, but I really needed the girl to agree.

  “They’ll know about Leviathan coming here,” I continued after casting Lisa, who looked like she was about to speak, a warning glance, “and can prepare accordingly. I’m not talking about extorting concessions. The information simply allows us to approach the PRT from a position of strength so that we can explain our side without anyone being in handcuffs.”

  “Uh,” Alec interrupted, raising a finger in the air, “why couldn’t you do this as Seraph, again?”

  I could only grimace in confusion. “I am doing this as Seraph, Alec. What are you talking about?”

  “No, I mean, why go through all this trouble? Why not just fly over to the White Hats and demand they listen or get fried?”

  “More the carrot, less the stick,” Danny answered before I could. “When entering negotiations, you only ever appear threatening as a last resort. Strength is about leverage. You have something the other side wants badly enough that they’ll be willing to play nice. Trying to throw your weight around rarely works out for everyone. Someone always gets hurt. Often, multiple someones.”

  Dear God, it’s nice to have a competent adult in the room! This is one of the reasons why I wanted Danny here. As much as teens liked to pretend they knew everything, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Even if the man isn’t a badass former assassin or the secret force behind Brockton Bay’s unions as he is often depicted in fanfiction, he would at least have perspective.

  “Exactly,” I said in relief. “This info on Leviathan gives us a chance to have an amicable, productive meeting with people who would otherwise only be interested in putting us behind bars.”

  “That’s not all you can ask for, though.” Lisa apparently couldn’t contain herself anymore. “Custody for Aisha,” she said to Brian. “Clearing your false murder charge,” she said to Rachel. “And even more protection from other villains,” she said to Alec.

  Just like that, everyone looked onboard with the plan. Well, everyone except for the Queen of Escalation.

  “Doesn’t this make us look like we’re taking advantage of an Endbringer attack?” Taylor asked.

  Everyone groaned at her question. Even Danny turned to her with a disappointed look.

  “No, Taylor, it doesn’t.” The man’s tired voice made him sound older than he actually was. “If you were asking for money or making unreasonable demands, then yes, it would look like you were taking advantage of the situation. But you’ll only ask to be heard. Regardless of the particulars or the significance of what you have to offer, this is simply a negotiation. It’s not anything the PRT hasn’t likely done a thousand times everywhere else.”

  The girl suddenly looked uncertain about her principles, which is another win for my choice to have Danny present. After all, as the man said, it’s all about leverage. Who could make the stubborn Master more pliable than the only family she has left in the world? Especially given his newfound burning desire to keep his baby girl safe?

  “We’re not asking for anything else, right?” Taylor looked at me earnestly. “That’s all of it?”

  I met her gaze with equal fervour. “I swear, Taylor. All I want is to make right what I’ve done wrong.”

  Eventually, she relented. “All right.”

  A collective exhale echoed through the room, much to my amusement. Whether she was aware of it or not, this girl had the ability to make everyone hold their breath in either anticipation or anxiety.

  “Perfect!” Lisa clapped her hands once. “Now, it’s time to talk details. If we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it right.”

  From there, the meeting went into the minutiae of planning our approach. I contributed once or twice, but left the rest to Lisa, Taylor, Danny, and Brian.

  Of far greater concern to me was the upcoming battle.

  Regardless of how preparations go, it’s practically guaranteed that a lot of people are going to die once Leviathan makes landfall. I wasn’t under the delusion that I could keep everyone alive, so I wasn’t even going to try.

  Taylor’s power is recovering and showing signs of increased potency, but it’s slow-going. Lisa doesn’t suffer Thinker migraines anymore, so she can use her ability as much as she wants, for as long as she wants. There’s no doubt she’ll find the Endbringer’s weakness much faster than she did in canon.

  Was it worth empowering the others? It’s not due to any kind of moral objection that I refused to pursue this line of thought. I just didn’t know enough about the empowering effects of the Dragoon Spirits. Taylor tapping into an eldritch dimension wasn’t something I was keen to see repeated.

  This changed with each passing day as I grew to understand my magical equivalent of passengers. Maybe it’s time to start experimenting?

  But, how would I go about it? More importantly, who would be my first subject?

  I spent the rest of the meeting half-listening to the others talking and half considering the potential of boosting another Parahuman. It wasn’t until I spoke with Lisa about it later that night that I finally had someone in mind.

  Oh, yes. They’re perfect.