The Grimoire's Chosen Ch. 33 (Worm) (Patreon)

A/N: Parian shows restraint.

-x-X-x-

Admittedly, Jason would never have backed Taylor’s seduction play if it wasn’t for what he knew about Parian’s current… condition. Man, if he had a nickel for every time he used Focus only to discover a woman nearby was being perverted, Jason would have two nickels at this point. Which wasn’t very many, but it was still weird that it had happened twice in two days.

It wasn’t like he’d been going out of his way to ferret out depraved women either! With Carol, he’d just gotten the power and was simply testing it out. With Parian, well, he just wanted to make sure him and Taylor were safe, so he’d used Focus once before they’d entered the building to make sure none of their supposed enemies were nearby, and then he’d used it again while he was getting into his new costume to make sure they weren’t being surrounded or ambushed.

… Okay and also maybe he wanted to confirm for his own sake that Parian was definitely not an enemy. And she wasn’t! In fact, she was distinctly marked as an ‘ally’ by his power, which was more than he could say for even the PRT and Protectorate in the city. For some reason, they were all gray. Maybe because he and Taylor weren’t established as Independent Heroes yet?

Still, as a direct consequence of focusing his power on Parian, Jason had discovered the intricate rope bondage currently lying under her costume. It was just like with Carol. When he closed his eyes, he could see what Parian was hiding… and how aroused she was. She was at least a little kinky from the look of things, so when he came out to find Taylor all but looming over her and Parian seemingly enjoying it… well, he’d figured he might as well play along.

He was still trying to be a little cautious though. Hence going with the “name your heart’s desire” shtick instead of directly propositioning her. He wanted to leave Parian an ‘out’ of sorts, even if she seemed interested.

Fidgeting and squirming between them for several long, pregnant moments of silence, Parian finally shakes her head.

“U-Um… can I get a rain check on that ‘reward’?”

Jason raises an eyebrow even as Taylor stiffens. Parian is quick to continue on though.

“N-Not that I’m not interested! I definitely am! I just…”

“Need to talk to your Mistress first.”

When Taylor cuts in with that, Parian goes as still as a mouse. Jason blinks at Taylor’s words, giving her a confused look. And yet… Parian doesn’t try to deny it. Just what the hell does Taylor know that he doesn’t?

“… y-yes.”

It’s clear from how quiet she’s gotten that Parian is cringing under her porcelain doll mask, all but expecting them to lambast her for not jumping right into their bed or something. Before Taylor can say anything else, Jason steps in with a smile and a hand on Parian’s shoulder.

“That’s fine, Parian. Whatever you need to do, it’s alright. No matter what, we’re still business partners now. You’ve done amazing work, and I think I speak for both Weaver and myself when I say we’re looking forward to our future working relationship… whatever else might come along.”

He gives Taylor a meaningful look at that, and after a moment the bug controller grunts and nods.

“Yeah. These costumes are legitimately amazing… better than what I could have made even with ten times the amount of time. Thanks.”

Parian shudders in relief, even as Jason gives her shoulder one more comforting squeeze before stepping away from her. Taylor moves to join him, and as she stands at his side, they both turn back to Parian.

“Seems to me we should go ahead and take these for a test drive now that we’re fully kitted out. We’ll be in touch, Parian.”

“Y-Yeah, a-alright! I mean… yes, of course.”

Jason just chuckles and gives her a wave goodbye as he and Taylor gather their things and leave. Between their powers, they remain undetected even as they store their belongings in a safe spot. Of course, before their very first official joint patrol can begin, Jason needs some answers.

“What was that back there?”

Taylor freezes like a deer caught in headlights for a moment before cautiously answering.

“… What was what?”

He’s not having that though. Jason fixes his ‘partner’ with a distinct look and shakes his head.

“I’m not going to give Parian the third degree because let’s be honest, we’re not nearly that close yet. But you and I are supposed to be partners. If there’s something you’re not telling me…”

In the end, that’s all it takes thankfully. Taylor, for all that she can be incredibly aggressive at times, crumples like nothing before his tone.

“… She wants you to fuck Fletchette in front of her. She gets off on that fantasy.”

Of all the things Jason expected to hear…

“Excuse me?”

Sighing, Taylor elaborates. She explains how she didn’t trust them after that first meeting, especially when Parian brought a Protectorate Hero to what was supposed to be a private meeting with independents without telling them. So she left some bugs behind to watch them. Apparently, Taylor had been working on her power… she’d been working on it hard because, according to her, he was utter bullshit and she needed to keep up.

Well, a direct consequence of that was that she had gained the ability to not just hear, but also start to see through her bugs. And through that, she was able to listen in and watch as Fletchette dommed poor submissive Parian while describing all the nasty things they might get him, Portent, to do to Fletchette.

So Parian’s Mistress and lover was Fletchette, and Fletchette was apparently willing to fulfill her submissive girlfriend’s fantasy by letting him fuck her in front of the doll-themed rogue.

“… I still don’t fully trust Fletchette if I’m being honest. I don’t trust the Protectorate. That’s why… I wanted to try and get Parian in bed with us today, without Fletchette there. So we could start leveraging our relationship with her in the event that Fletchette turned out to be bad news.”

That was… Jason sighs and manifests the Staff of Magnus. Then, very gently, holding it more like a stick than a staff, he reaches out and bops Taylor in the nose. Or rather, more specifically he bops her in her mask.

“Bad Weaver.”

Rearing back from the blow more from surprise than pain considering he’d put no force behind it, Taylor radiates pure bewilderment.

“It’s fine that you don’t trust Fletchette. But trying to get between two women just because of what one might do… no. I’m glad that Parian turned us down today and that if anything happens between us in the future, it’ll be the four of us and not the three of us.”

Taylor ponders his words in silence for a moment before speaking in a small voice.

“… four of us?”

Grinning, Jason just shrugs.

“If they work up the courage to proposition me in the way you’re suggesting, it would be wrong to leave Parian all alone while I… enjoyed Fletchette. Of course you’d be there. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

He can tell that those words have an outstated impact on Taylor. She straightens up and he suspects she’s smiling quite broadly behind that imposing new mask of hers. Jason smiles as well, before gesturing with his free hand.

“Shall we?”

After a moment of hesitation, Taylor nods.

“Let’s.”

And thus their first patrol together begins with little more fanfare than that. Of course, they’re still relatively close to the Boardwalk part of the Docks. But not quite inside of it, anymore. Despite what some might try to say, there were no real clearly defined boundaries in Brockton Bay.

The major gangs all have street presence of course, either through boots on the ground or tags on the wall marking this street or that street as part of their territory. In point of fact, the Docks largely belonged to the ABB, aka the Azn Bad Boys. The all-Asian gang was notoriously prejudiced against Non-Asians, along with being known for their illegal brothels and gambling dens.

They weren’t as bad as say, the Merchants or anything like that, and they got a lot of leeway among Brockton’s Asian American Community for largely holding the Nazis of the Empire Eighty-Eight at bay, but ultimately… they were bad news.

Especially their capes. Despite being a major gang, the ABB only had two capes compared to the far larger rosters that everyone else fielded. It didn’t matter though because Lung and Oni Lee were force multipliers that couldn’t be denied. Between Oni Lee’s telefragging and Lung’s capacity for both taking damage and dishing out extreme violence, nobody was really going toe to toe with either of them.

But going back to that thing about boundaries and territory lines… things changed all the time. And while it was commonly understood that the Docks were ABB territory, that didn’t mean ALL of the Docks were ABB territory. The Boardwalk for instance, was decidedly considered apart from the rest of the Docks. And that meant that the streets around the Boardwalk tended to be relatively safe as well until you got further out.

That was where he and Taylor started their patrol, in that liminal space between hardcore ABB territory and Boardwalk territory. But they didn’t stay there for long. It wouldn’t have been much of a patrol if they stayed too close to the Boardwalk, after all. There might not be a direct Enforcer presence on the streets surrounding the pristine strip of shops and businesses, but there still wasn’t much crime to stop here.

As such, by unspoken agreement, Jason and Taylor slowly make their way deeper into the Docks themselves, away from the Boardwalk and further into ABB territory. Risky? Maybe. Between their two powersets and their new costumes, Jason didn’t fear any normal mooks, even those who might be armed with guns. But if they were unlucky enough to run into Oni Lee or Lung, that was perhaps a very different story.

Still, they travel by rooftop, using Jason’s Flash Air to transport themselves from building to building while Taylor spreads her swarm all around them. It allows them rather extreme overwatch and Jason figures it’s only a matter of time before they find something. When Taylor signals him that she’s got something on her radar, he’s ready for it and tenses up in anticipation… only to frown when she curses under her breath.

“Of fucking course…”

Jason raises an eyebrow, even as Taylor sighs heavily.

“Fletchette is in the area. Doesn’t look like she knows where to find us… but it’s obvious she’s searching for us.”

Yeah, that was too much of a coincidence for her not to be here for them. They just got done with Parian after all. Jason sighs as well, rubbing his eyes tiredly for a moment. Just one simple patrol. That was all he asked for.

“… Direct her to us.”

Still, even if he wanted to blow her off and keep going, it was probably best to at least hear her out first. And so Jason and Taylor wait patiently as Taylor uses her bugs to get Fletchette’s attention and bring her over to them. It’s not long before the heroine is climbing up onto the rooftop, her massive arbalest attached to her back.

There’s an awkward silence as she straightens up and brushes herself off for a moment before looking them both over with a low whistle.

“Damn. Not bad. Not bad at all.”

Jason raises an eyebrow at that, even as he shares a glance with Taylor. In the end though… he knows he needs to take the lead here.

“What can we do for you, Fletchette?”

Fletchette clears her throat.

“Ahem. Right. I guess there’s no reason to pretend we haven’t met before. Look, the PRT received a tip on the helpline mentioning individuals matching your description moving through this area. Needless to say, I recognized who you might be from both the description and the proximity to the Boardwalk, so I stepped up and volunteered to make contact. If you’d rather not talk to me though, I get it. Say the word and I can get another Protectorate Hero out here.”

Well now. That was… a lot. Though it did make some amount of sense. The major gangs had spies and informants all over the city. But the PRT and Protectorate were supposed to be ‘above’ such things. Namely, this meant they were stuck relying on nosy neighbors and ‘concerned citizens’.

Someone had probably seen Jason’s flashy new gold and silver costume from their window and called it in. Though… wait, did that mean what he thought it meant?

“… Has Parian gotten the chance to talk to you yet?”

Fletchette tilts her head to the side in confusion.

“No? Why?”

So then it was a coincidence, of sorts. Jason didn’t think Fletchette was lying either. Damn, his luck was really something else.

With a sigh, he shares another look with Taylor before shaking his head.

“That’s for you and her to discuss. We don’t need another Protectorate Hero to come out here, you’re fine.”

Fletchette relaxes a little bit in relief at that. Then, she straightens back up again, her entire demeanor turning more… official.

“Alright then. I’m supposed to ask if either of you would be willing to come over to the PRT Headquarters at this time to fill out paperwork that would make you official Independent Heroes recognized by the Protectorate.”

Jason and Taylor share another glance before Jason shakes his head again.

“No, not at this time.”

Fletchette nods, clearly having been expecting that.

“Look, I won’t bother regaling you with the tales of Independent Hero death rates right now or anything like that. I know you two are more serious than most new capes already. But… can I at least join you on your patrol? Another pair of hands can’t hurt, right?

And yet again, for what feels like the umpteenth time, Jason has to look over at Taylor. Because his instinct is to go with the flow and just say yes, but he’s well aware that Taylor doesn’t trust Fletchette now. So he wants to make sure she’s okay with this before anything else…

-x-X-x-

A/N: Peek behind the curtain time, I actually made a list of six options and rolled a dice for who they would encounter on their first patrol lol. Lily was option five.

-x-X-x-

A/N: Will try to keep this up to date at the end of every chapter, get on me if I forget please. Though if it gets too out of hand, might have to change it at some point.

Jason's current banked points:

100 Celestial Points

Jason's current banked power:

= Chaos Magic (1000 Points)

Jason's current powers:

= Flash Air (Gained in Chapter 1

= Transformation Pendant (Gained in Chapter 4)

= Keen Eye (Gained in Chapter 4)

= Blood, Death, and Demons (Gained in Chapter 6)

= Alchemical Prodigy (Gained in Chapter 8)

= Staff of Magnus (Gained in Chapter 13)

= Bind and Seal (Gained in Chapter 17)

= Hero of a Hundred Faces: Everyone's Leader (Gained in Chapter 20)

= Minor Regeneration via Blood Empowerment Ritual (Gained in Chapter 23)

= Restraining Order (Gained in Chapter 25)

= Focus (Gained in Chapter 28)

= Scarborough Fair (Gained in Chapter 30)