The River King 5

The River King 5 Taylor Hebert Tahm had a lot of power. I didn’t realize it at first. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if he did, either. A Case-

The River King 5

Taylor Hebert

Tahm had a lot of power. I didn’t realize it at first. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if he did, either. A Case-53 remembered nothing, right?

But still, he was strong. It was in the quiet, self-assured way he carried himself, as if Alexandria herself couldn’t move him if he didn’t want to be moved. To go with his confidence, his powers weren’t anything to scoff at.

He was a brute, with a long, prehensile tongue that gave him a lot of reach. He was also probably much more durable than I was. He could teleport through water, because “Life is one big river, Taylor.” Whatever that meant. I was pretty sure he could do lots of other things with water too, so something like a mini-Leviathan. It was no wonder he wanted to keep his existence quiet.

But most importantly, he was a trump. Trumps were rare. Trumps that granted powers were even rarer. The biggest example I could think of was Teacher, a Birdcaged villain who successfully assassinated the vice president of the United States.

At first, I was worried his gift would come with strings attached. I wasn’t dumb. I knew that if something was free, that was because I was the product. Teacher was Birdcaged because he was a master, not just a trump.

But my friend wasn’t like that. His power wasn’t like that. Instead of exerting control over people he gave powers to, he sold powers. An exchange that facilitated his physiological need for live prey.

I wasn’t sure how that worked exactly, but his trump power worked with his biology. His body weight in bugs for a minor brute package, no different than buying groceries at the supermarket.

So it made sense that additional improvements to my power would require a bigger “contract.” Live prey, but bugs weren’t going to cut it anymore. That… That required a bit of research. I had to find animals that were “safe” to eat, morally uncomplicated.

I winced as I had the roaches chew through the sinew of a stray tomcat. He was older, scruffy, and hadn’t been neutered. I read about how dominant cats could be to the city’s wildlife. They were pests, destroying the urban ecosystem because they were too good at hunting.

He yowled and hissed. His claws swiped away at the swarm, but that wasn’t nearly enough. My insects lacked a sense of self-preservation. They swarmed him with a combined weight tenfold his own. They bit and tore, first the fur, then finding purchase into soft flesh.

His caterwauling became uncomfortable to hear. It sent a shiver down my spine. I wanted to offload the discomfort to the swarm, but I held back, forcing myself to feel the full weight of what I was doing. To do otherwise felt… disrespectful? Maybe that wasn’t the right word.

I felt awful. I wanted to kill him, put him out of his misery, but I couldn’t. Tahm needed live prey. Cats were too mobile. The only thing I could do was to quickly saw through his tendons before gagging him with silk.

Finally, after several minutes, I was done. With that one. I needed more. Tahm’s body weight.

“Are… Are you sure you need your weight?” I asked with an anxious twitch. Even as I had my bugs slowly drag the cat to our warehouse, I could feel it twitching with pain.

The big, catfish-like cape shook his head sadly. “I’m afraid so, Taylor. Everything has a price. To receive my power, you need to provide my weight in prey. I would help if I could, but…”

“But it wouldn’t be me,” I finished for him. Were all powers this symbolic? I hated it, but I could do so much more. I wouldn’t have lost to Cricket if I had more power. “I get it. This is… It’s for the best. I’m cleaning up the city.”

“You can stop, Taylor. You can walk away. Everything has a price, but not everything need be purchased, my young friend. You are already a hero for taking care of ol’ Tahm like this.”

“N-No… I need to do this. For me. For the city. For all the people I can save with your help, Tahm.”

“As you will. I won’t try to change your mind anymore. But you can avoid kittens if they make your heart ache.”

“I won’t run from my responsibilities.”

I said that, but I couldn’t force myself to maim another cat. Mom loved cats, even if they were strays. She’d probably be horrified. Then again, maybe not? Dad confessed she used to run with Lustrum before the cape’s feminist movement went off the deep end. She was the pragmatic one, the one who got things done.

I eventually figured out an easier way. Everything needed to breathe. But, it wasn’t like things died right away if you stuffed their windpipes with roaches. Most animals could go without air for several minutes. It was cruel, but it kept the struggle to a minimum and avoided unwanted noise.

Now that I was looking, I realized just how much wildlife there actually was beneath our feet. There were countless rats and mice, racoons and possums, squirrels, and pigeons. All of those could be considered pests so I focused my efforts there. My swarm moved out like a black tide, sweeping through the city’s underground and collecting bodies for the sacrifice.

One by one, they arrived at the warehouse. I saw the states of some of them and felt vomit rise in the back of my throat. They were alive, but many had thrashed wildly, breaking their own limbs and ribs against whatever wall or pipe had been nearby.

It took several hours until I felt I had enough. The bodies were piled up in front of Tahm. I couldn’t see well, but my insects on top of those animals felt the rise and fall of their little chests, the pulses of blood pumping in their little veins. It was a macabre display, a stark reminder of what my bugs could really do with the right numbers.

I knew that had any hero seen me now, they would have labeled me a villain without a second thought. This was horrid, animal cruelty by anyone’s definition.

And yet… Surely, the ends justified the means, right?

Tahm must have sensed my hesitance. He looked over the loose pyramid of bodies, waist high, and placed a warm hand on my shoulder.

“Taylor, I can see that this is making you uncomfortable. You can still back out. The contract has not been signed yet,” Tahm said with his usual, comforting drawl.

I took a deep breath. A part of me wanted to agree, but a bigger part said that would be taking the easy way out.

I took a moment to collect myself. “No. I maimed all these creatures. It was… easy. It almost became a routine towards the end. And for what? For me to back out now that I have to see awful things I did to them?”

“My diet is not for the faint of heart.”

“But I said I’d help you. And so, I will. I won’t run just because this makes me uncomfortable. I won’t waste all of this.”

“Is that your final decision?”

“It is, Tahm. Enjoy your meal.”

“You are strong. So be it, Taylor. As your friend, I would like to respect your resolve. I accept this contract,” he said solemnly. “From this point on, the River is yours to call.”

I nodded and took a step back. This was… This was awful. But they were animals in the end, just little critters, pests, I told myself. They existed to be hunted. I was just a bigger predator than they were used to. And if their deaths could make me a hero, give me the power to change things, then surely this was worth it.

Tahm stepped towards the meat pile and opened his mouth. Reality seemed to bend and distort as his maw expanded. For a moment, his mouth felt as though it could swallow the world. A long, pink tongue extended out, somehow grabbing everything at once in a way that made my eyes water.

And then, it was over. There was no fanfare, but I felt power welling up within me and I knew the contract had been fulfilled.

X

I had to leave shortly after, dawn was breaking, but I was back as soon as I could find the time. I just had to poke my head in at Mrs. Knott’s computer programming class. She was the only one who gave a damn about taking attendance. After that, I just walked out the front door.

I was now faced with the difficult question of how to best explore my new powers. And unfortunately, Tahm was no help at all. Which was to say, he’d vanished sometime since I left our hideout last night and had yet to reappear since.

He did that sometimes, because “Life is a river, and I’m its king.” I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I could get the gist. Even a “gentleman” like him had to get pretty antsy. He couldn’t wander about freely in the daytime, so he must have taken the few hours of twilight still available. Or maybe, he teleported to another city altogether.

I imagined Tahm river-warping down to Texas so he could see a rodeo or something. Or maybe down to Louisiana. I could see him walking up to a cajun restaurant and ordering their entire stock of alligator nuggets in his genteel drawl.

Well, he’d probably eat the alligators directly from the bayou. Either way, the image made me giggle. I hoped he was having fun, wherever he was.

I wasn’t completely without guidance. I was pretty sure his favorite saying was a clue in itself. He was that kind of person, the sort with a dry wit who liked leaving clues in old, folksy sayings.

I could feel it. It was something I noticed in school that I couldn’t fully explain. It also apparently came with a thinker power that would no doubt come in handy later.

The water, all water, refreshed me more than it used to. I could feel flowing bodies of water, from the pipes and faucets to my classmates and teachers. It was like an expansion of my existing insect-sense, one that came with broader awareness of all living things.

After all, if “Life is a river,” then what was the body, but a closed river system of blood and other fluids?

Maybe that made sense, maybe it didn’t. Either way, I’d been itching to explore the rest of Tahm’s gift to me. The thinker boost was nice, but I could feel my hydrokinesis like a muscle I’d yet to exercise.

I pulled the mask over my face. I wasn’t Taylor Hebert now. Now, I was Monarch, a hero.

I tapped into that cramped feeling I’d had all day and all but groaned with relief. It was like popping my back or finally taking my shoes off after a day of hiking.

A wide grin bloomed beneath my mask as the water answered. I didn’t know where it came from, only that it didn’t come from my own body. It emerged as if conjured into being by my new power, a bubble that floated above my palm.

It was a brackish green, as if colored by algae or floating sediment. Maybe it wasn’t crystal-clear like in those bottled water commercials, but to me, it was beautiful. It was proof that I was moving forward again. I was making progress. This was the way to get stronger, strong enough to beat Cricket, strong enough to make a difference.

Slowly I began to test myself. The first thing I needed to learn was exactly how much water I could create. Quantity was important; I’d learned that from experience. One roach was a nuisance. Ten thousand was a genuine threat to any other living thing.

Through trial and error, I found that I could generate enough water to match my own volume. It wasn’t much, I wasn’t exactly a big girl, but I had full control over it. I could harden the water until it felt like brick, make constructs, or throw it around with the same force as I could exert with my own body.

Weeks ago, that wouldn’t have been much. Now, with Tahm’s help, I felt as if I could dent a telephone pole. And, if I used the water to strike for me, then I wouldn’t even have to worry about hurting myself.

But while the added range and versatility were nice, the real prize was mobility. Like my genteel friend, I could form the water into a portal, using it to travel up and down the “River.” It took me precious seconds, I was nowhere near as good at it as Tahm, but I felt like a whole new cape.

Never would I have to worry about getting civilians out of harm’s way. Never would I have to fear being followed after a fight. Never would a criminal get away from me; my bug-sense and this new power guaranteed it.

I laughed long and hard. The gangs wouldn’t know what hit them.

X

 I wanted to go after the Empire right away. Not only were they the biggest eyesore in the city, Cricket and I had a score to settle.

That very night, I circled Empire territory again. This time, I’d opted for a thick trench coat I found at a Goodwill for fifteen bucks alongside my Monarch mask. It was an ugly, shit-brown affair but it covered everything down to my ankles and had deep pockets.

This extra space allowed me to build up a swarm of insects that weren’t capable flyers or too large to be airlifted along. I’d lost my makeshift batons but even those had been readily replaced by a rusty metal bat I found in the trash behind a middle school gym.

With the trench coat and bat, I probably looked more like a gangbanger than a hero. That was annoying, but so long as I had the mask, I’d be fine. Monarch was a known quantity already. Maybe not famous, but PHO knew what I looked like. An independent like me couldn’t afford to be picky.

I stood at the buffer zone between PRT and Empire territory. There was no official line per se, but everyone in Brockton Bay knew exactly where this border was.

It was the point at which the Boardwalk and the touristy neighborhood faded, replaced by hardware stores, plumbers, carpenters, and other blue collar businesses. Go down another three blocks and this too would be replaced by high-rise, multi-purpose apartments and commercial buildings, the downtown area occupied by major employers like Medhall and Stansfied Holding Company.

I pursed my lips in annoyance. I had no idea why the PRT gave way to the Empire, especially in the business district. Dad worked in HR; he said that because employers knew that their area was “owned” by the Empire, however unofficially, they were reluctant to hire or promote minorities into senior leadership.

The Empire didn’t even have to break people’s kneecaps in the streets. People just behaved that way because even if they weren’t racist, other businesses might be. Other businesses might not sign contracts if the VP was black or Jewish or what have you.

As he told mom when he thought I wasn’t listening, “Shit flows downhill.” Over the years, it created a culture of quiet prejudice. It denied opportunities for minorities and created an unofficial caste system, all with relatively few overt displays of violence.

It was bullshit. I wasn’t a politician or businessman. I’d freely admit there were things about this that I probably didn’t understand. But the idea that fucking Nazis had that kind of quiet pull in my city, and that the heroes were wiling to let it go, made my blood boil.

My swarm fidgeted all around me. My frustration agitated them into a silent fervor.

I broke into a jog and my swarm spread out across the city. There was no use trying to keep my bug powers subtle anymore, not when Cricket and Alabaster saw me use them.

Besides, I had a new trick to show off.

I saw man being accosted by a knife-wielding mugger three blocks down and dipped into an alley. Several seconds of focus later, my orb of brackish water flattened out, creating a miniature whirlpool, Tahm’s River.

I stepped inside and felt the cool water wash over me. It felt a little like going down a water slide and I urged what limited control I had to speed myself along. Then, I was on the other side, erupting from the exit like a fish leaping from the water.

I was already swinging as I left the River. Not hard, I knew to mind my strength, but the end of my batt slammed into the mugger’s stomach, doubling him over. I thought I felt one of his floating ribs crack, but oh well.

Seconds later, I had him cuffed with zip ties.

I considered waiting for the cops, but decided against it. One thing I’d learned over the weeks was that cops didn’t have the will nor bandwidth to process every assault and robbery, especially since this guy hadn’t technically hurt anyone.

I hated it. Even if I waited for the cops, he’d be walking free within the day because I had no documentation, no evidence. Since I stopped him before he did more than flash the knife, he was innocent?

How absurd. I refused to let someone bleed out just so I could have “evidence.”

I nodded towards the would-be victim and walked away.

Two blocks down, I found a trio of Empire drug dealers. They didn’t like to deal drugs in the business district, that area needed to be kept clean, so their dealers worked in the buffer areas. They weren’t as bad as the Merchants, but I had no reservations about taking them out.

I popped out from the River, hand curling around the leader’s throat. I slammed his head into the wall and followed with a knee to the groin before whirling around with my bat. Quick, ruthless violence was the way to go. Dealer, buyer, it didn’t matter to me.

When I was done, I tied them all before dumping them next to the trash. I searched them and found their stash; I’d get rid of it when my night was over.

The rest of my night went like that. I ran around Empire turf, beating up as many criminals as I could.

Half of them weren’t even committing crimes when I found them, but I didn’t care. I wanted this to be my official declaration of war. Against every gang in the city, but first the Empire. Black and red. If they wore gang colors, or had the right tattoos, they got a beating.

I left many of them with broken bones and wasp stings in inconvenient places. They had Othala, right? The Nazi bitch could earn her paycheck or something. Or not, maybe these grunts weren’t worth her time.

With my newfound hydrokinesis, I felt comfortable delving deeper into their territory. About two hours into my spree, I saw a few capes gather. Rune was ferrying a man in black and red tactical gear, Victor. Unfortunately for them, I noticed them coming blocks away. Victor couldn’t even raise his rifle before the River carried me away.

I’d settle my score with Cricket eventually. I’d take down each of the capes, from the littlest Nazi to Kaiser himself.

But not tonight. I did some thinking, and truthfully, I could use more practice with my new powers. It wasn’t just about discovering new tricks with my bugs and water; it was about getting comfortable with the tools at my disposal.

Besides, beating the gangs didn’t just mean arresting the Empire capes. Given the PRT’s track record, those capes would be out within the week. Nor did it mean taking down their hideouts and stashes. They were on the list, but they could wait for the moment.

No, taking down the Empire also meant crushing the everyday gangbanger and putting the fear of God into them. Even if Othala could get them back in fighting shape, their lives would be disrupted for however long that took. They’d have to remember the pain and know I’d happily come after them again. 

Best of all, there was no moralizing about the unwritten rules. I was pretty sure I knew what Cricket and Stormtiger looked like under the mask but could only go after them when they were in costume.

If that was the case, I wouldn’t go after them for now. I’d play this game of tag, ripping into their unpowered members and keeping the streets safe.

The Empire was bigger than me. Every time they mobilized to chase me down, they wasted more time and resources than I was worth to them. And when they still had nothing to show for it, they’d get desperate. The capes would come out in force and they’d begin to make mistakes.

Who knew? If that happened, maybe the heroes would have no choice but to respond in kind. And in that chaos, I could turn the tide. I could be everywhere, strike everywhere.

I was Monarch. Brockton Bay was my city. It was time to topple an Empire.

Author’s Note

Taylor is determined. No one is happy about it.

Tahm understands that an addict does not need to be thrust into their vices. He understands that many times, they will rationalize their own poor decisions. He needs only to be patient.

That’s what’s happening here. Tahm offers Taylor what she truly wants: Not heroism, but purpose. And each time he expresses doubt, each time he wonders if they’re going too far, Taylor reassures him. Because of course she does. That’s what friends do, right?

And in doing so, she reinforces her own rationalizations in her mind.

Animal Fact: I can’t remember if I’ve used this one before, but: Manta rays are the smartest fish as far as we know. They consistently pass the mirror test (widely accepted test of sentience). They have the largest brain-to-body ratio of any fish.

Mantas have been shown to engage in complex behavior. This includes complicated courtship dances and feeding strategies. For example, mantas will stack on top of one another like a pancake stack made of roombas to trap plankton. In fact, some will even recognize familiar divers and play games with them.