A/N: Here's the new Chapter! Which also means the next four chapters are up on my Patreon for early access as well as the chance to vote on the direction of the story!

  Poor Parian really is just doing her best.

  -x-X-x-

  “You’re nervous.”

  Sabah flinches at her girlfriend’s voice, even as she rexes back into Lily’s hold. The taller woman drapes her arms over Sabah’s shoulders and hugs her from behind, allowing Sabah to lean her head back against Lily’s bust and just… rex for a moment.

  “Of course I’m nervous. You know why.”

  Lily hums and Sabah can feel her nodding behind her.

  “I know. You’re right to be cautious, but that’s why I’m here. They won’t dare try anything once they see me.”

  Huffing, Sabah scowls just a little bit behind her mask.

  “Yes… so long as your very presence doesn’t chase them away in the first pce.”

  “Mm. If it does, we’ll know they had ill intentions all along. After all, who else but vilins would back out on a business deal solely because a Protectorate Hero is present?”

  That was… true, yes. There should be no reason for these two new independent heroes, if they were what they said they were, to flee just because Fletchette was here. Sure, Sabah probably should have told them about her presence, but Lily had convinced her not to. Called it an extra bit of insurance that would make sure they didn’t try anything.

  … After what had happened six months ago, Sabah knew better than to try to gainsay her lover. Doing things on her own without Lily’s input had nearly gotten her pressganged into the Elite after all. She’d barely made it out with her life and liberty intact.

  It was kind of funny how this new cape ‘Portent’ hadn’t even questioned it when Sabah told him she didn’t do in person consultations anymore. Either he was as wet behind the ears as he seemed, or it was a sign that he wasn’t on the up and up. Maybe another attempt by the Elite? Sabah couldn’t be sure.

  What she did know for sure was that things had gotten… untenable ever since the Elite’s attempt at kidnapping her. Anyone who knew a lick about tailoring could have told you that it was impossible to do things solely online and through drop-offs. You needed in-person meetings for the measurements, and usually you needed multiple in-person meetings to make sure the outfit in question was just right.

  But Sabah hadn’t dared to meet anyone in person since the incident six months ago. It’d been hard for her to even leave her house for a while after the near miss she’d suffered. Needless to say, her business had suffered tremendously ever since. Her insistence on taking care of orders through online communication and drop-offs meant that her customer base, even the most loyal of them, had ultimately fled her in droves.

  Of course, it didn’t help that rumors had spread about her and the Elite. No one knew what really happened, but everyone in her social sphere heard something that made them less and less inclined to do business with her under her new… conditions.

  In the end, Lily was the only one who stayed by her side through thick and thin. They’d met a year ago, right after Lily had graduated from the Wards and become a full-fledged Protectorate Hero. She’d transferred to Brockton Bay and they’d run into each other in their civilian identities. One thing had led to another and before Sabah knew it, she was in the other woman’s bed.

  Lily was technically younger than her by a few years, but there was no denying who wore the pants in their retionship. Not only was Sabah smaller than her tall, Japanese American Girlfriend, but she was also just more submissive and introverted in general. Lily, by comparison, was outgoing and extroverted. Even when Sabah hadn’t been sure about dragging Lily into her life, the other woman had refused to back down. Before they knew it, they were sharing their secrets with one another and holding nothing back.

  Now, all these months ter, Lily was the only one Sabah could still rely on. But Lily’s skills did not exactly lend themselves towards keeping a Parahuman Business afloat. As a Rogue, Sabah couldn’t be more than loosely affiliated with the Protectorate… and really, as much as she loved Lily, she didn’t want to be more than loosely affiliated either.

  Unfortunately, if something didn’t change soon, what Sabah wanted might not py a factor for much longer. Lily was intent on supporting her no matter what, but if Sabah’s business completely colpsed in on itself, her only option might be signing a contract with the Protectorate and becoming their live-in costume designer. It would be good money sure, but it would also be creatively stifling and represent an end to her independence.

  She needed something else to turn things around. She needed a Hail Mary… like a source of Spider Silk capable of mimicking the strength of Kevr. Honestly, both Portent and Weaver seemed way too good to be true. But Sabah was desperate. Maybe this was another Elite plot, maybe it was a plot by one of the gangs in Brockton Bay. She still had to try and worst comes to worst, she’d fall back on Lily and the Protectorate at the end of the day.

  “They’re here.”

  Stiffening up, Sabah is yanked from her internal monologuing by Lily’s words. Her girlfriend is currently fully cd in her attire as Fletchette, Protectorate Hero. Sabah, meanwhile, was wearing her own costume, complete with blonde wig and porcein doll mask to hide her dark skin. With a pulse of her power, she has the massive cloth bear she’s built rise to its full height as well and readies herself for Portent and Weaver to walk through the door.

  They’ve set things up perfectly. The Boardwalk has a number of pces set aside for Cape Dealings just like this. Lily is leaning against the far wall, arms crossed over her chest and massive Arbalest resting against her leg, ready to be lifted up at a moment’s notice. Meanwhile, Sabah stands in the middle of the room, her stuffed bodyguard posted up behind her as she stands there with her hands at her sides.

  The door finally finishes cycling open, and Portent and Weaver step on through. Sabah’s first impression is that they certainly look new to this. They’re both masked up of course, but beyond that… they don’t have costumes on. Just dark, nondescript, baggy clothing without any sort of branding or visual identifiers.

  Though… the one who is most likely Portent IS wielding a very ostentatious-looking staff, and has a big gaudy amulet draped around his neck as well. Neither looks like costume jewelry, so maybe he’s a Tinker or something? And the one who is almost certainly Weaver has some bugs crawling on her in a way that makes Sabah’s skin crawl a bit. Nothing too over the top, but she sees what looks like Bck Widows literally crawling around through Weaver’s hair. Eugh.

  She can’t let it get to her though. In fact, she can’t be Sabah anymore, not now that they’ve arrived. From this point on, she’s Parian, Rogue Fashion Designer. She has to embody that, or she’s likely to have a breakdown or something.

  Of course, even as Sabah is giving herself that peptalk, she sees the way Portent and Weaver both pause at the sight of Fletchette. Sure, Lily might be off to the side, lounging against the wall… but she’s still here all the same. Weaver immediately lifts a hand and points an accusatory finger at her.

  “You’re Fletchette. A hero with the Protectorate.”

  Tilting her head to the side, Fletchette hums.

  “I am. What of it?”

  Hackles raising, Weaver’s teeth grinding is audible in the tense silence that follows.

  “… We didn’t agree to meet with the Protectorate. We’re not looking to join up with you lot.”

  Again, Fletchette shrugs.

  “And I’m not here to recruit either of you. Not to worry, you won’t be receiving a pitch from me or anything like that. I’m just here as insurance.”

  Portent and Weaver exchange a gnce at that, and Parian watches with bated breath as they communicate silently with one another for a moment. She needed them, she needed this deal… she really did. However, she’d been burned before. If they really couldn’t stand Lily’s presence, then it stood to reason they had ill intentions all along.

  Finally, the two turn back to them. More specifically, they turn back to her, seeming to purposefully ignore Fletchette and focus specifically on Parian herself. Portent in particur causes Parian to straighten her back as his gaze falls upon her. There’s just something about him that radiates authority. It’s a little bit frightening, but also kind of… nice?

  “Alright then. Let’s get down to business, shall we? You’ve had the time to test Weaver’s Spider Silk. Obviously, Weaver can produce more with her power. And if we get her even better spiders, she can produce even stronger silk.”

  Parian can’t help but be a little excited by that. They’d done their research too! Yes, while she’d been testing the swath of silk they’d dropped off to her, she’d also looked into it. What they’d given her, Portent had said Weaver made with Bck Widows. However, Bck Widows did NOT produce the world’s strongest Spider Silk. Instead, that accode fell at the many feet of the Darwin’s bark spider.

  An orb-weaver spider that was just recently discovered over in Madagascar, the Darwin’s bark spider was said to be capable of producing a silk that people were already calling one of the toughest biological materials ever studied… outside of biological materials produced by Parahuman Powers, of course.

  Spider Silk from Bck Widows was said to be equivalent to Kevr. But Spider Silk from Darwin’s bark spiders was said to be up to TEN TIMES as strong as Kevr. Needless to say, if Weaver could get her hands on some of those, the things she could do with her powers would be amazing.

  The fact that the two independents had already been looking into finding something even better than Bck Widows spoke well of them in Parian’s opinion. It meant they were taking this seriously. Online, Portent had said that he and Weaver both wanted to be independent heroes though, not rogues. Still, maybe something could be worked out all the same…

  “I won’t act like I’m not extremely interested in making a deal involving the Spider Silk. I wouldn’t be meeting with you both in person if I wasn’t. Still… what exactly do the two of you want out of this? What are you hoping comes from this?”

  Portent and Weaver exchange another silent gnce before Portent once again does the talking. Despite Weaver being the first one to speak earlier when she’d been accusing Fletchette of interference, it seems like Portent is the one who usually has the megaphone between them. And honestly, Parian gets it. There’s something about him that’s… undeniable in a way. His presence almost seems to fill the room. She wouldn’t want to get on his bad side, that’s for sure, and he’s not even wearing a proper costume at the moment.

  “Well… obviously we’re both hoping to get costumes made. And we’re not exactly flush for cash at the moment, so we were hoping our first deal could be an even trade, of sorts. We provide all of the Spider Silk and then some extra on top to you in exchange for you making us a pair of costumes out of the material. To our specifications of course.”

  Parian narrows her eyes behind the doll mask she’s wearing at that. Ugh, the plight of Fashion Designers everywhere. Customers with ideas. Still, she was more than used to having to work with or even around her customers if necessary. That wasn’t going to be a problem. She would make whatever they wanted work somehow.

  The problem though was… well, if she were in a more stable situation, she would accept this deal immediately. A chance to work with more of the Spider Silk, on top of being given some extra afterwards to do whatever she wanted with it? It sounded like a dream come true.

  However… the truth was, her situation wasn’t stable. She was running low on funds and she needed some cash now if she wanted to stay afloat and not rely on Lily to bail her ass out of trouble again.

  “I don’t mind that sort of arrangement… however, as much fun as Spider Silk is to py with, it doesn’t put food in my mouth or money in my bank account. At least not immediately. I would also need a little bit of cash on the side to make this worth my while.”

  Portent gnces at Weaver again before looking back at her.

  “… How much are we talking here?”

  Parian hesitates for a moment, not wanting to name a number too low, but also not wanting to name a number too high. In the end, she decides to stay modest. There’s no point in shooting for the stars when really, she just needs enough to survive. Once she has a steady supply of Spider Silk coming in from Weaver, she’s confident she can get some new customers and maybe even draw her old customers back. More than that, if Portent and Weaver turn out to be really trustworthy, maybe they might even be willing to act as security for her to start meeting potential customers in person again.

  “Let’s say… two thousand dolrs each?”

  She can visibly see the way Portent and Weaver’s shoulders rex at those words. Four thousand for the both of them is definitely not out of their price range. She still expects them to haggle though, only for Portent to let out a sheepish ugh.

  “Yeah… yes, that should work for us.”

  Okay, they were definitely new to this if they didn’t even bother haggling. But also… they clearly had some form of cash flow coming in already anyways. But where from? Parian is thankful again for her mask as her face flushes a little bit at the easy confidence with which Portent agrees to the deal. She’s just secured more than enough money to get her through the next month or two though, so she doesn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

  “A-Alright then… when do you think you’ll have enough Spider Silk ready for both of your costumes and some leftover?”

  Weaver immediately speaks up at that.

  “I can have it all ready by tomorrow evening.”

  Only for Portent to give her a reproachful look.

  “Weaver…”

  Ducking her head, the bug controller clears her throat.

  “Ah… I mean, in two days.”

  It takes Parian a second to realize Weaver was intending to just forego sleep altogether and stay up all night long to keep her Bck Widows producing. Honestly? Respect. Still… here they were at the precipice.

  Parian didn’t have the room to say no to such a deal. Nor did she have any of the bad feelings or see any of the red fgs she’d ignored six months ago when the Elite had nearly gotten her. Still… how gung ho did she want to be here, exactly?

  -x-X-x- The Vote: [X] Offer to do the measurements right then and there, even if it's a bit... invasive - 80%[ ] Hold off for now so she can discuss things with Lily a bit more - 20%-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:

  400 Celestial Points

  Jason's current banked power:

  Focus (600 Point Cost)

  Jason's current powers:

  Fsh 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 through Blood Empowerment Ritual (Gained in Chapter 23)

  Restraining Order (Gained in Chapter 25)