Nahma checked Bain over one final time, mostly ignoring Hetty as she sat on his head, legs dangling. Carefully maneuvering his antennae all over Bain's body, Nahma asked again, "And you are absolutely certain of your good health?"

Bain chuckled as the antennae gently patted him on the head. It had been an extraordinarily relaxing week if he was honest - there had been a remarkable amount of stress that he hadn't been aware of, and it was mostly gone due to a variety of activities only him, Nahma, and Hetty would enjoy. Specifically, killing a lot of rats, eating the rats, and talking about all the best ways to kill and eat rats. "Yeah, Dad, I'm fine. I promise I'll try to not get hurt too bad, okay?"

The enormous centipede huffed irritably, pulling his antennae back. "I don't believe you. Regardless, I understand about your wishing to return to your territory."

Bain winced. "Actually, it's technically our territory since you became a hero - and I still can't believe they approved you, honestly. According to the rules from the Tower, all heroes related to each other are required to share the same territory. Apparently there used to be huge families of heroes that monopolized entire-"

Nahma waved it away. "I don't care. What you're saying is that I am now obliged to defend that tiny spot of concrete?"

Nodding, Bain mentioned, "At least we'd be able to spend more time with each other."

Conceding the point, Nahma gently rapped him on the head again. "I'll have to make a more appropriate body for that. It could be a while - bodies are a bit harder to build when I'm making them for long-term use and the sheddings are becoming more and more resistant to the idea of being possessed. While ideal, I have no wish to impose on their free will. Autonomous armies are far more efficient in their conquering."

Bain decided to ignore the vast majority of that statement and opted to instead smile, turning towards the small tunnel that led to the alleyway entrance of Bain's territory. "I'm gonna get going. See you soon?"

Nahma nodded, obviously deep in thought. "Yes, of course. Bain?"

He paused, looking back at his adopted father. "Yeah?"

"Are bipedals optimal for heroic appearances?"

Bain blinked. "...Probably?"

Nahma nodded again, slowly this time. "Yessss... I thought so."

It was definitely time to forget a lot of the things that Bain had heard, since most of them would probably set off the majority of the Tower alarms. Stopping for a moment, Bain spun around. "Wait, I almost forgot!"

Nahma's head snapped up. "What?"

Bain looked directly into Nahma's many eyes, knowing that he was definitely going to dislike this. "You can't kill any humans. It's part of the vow when you're accepted as a hero - you can't kill people."

He wasn't completely sure Nahma had been listening, but the ancient centipede waved a limb thoughtlessly. "I attempt to avoid killing humans anyway, Bain. I am perfectly aware as to your emotional state regarding their continuing existence. Why do you think I still reside underneath Centropolis?"

Bain stared at him for a long moment, then shook his head. "You know what, I'm not going to ask. I'll see you in a bit, Dad."

Nahma definitely wasn't listening. "Of course."

Turning back around, Bain crawled up the tunnel, pushing the hidden entrance out of the way and shoving his sizable body through the hole. Shaking himself off, he squinted up at the cyan patch of sky he could see between the buildings and the pipes. It was about noon, he estimated.

Dusting his hands off, Bain left the alley. There was still a lot of work if he wanted to...

His train of thought dissipated like fog in summer sun as he took in the unbelievable sight in front of him. The walls of the buildings were literally covered in sheddings, their camouflage dissipated as they munched on rats of various sizes, their discussion a low rumble from where Bain stood. Underneath them, a group of construction workers wearing orange safety vests and white hard-hats were having lunch, either unaware of the sheddings above them or not caring about their existence.

It wasn't the realization that the humans and the sheddings were cooperating that stopped Bain dead in his tracks, though. It was the fact that the rats that the sheddings were eating were cooked, and Bain could smell the various spices on them from even where he stood. His mouth started salivating in spite of himself, and he walked forward.

The moment he stepped out of the alleyway and into the light, the sheddings saw him and hurled themselves off the buildings en masse, practically coating him in layers and layers of legs, carapaces, and mandibles.

"Bain, we have improved upon your territory!"

"Witness our excellent help!"

"Brahkus, be quiet. It is up to Bain to say our help is excellent!"

"I have a name, you do not!"

"That does not make you better than us!"

Running his hands over the sheddings' surfaces, Bain laughed. "I haven't seen you guys in forever! How are you doing?"

A chorus of replies enveloped him, and then the sheddings pulled away to reveal a short man with a stubbly beard and a pale complexion. He was a bit fat, but it was the kind of chubby where it suggested long hours of good food as opposed to blatant gluttony. Not that Bain was familiar with either - his physique didn't really allow him to gain weight that wasn't muscle and whatever else he was made of.

The man let out a low whistle as he took Bain in. "Man. I take it yer Bain?"

Bain nodded, pacing forward as the sheddings crawled back up their walls, keeping an eye on him as they continued their meals. Extending a hand, Bain said, "That's me. If you don't mind my asking, what's all of..." He gestured the construction crew, one of the members standing to offer a bite of his sandwich to a four-foot shedding. "...this?"

The man chuckled as he accepted the handshake. "Heh, yeah. I wouldn'ta believed it either, ta be honest. If you'd told me I'd be working with giant centipedes a week ago I woulda called ya crazy."

Gesturing around, the man indicated the whole area, and Bain realized that the construction crew weren't the only people around. Businessmen were hurrying through the streets, holding onto their black hats as they ran into under-construction stores, more sheddings working on the outside. The sidewalk had been completely redone, with the second layer of steel mesh slanted downwards above it. The mesh was supported by a series of frequent metal pillars, each of which had a sizable niche carved into the top. The streets themselves had been widened somewhat, and the uniform gray shape of the old design had been almost entirely replaced by a wide variety of different designs and colors. It felt like an actual territory now, not the basic template Bain and Stitches had been working with.

Bain blinked, almost feeling tears coming to his eyes. "Is this still our territory, or did someone-"

The foreman shook his head. "Naw, it's still all yours. Ya wouldn't believe how fast people started comin' in when they realized the unbeatable nightmare of a centipede that's yer dad - no offense, by the way - had a territory out here. Ain't nobody stupid enough to do a crime in a place run by that monstrosity. No offense."

Bain waved it away. Both statements were pretty accurate, if not understatements. "None taken. Anyway, you seem to know my name, but you're..?"

He let the question trail off, and the foreman bobbed his head politely, taking his hat off briefly. "The name's Jay Miller, bossman. Not gonna lie, the way your centipede buddies talked about you, I was gonna say sumthin like 'Thought you'd be bigger' when you showed up, but man, you are one big plate of dinner."

Conceding the point, Bain asked, "So, what's going on? How did you guys fix everything up so fast? I was only gone for a week at most!"

Jay laughed. "Funny story, that. Once the Tower realized how fast people were comin' in, they sent us to fix the place up a bit. The moment we started construction, your buddies showed up, and I swear I have never seen such a riled crowd of insects. Took a bit, but we managed to let 'em know that we were here to fix up yer territory. After that, they were all smiles. I swear, you'd be hard-pressed to find a group of anythin' that works harder than these guys. I wish I could hire 'em, I really do."

A shedding approached them, tossing a final piece of rat into its mouth. Chewing it rapidly, the shedding told them, "Human Miller, we have finished the designated lunch period and are ready to continue working. What are your designs?"

Jay shook his head. "See, that's the problem with having such dedicated workers. They won't bloody well leave me alone!"

Walking off with the centipede, Jay began discussing plans with him in low tones, the shedding summoning a blueprint that they both began animatedly pointing at.

Bain shook his head in disbelief. This whole thing - all of it - was just surreal. He'd never imagined anything like it in even his wildest daydreams, and he'd had some pretty major ones.

Right now, though?

He had to find Stitches.