Thud thud thud.
"Oi, open up!"
The door opened, and a frazzled looking middle-aged man peeked out. He spied the three goons wearing ABB colors and visibly blanched.
"Wha – what do you want?"
The one in the lead grinned, the glint of a maddened hyena entering his eyes. "You skimped on your latest payment. Whatcha think?"
The man's eyes grew wider. "I – I'm sorry! It's just – my wife got into an accident, and I really needed the money to pay the medical bills! I – I'll make it up next time, promise!"
The head goon gnashed his teeth together as he mulled over the man's story. Slowly, his face relaxed and he smiled beatifically. "Don'tcha worry. You won't need to pay next time."
"H – huh?!" The man couldn't believe his luck. "Oh – well; thank you! But . . . why . . . ?"
The fangs came back out, ruthlessly going straight for the jugular.
"We're taking all yer valuables right now."
Frozen in shock from the sudden shift in tone, the man was easily shoved aside as the thugs pushed their way in.
"No – wait, please!" He scrambled to his feet. "Don't do this!"
Click.
"If ya know what's good for ya, don't get in our way," one of the lackeys said as he stared at the man down the barrel of his pistol.
The victim whimpered as he back-peddled and curled up in a corner.
"Good work," the leader said. "Now, let's get the loot and get out of this shit hole."
Spying a bottle lying on a table, he picked it up and peer closely at it. "Pills? Not my type of drug, but I'm sure the boss'll find a use for it."
"No!" Despite his fear, the man managed to voice his desperate protest. "Anything but that! That's the medicine my wife needs!"
The thug laughed. "Is this what ya spent the money that shoulda gone to us on? I say it's only fair that we take it."
His two friends laughed with him at the husband's despair, their hands greedily reaching for the other valuables in sight –
xxx
In hindsight, Clockblocker should have known this was a bad idea.
Patrolling with Shadow Stalker when she was ticked off never ended well.
SMASH!
Case in point: he was desperately trying to avoid Stormtiger's frenzied claw attacks.
"Get back here and fight!" the villain growled.
"No thank you!" he called back.
How did he end up in this spot again? Oh, right. Because the bitch had been seeing red all morning for some reason and running across an E88 recruitment drive had been the perfect excuse for her to let out some of her pent-up rage.
Unfortunately, it turned out two of E88's capes had been present as well, and they were none too pleased with them crashing their party.
More claws came flying at him, and he quickly froze the debris he had snatched up in front of him to create a makeshift shield.
"Coward! Is running all you heroes are good for?"
"Running means living and living is good!"
"You'll wish you were dead when I'm through with you!"
While his power normally made him quite effective in close quarters since a single touch would end the fight then and there, against someone trained in CQC, that proved to be much harder.
Against someone trained in CQC and had a power that let him adorn his hands with claws that could tear through metal with ease?
Yeah, he wasn't getting anywhere near someone like that.
Maybe if he had some support from his partner, he could get in a tag without getting sliced to ribbons, but considering that the heroine was currently tunnel-visioned on the other villain present (is that Rune? Pretty sure all that flying debris means it's Rune), he doubted that was going to happen any time soon.
So for now, he was just going to have to stall until reinforcements arrived.
Whoosh!
Another claw flew by and exploded in the spot he had just vacated.
"Hey, Console? Not trying to sound too panicky here, but how much longer do I have to avoid death by a hair's breadth?"
"Armsmaster should arrive in three minutes. Assault shouldn't be too far behind. Don't try anything fancy, just hang in there!"
"Don't worry, Aegis! You'll get to see my handsome face another day."
BOOM!
Another close call.
"Shit, that was close."
"Damnit, Dennis! Stop wasting your breath and just focus on the fight!"
"Yeah, yeah, I gotcha."
Despite his carefree response, he really was scared out of his mind. A single misstep would result in him falling to the ground in many tiny pieces, and then all the girls in the world would be utterly heartbroken.
He had tried hiding in one of the warehouses nearby, but the villain must have super-hearing or something because he always got find out.
He had been on the run ever since, utilizing turns and twists to avoid those explosive projectile claws. It must have only been several minutes, but the constant harrowing made it feel much longer.
Ducking in an alleyway, he paused, gasping for breath.
"If I make it back alive, I am so hitting up the gym daily from now on," he muttered.
"A good choice. One that you'll never get to follow through."
The voice of the one person he most certainly did not want to hear echoed through the desolate alleyway.
"Fuck."
A white tiger mask leered at him from the entrance of the alleyway. He bolted to the other side, following its bend only to wind up in front of a dead end.
Clockblocker could think of only two words to adequately describe the situation.
"Fuck me."
He could already imagine his gravestone:
Here lies Clockblocker, whose final wish was for someone to take his virginity.
"Fuck me."
Ah, wouldn't that be a nice epitaph? Of course, there was no way Piggot or the PR department would let that happen.
Bunch of killjoys.
In any case, it was too early to start digging his grave yet. Maybe he could find some large rocks to turn into shields using his power?
A quick scan of his surroundings revealed there to be pebbles at best and gravel at worst.
So much for that plan.
"Console, I need an update."
If Aegis was surprised by his lack of a quip, he didn't let it show in his tone.
"One minute. Just hang in there!"
He sighed. If he hadn't gotten trapped in this dead-end, he probably could've stalled for another minute without too much trouble.
But in this narrow space, he was dead meat for the tiger to snatch right up.
Well, in his final moments he was at least going to curse Shadow Stalker for getting him into this mess.
"I hope you contract Ebola, HIV, herpes, and anything else that does unspeakable things to your unmentionables."
"Hoh? So the hero does have some bite after all."
Stormtiger leisurely strolled forward, his claws so long that they scraped on the ground behind him (how does air scrape against the ground? Powers make no sense at times). His languid approach was a stark contrast to the frenzied chase they had just been part of, but Clockblocker suspected that the villain wished to savor the moment before the kill.
"I didn't know kitties grew claws that long," he said, desperately looking for any opening he could exploit.
The Nazi gave a fanged grin. "I know your power, boy. A predator does not take unnecessary risks that may allow the prey to escape." He flourished his claws. "And a tiger is an apex predator."
Well, shit. If he thought the situation was hopeless before, then it was doubly so with those crazy-long weapons his opponent had.
"Pretty sure humans hunt and kill tigers all the time," he responded weakly.
The villain's grin only grew wider.
"You are not human," he said.
"You are dead."
And the claws came flashing down –
xxx
Lisa hummed as she approached the building that served as the Undersider's hideout, a gentle melody that was quite out-of-place amidst the ruined and abandoned structures nearby.
Today was a special day.
Not because Coil had finally sent them their paycheck for their latest heist (the only thing the bastard was good for), but because she was looking forward to doing something for once.
Doing hit-and-runs were thrilling the first few times, but after they became routine, the only feeling left was the dread of being caught and the possibility that each time they came back, Coil might suddenly have no more use for her and . . . dispose of her.
She wanted nothing more than to get out from under her boss's thumb, but having a gun constantly pressed against her forehead made things difficult.
Well, enough of that depressing topic. No need to taint her scarce few moments of happiness with such sordid affairs.
There was an old, rusted mailbox in front of their hideout. No postman had delivered here in a very long time, something that would not change any time soon.
Even so, when she opened it, a clean, folded-up piece of paper greeted her.
She smiled. "Right on time," she muttered.
Glancing around to ensure that no one was watching, she quickly slipped the paper in her pocket and went inside.
After trudging up the stairs to the hideout proper, she spotted Alec lazing around on the couch playing video games.
He looked up at her approach. "Hmm? Oh, it's you Tats."
"Hey," she said. "Where's Brian and Rachel?"
"Brian is out getting stuff sorted at his apartment. Think Rachel went out to walk her dogs."
"He's still dealing with that? The paperwork must be a real pain."
"No kidding. Glad I don't have to do any of that stuff."
"Lucky you." She tossed him an envelope. "Here's your share of the haul. Don't go spending it all at once."
"Sweet! A new game came out too, so the timing is perfect! Gotta go!"
Lisa rolled her eyes as he shot out the door, likely already disregarding her advice to slow down on his spending.
Well, whatever. Not like it was any of her business.
After entering her room, she shut the door behind her and sank down in front of her computer.
"Now for my favorite part of the day."
Gingerly, she took out the paper that had been in the mailbox and carefully unfolded it.
It was a letter. A letter to her, from a girl whom she had never met.
Dear Lisa . . .
In it, the girl spoke of her day . . .
Of the events she witnessed . . .
And of the actions she took.
xxx
"Hu – gurk!"
Three bodies hit the floor.
The ABB goons that had been terrifying him a moment earlier were now nothing more than unmoving lumps lying on the floor.
The man stared at the scene in shock, not entirely convinced that what just happened wasn't some sort of hallucination.
After all, it wasn't normal for three humans to simultaneously collapse like that.
Right?
In any case, he wasn't about to pass on his good luck. Rushing over to his phone, he quickly dialed the police.
"Hello? Yes, it's an emergency. Three armed intruders broke into my house . . ."
xxx
The tiger stumbled.
The claws that were about to take his head off jerked to the side, crashing harmlessly against the pavement.
Stormtiger collapsed to his knees, his hands balled into fists as he trembled from what seemed like an indescribable agony tearing through his body.
"Wha – "
Clockblocker dashed forward, that one moment of weakness enabling him to tag his opponent with his power without getting skewered.
The villain froze, still hunched over from whatever fit had suddenly overcome him.
Dennis slumped against the wall, still coming to terms with the fact that he had almost certainly been about to die if not for that miraculous occurrence.
"Just what was that anyway?" he wondered.
Judging by the other guy's reaction, it looked as if someone had kicked him in the nuts. But if that had been the case, shouldn't he have been clutching at his lower area?
Hmm. Maybe the villain didn't want to risk cutting himself with his claws? That would most certainly be awkward if it happened.
Local tiger accidentally neuters itself. More news on page 4.
Yup. If something like that happened to him, he wouldn't want to show himself in public ever again either.
Or maybe . . .
"I hope you contract Ebola, HIV, herpes, and anything else that does unspeakable things to your unmentionables."
No way. He had meant to curse Sophia, but maybe whatever god heard his plea decided that it would be far better to inflict it on the guy who was eager to shed his blood instead?
He clasped his hands together. "Oh God of calamity, rejoice for you have obtained yet another worshipper."
Although, if Stormtiger really was now the nesting place for some of the most heinous diseases ever known to mankind, he really should get farther away from him.
A lot farther.
xxx
As someone who was renowned for being a smartass, Lisa loved finding information.
As a Thinker with an ability that allowed her to glean more information from what information she had, Lisa absolutely loved finding information.
And the letter was an absolute treasure trove of information that she normally wouldn't be able to get her hands on until much later or at high risk to herself.
"So, the ABB has upped the rate on their protection racket. And the E88 won't be too pleased now that it has lost two of its capes."
Neither of those statements were explicitly confirmed by the letter, but her power made it a cinch to come to those conclusions.
Anyway, if the ABB was raking in more money, then it might be worth it to hit a few more of their casinos. Then again, they had just done that, and doing it too often would draw the ire of an angry dragon upon them and she liked her skin the way it was thank you very much.
With two fewer capes, the E88 would be spread thinner to protect all their assets, so it might be better to steal from them instead. Then again, losing two capes when they had over a dozen at their disposal probably wouldn't weaken them very much, but still.
She had to pick some target to rob.
And if not a villain-owned vault, then maybe a legitimate one instead.
Well, she could think about that later. For now, she had to uphold her end of the deal.
Something that she found that she didn't mind doing very much. It was nice to vent to someone, even if she had to speak vaguely to cover up her less-than-legal activities.
Dear Taylor . . .
xxx
"Looks like the list just got a little bit longer."
Armsmaster glanced at Assault, who was keenly taking in the scene before them. A veritable mountain of containment foam was piled in front of them, completely engulfing the villain who was still frozen by Clockblocker's power.
"We cannot be sure if this is the same as the previous incidents," the tinker replied. "While Clockblocker's testimony would certainly seem to lead us to that conclusion, we cannot discount other possibilities out of hand until we have analyzed the exact cause of Stormtiger's sudden . . . lapse in concentration."
Assault chuckled at that last detail. "If even half of what he said was true, that was much more than a mere lapse in attention."
Armsmaster absently nodded as he changed his visor's display to the reports of the other incidents the police and PRT had been called in to investigate.
All of them were different: different attackers, different victims, different locations . . .
However, they were all eerily related:
They had all occurred around the same time.
And they had all been dealt with the same way.
Assault tilted his head at him. "So, what else did our mystery cape get up to? If they're still following the same pattern, I doubt this is the only incident with their fingerprints all over it."
"There are reports of a break-in where the intruders suddenly collapsed. A mugging where the perpetrators suddenly collapsed. A drug dealing where all the participants suddenly collapsed –"
"Okay okay, I think I see the point. A lot of bad guys just 'suddenly collapsed.'" He held up his hands. "But, you confirmed the time stamp for all those incidents, right?"
Armsmaster nodded. "Yes. They all took place around 12:30 PM."
"And all of them look like they were tasered?"
"We are still not certain if the previous instances involved a taser."
"I know powers come in all shapes and sizes, but if forensics say with 99% certainty that it was done by a taser, then I would say that it was done by a taser. Besides . . ." He gestured at the alley they were in. "If our vigilante is indeed a cape, then their power is probably something to do with how they're apparently all over the place, but we still can't get a whiff of them."
Armsmaster grunted noncommittedly. Incidents like these were nothing new. They had started a while back: thugs dropping to the ground unconscious while during a crime, villains seemingly tripping on thin air in cape battles with heroes, and schoolyard bullies suddenly finding their shoestrings tied together and falling flat on their face.
With so many of these strange occurrences, the higher-ups at the PRT had grouped them together and dubbed it the "list."
From then on, whenever any similar event happened, it was added as part of the ongoing investigation.
But despite such a surplus of reports, they had yet to find any clue regarding the identity of the perpetrator.
"You know, despite their impressive record," Assault continued, "I'm surprised that they didn't show at some bigger crimes. Like that bank heist."
"Perhaps their power has a charge time. Similar to your wife's power," Armsmaster theorized. "Of course, given their involvement in several simultaneous incidents, it is likely that it also requires a great deal more preparation." He frowned. "In any case, given their tentative classification as a Stranger/Mover, it is possible that we would not notice even if they did intervene."
"Well, with a power like that, maybe it would better if we didn't spend so much time running around like headless chickens chasing after them. They're clearly an independent hero, right?"
"That may be so, but the nature of their power is . . . concerning. The fact that they have yet to make a public appearance makes them less a hero and more a bogeyman that just so happens to only target villains. And if they happen to have a change of heart, the results could be . . . devastating. Which is why the Director has ordered us to investigate and recruit them if possible, to put all our minds at ease."
"Well, I can't help but feel sorry for our mystery cape. They've busted more criminals in a week than we usually encounter in a month, and we're chasing them like they're the ones in trouble."
"I assure you that they are not in 'trouble.' It would simply be for the best if they joined the Protectorate as a proper hero."
"And if they refuse?" he asked.
Armsmaster was silent.
"It is not for us to ponder on that particular possibility," the tinker said at last.
His colleague scoffed. "You mean you're just follow through with whatever new verdict the higher-ups hand down."
A neutral look. "Are you saying you wouldn't?"
He waved his hands dismissively. "Insubordination? No, no, nothing like that. It just doesn't sit right with me. There are a lot of better things we could be doing rather than chasing a vigilante all over Brockton Bay."
"Until our orders change, we will continue following the same procedure as before."
"Yeah, yeah, fine."
xxx
Coil was irritated.
Several of his carefully laid plans were becoming unraveled, and it was all thanks to that mysterious new cape that had appeared.
The men he had stationed to watch the house of his soon-to-be pet had the misfortune to be targeted by the new cape. It was a baffling incident since it did not follow the vigilante's previous patterns.
Stopping a mugging. Stopping a robbery. Stopping a supervillain.
Those were all clearly crime-fighting activities.
Surely, people watching a house wouldn't constitute a criminal activity?
Unless the cape somehow knew about his plans to kidnap the girl later?
He frowned. His lack of intel on the mystery cape was another irritating factor. Tattletale thought she was being clever by "hiding" those letters she was receiving, but even she couldn't hide from his surveillance.
Using an alternate timeline to torture information out of her was surprisingly unfruitful. The only thing she knew was a name.
Taylor Hebert.
A quick visit to the Hebert residence revealed it to be nothing more than a ruin. Ashes and scorched foundations made it clear that the house had been burned down, and both Danny Hebert and his daughter were presumed dead.
The contents of the letters were not much better. In it, the cape described herself wandering around the city and stopping crime wherever she found them. The manner in which she stopped them was left vague, but from his sources in the PRT, he could only assume that she used a taser.
The strangest thing was the sequence in which she visited different parts of the Bay. In one line, the girl was traveling along the Docks and stopped a mugging. In the next, she was apparently on the other side of the city stopping a smash-and-grab.
Both incidents were later revealed to have taken place around the same time.
So, she clearly had a power that gave her both Stranger and Mover classifications.
Irritating.
His own power seemed to be incapable of accounting for her as well. His own mercenaries have ended up as targets more than once despite his best efforts using his power to make the optimal choices.
Infuriating.
He would just have to wait until he had more information. Allowing Tattletale to maintain her relationship with the mysterious cape so that he could seize new letters from her in an alternate timeline would helpfully yield useful intel.
In the meantime . . .
He spoke through the intercom. "Come in, Mr. Pierre."
His minion slipped into the room and bowed. "Yes?"
The door closed and locked itself.
It was time to indulge himself a little.