+++Origins 0.1.a part 1+++

Interlude- Sophia

The afternoon was settling in, but she didn't want to wait until the sun went down before she was out of the house and up the rooftops.

She was a hunter.

And so she hunted.

With the weight of her crossbow at her waist, she vaulted over the buildings and across the rooftops.

This was freedom.

Away from the cage she called home.

Her most obvious hunting ground was at the Docks, not a single day passed without a crime happening in that part of Brockton Bay. It was perfect, all kinds of gang members, rapers, and muggers at easy pickings on every day of the week.

All she had to do was wait until they got frisky before she beat their ass's in.

She found that they got even more bold during the winter holidays.

All because of a stupid day about giving other people presents.

Sophia Hess was not one for sentiments.

Sentiments were meant for prey.

And she was predator.

So as she jumped through the rooftops and transformed into her shadow form, she searched for rats to shoot off the streets, and she searched for predators just like her.

The ones who deserve to be on top.

A particular sight caught her attention immediately.

A woman with light colored skin who had a child with her, hurrying down the streets for some reason.

It was obviously because of the three sleazy looking men leering at her from just a distance away. ABB, from the color of their clothes and their Asian ethnicity.

She smirked, landing at the edge of the rooftops that overlooked the alley that the lady and her child just rushed into. She didn't even need to wait as the three men from earlier followed almost immediately. One of them caught the lady by the shoulder, making her shriek when she was turned around. They laughed like hyenas, grabbing her bag away from her and pushing her down with her kid.

The woman immediately took her daughter and wrapped herself around her protectively, even when the kid cried so annoyingly. She felt a flash of irritation at that, eyes twitching at the sight of a mother defending her daughter.

Sophia stayed where she was. She needed to know before she acted, and she readied her crossbow and loaded a bolt just in case.

Was this woman a fighter, or a victim?

Was she a predator or a prey?

If she fought back then Sophia would go down there and beat the collective asses of these Asian sleazebags.

If she didn't and she proved herself weak, then Sophia would just let what happened to her happen, then stop the assholes before they killed her.

She would help only those who were strong, those who survived.

That's how it works.

On this violent, brutish little planet of ours, it's the survivors who wind up the strongest ones of all.

That's what she believes in, and that's how she was going to hunt.

Find the survivors and give them their chance to be strong.

Let the weak feel how pathetic they are and leave to roil in at the bottom of the food chain.

Like the prey they were.

The woman was begging, crying to the laughing men. Her kid cried, one of the men told her to shut her up.

Crossbow primed and ready in her hands. Sophia leaned in anticipation for what the woman was going to do when one of the assholes kicked her.

Come on. Fight back!

She was so focused on the woman on the ground that the loud slam of metal cracking on bone was all she heard, and then the next thing she knew was that the gang member with the bag went down in an unconscious heap.

What the hell?

She turned her attention to the cause.

There was a girl there, who looked as old as she was. She was taller than Sophia, with long brown hair and glasses on her eyes. The lower half of her face was covered in a handkerchief to conceal her identity. She looked like a beanpole, skinny with no defining muscles on her figure.

In her hands was a metal bat.

She knocked him out with those scrawny looking arms?

There was immediate retaliation from the ABB members, with the closest one looking to grab her.

The scrawny looking girl leaned down and rammed the bat into his gut. And then quickly slammed down the bat on his head with as he recoiled away in pain with no trace of mercy.

Whoa.

There was a flash of steel as the third member lashed out with a knife. The girl dodged his blade by leaning nimbly away. He sneered at her and brandished his weapon before he charged right back in.

Sophia watched what happened next with wide eyes.

The girl, scrawny, no muscles and not even looking like she should be out here fighting men twice his size, dodged his every attack with deft efficiency with no wasted movements, moving right, away and then once she was shown a clear opening when the sleazebag stabbed at her again, she showed no hesitation as she practically bashed his skull in with her metal bat with a mighty swing from coming in from the side.

...holy shit.

Sophia has only been doing this vigilante thing for a few month, and before that she's been working herself up to fighting shape just so she'd be ready to kick ass and take names without worrying about being caught unprepared.

Her powers only added to that, being able to shift into her shadow mode helped her dodge attacks that would otherwise be deadly.

And here right now she witnessed a girl her age do the same thing she's been doing for months with ease. Looking like a nerd with her glasses and her baggy clothes.

But as the girl stood there, standing upon the men who she defeated with naught but a metal bat and the efficiency of her strikes, she saw deeper than what was on the surface

This girl was a survivor. A predator.

No.

Not just that.

A stone cold warrior.

Excitement filled her, she wanted to jump right down there right after the glasses wearing girl gave the woman her bag and told her to go her way.

"Taylor!"

The voice stopped her right in her tracks.

A man stood on the end of the alley. From his features it was obvious that he was the girl's father.

Sophia frowned when she saw him drag his daughter out of the alley in a hurried pace, worried about the pest that would come. She watched the girl—Taylor, that was her name—haul back into the dingy looking truck looking dazed.

She put her crossbow back on her waist and waited just a beat before melting into her shadow form, following after the truck as it drove away.

She stalked it all the way back to their house, where she would pause and commit the location to memory, before merging back into the shadows and back to the docks.

What she had seen had excited, and she was grinning all way back to the docks. She needed to hunt, and all she could think of was how she would outdo the girl in the way she took down those fools.

The scene at the alley kept playing through her head, and she smirked as she found four more thugs just like the ones the girl had beaten up.

Green and red, ABB gang members.

These ones were beating a some white kid up, but even then the kid would get back up and try to fight. Futile, but it looked like he wanted to go down swinging.

Heh, let's see about that.

Without any hesitation she jumped right into the fray by kicking the head of the nearest thug and dropping him before he could act.

Her crossbow was already loaded and ready, so she shot another one of them in the shoulder. His shout of pain was quickly shut up with a swift hit from the butt of her crossbow handle.

As the other two got their wits among them and realized what happened, they charged her.

They obviously thought they could overwhelm her with numbers.

Sophia—Shadow Stalker— smirked. Just as they were an inch away from her, she shifted back into her shadow form.

The fight was over before it ever began.

+++V+++

Once the grunts were handled and kid shuffled off and away, Shadow Stalker jumped back up to rooftops.

She was still smiling, feeling the adrenaline rush into her veins, the memory of what she witnessed earlier still in her mind.

When she fought in that alley, Sophia wasn't really fighting those thugs anymore. She was fighting in her head, trying to outdo the girl—Taylor— with her maneuvers.

She still found that what she did was badass.

She doesn't even have a shadow form, and she still dodges like a boss!

Today was the day she's been waiting for. After being out on the streets for months, beating up fools and stalking for people like, she's finally found what she waited for.

A real hunter.

Now all she needed to do was show herself to her and persuade her to do what she doing.

Hunting down the rats in the streets.

It was obvious. Hunters also come in packs.

It was more efficient to hunt with fellow predators that it was to hunt alone, survivors stick together. They become stronger by besting their opposition, beating down those who oppose them.

Sophia will wait for her chance to talk to her, but she knew that Taylor would come to see sense in what she would say.

It was in her stance.

It was in the way she fought.

Taylor was a predator.

And Sophia would be the one convince her to accept what she was. She wouldn't let this chance pass by.

That night, Shadow Stalker prowled through the darkness with an exuberant smile.

+++V+++

Interlude - Colin

Today felt like it was going to be a long day. Colin Wallis, more commonly known by his hero name Armsmaster, walked through the halls of the PRT building. Suited up in his power armor, Colin contemplated the latest reports handed to him. They painted a nasty picture of things to come.

The docks were slowly being infested by a rise of gang related crimes. Kidnappings of people with Asian descent were the most prominent. Forced recruitment, judging from an increase of number with a certain gang.

The Asian Bad Boyz, abbreviated ABB, was growing in power, and their territory at the docks was becoming more solidified with each day. One requirement for their membership was being Asian, and that factor helped quell some of their numbers.

Still, the rate at which they were increasing was disquieting.

The factor that made this all possible was their leader.

Lung, the Dragon of Kyushu.

A powerful Parahuman capable of ramping up the longer the battle went on. Within his arsenal was a form of pyrokinesis, rapid regeneration that only got better the longer the fight went on, steel scales that would serve as armor and protection that covered his body, and the ability to grow in size to look more like a winged dragon.

An incredible set of powers given to a single individual, so great that he was able to fight against an Endbringer toe to toe for the longest time and still live to tell the tale.

Such was the problem that he now decided that Brockton Bay was his new turf. Armsmaster frowned as he remembered all the times that the gang leader had been able to beat back a whole team of their Protectorate members, all while never being arrested and put in to custody. And he was only growing bolder and bolder as time went by.

Armsmaster needed to find a way to halt his ascent in power in some way. The docks was where he lurked and where most of his operations were being handled. One reason for this was obvious, people in the docks were very desperate.

The Boat Graveyard has blocked the way for any kind of import and export to come into the city, weakening the percentage of jobs that involved working there. This meant people were susceptible to other, less legal opportunities presented to them. While the ABB had marked the docks as their territory, they went only for Asians.

The other gangs were quick to scrounge up members for their illicit activities, such as the Merchants who would 'recruit' people through drugging them up, and the Empire Eighty Eight, a white supremacist group that gladly welcomed people to their cause, provided they were born in the right color.

People were jobless, they needed to eat, and doing illegal activities were their means of making money.

Sympathy for their situations aside, Colin still had a job. And it was only made harder by the mounting amount of gang activity that was spreading throughout the city. The PRT was being outnumbered, in both heroes and soldiers.

The scale was tipped in the oppositions favor, and Armsmaster was not willing to let it tip any further. The biggest problem were people in the lower classes being tempted by money due to its scarcity within their area, something had to be done to stop that.

"That frown on your face won't exactly be the best way to enthuse your newest would-be recruit, Colin."

The statement came from the voice on the radio of his helmet. Neutral due to being digitally enhanced to disguise the true voice, and yet distinctly female with the hint of a Canadian accent.

His thoughts of his work had once again put him through the tunnel vision he usually experienced once he put his mind upon a task and tried to solve it.

"Does it?" Colin made his face take on a more neutral expression. "Better?"

"Not much better, but yes. That way you won't scare the recruit off more than you already would." The voice teased, and Colin fought the urge to frown again. He'd given her access to his suit's camera system, so should he frown he'd be jostled once more by the legendary Tinker.

Dragon, a heroic Tinker of world renown and referred to by many as the best Tinker in the world, was in the middle of lending him a hand before he was given the report and subsequently called over to the PRT for the interview with a new cape interested in joining the Wards.

Specifically, Dragon was here to help along with the learning program he was currently working on. It would greatly increase his efficiency on the field once it was perfected, letting him predict his enemies movement and allowing him to counter and avoid them. Right now it was stll in the delicate processes of learning, loading actions from known villains to its database and looking them over to detect and predict their attacks. It turned out that Dragon was particularly skilled in coding and programming, and so while at first he was reluctant to get help, her offer of assistance was eventually accepted and it tremendously eased a lot of the troubles he had with the program.

"I'm just thinking of the current situation in the Bay, Dragon." Colin referred to the woman with the name she took as a hero, for that was the only name she had ever given him and the PRT.

"I know, but you really can't let that affect you right now. Remember that the person you're going to talk to is a child, there's a high possibility that you'll intimidate her if you keep your frown." Dragon reminded him. There was sympathy in her tone about the current state of the city, but her light reprimand had helped him remember why he was in the PRT Building.

"I suppose," Armsmaster conceded. He pushed back the issue about the criminal activities in Brockton Bay for now, focusing instead for the task ahead.

He had been informed that the new cape had arrived a few minutes earlier. A teenage girl with the abilities of a Tinker.

As a Tinker himself, Colin welcomed the chance to recruit a new Tinker within their ranks. The only other Tinkers in town that he knew of were Leet and Squealer, both of which had chosen the life of crime instead of enforcing the law and serving the people like he had. In short, he was the only Tinker in this city that had actual sense.

The possibility that this Tinker could join their team was something he personally looked forward to. Tinkers within the Protectorate were known to share their creations and trade notes with other Tinkers.

This was an opportunity that could not be passed up.

"You're excited." If he could see Dragon's face, he was sure she would be smiling.

"Perhaps." Colin was, in fact, excited. Tinkers were valuable for what they were able to contribute.

"Let's hope you make a good impression."

"I'm sure my reputation will precede me." Colin smirked. He was known far and wide as one of the best Tinkers within the Protectorate, and he was not exaggerating when he said that he is one of their more prolific heroes.

Part of the reason why he was in Brockton Bay was to assure the public that they were in safe hands with him in their city.

He reached the room designated for the meeting, and opened the door.

"Hello, Colin."

Hannah, more popularly known as Miss Militia, greeted him as soon as he entered. With the American flag scarf covering her face he really couldn't see her mouth, but he could tell from the way her eye crinkled that she was giving him a polite smile.

"Miss Militia." He nodded at her in reply. As he walked over next to her, he observed the room. Spacious with four walls and colored white while looking unassuming but still lightly decorated to look more accommodating with another entrance besides the one he entered from on the other side. Miss Militia sat in a chair at the other side of a plain looking desk table, with another set of chairs in front, obviously set up for the interview.

"I was made to believe that she'd arrived." Armsmaster stated, looking at the empty chair.

"She will be shortly," Miss Militia replied, looking at him. She raised a brow. "You got here quite fast, are you excited to meet another Tinker?" Colin felt his lips twitch at that.

"I have observed the same thing." Dragon butt in through his radio. "He most definitely is."

"Dragon." Hannah looked at his helmet in surprise. "My, I was not expecting you here."

"She's been helping me with a program I'm developing." Armsmaster explained to her, Hannah nodded in acceptance.

"I hope you don't mind my presence in this interview?" Dragon's digitally modified voice held a hint of deference. She wasn't officially part of the PRT, though her word held a great deal of influence that was seldom used. She was asking permission out of courtesy, and would also likely leave in the unlikely chance that she wasn't allowed here out of here as well

"Not at all. In fact, you are very welcome to join in." Hannah's eyes crinkled upward, which meant she was smiling pleasantly again." I'm quite sure our interviewee will love that you and Armsmaster are both here."

"I assume you'll be the one conducting the interview?" Armsmaster asked plainly . She nodded in acquiescence.

"Yes, I called you over to pitch the benefits of being a Tinker for the PRT better. She'll see you here as a marker for what she could become if she joins." Miss Militia explained to him as he nodded in understanding, feeling a swell of pride at her words.

"Let's hope not, one Colin is more than enough." Dragon interrupted, tone light in jest. Hannah laughed at this and Colin stopped himself from rolling his eyes.

There was a beep, and Hannah looked at her phone. "Ah, here she comes now."

The door on the other end sounded out with a knock. Miss Militia eyes crinkled at that before she told whoever was on the other side of the door to come in.

The knob turned, and the door opened.

Armsmaster observed the people who entered with keen eyes.

The girl who came through first was unremarkably plain in many ways. She wore big glasses and was undeniably skinny. Perhaps the most noteworthy characteristics were being unusually tall for her age, and her long brown wavy hair. In her arms she held a round red orb, and Armsmaster instantly zoned in on that particular detail. It looked like a toy ball, but given what he knew it was possible that it was more than that.

The other person that came in was a man. Armsmaster surmised that this was the girl's father, given their similarity in features and his height, which he had passed on to the girl. He also held another orb in his arm, this one colored green. He was now almost certain that the orbs were some sort of tinker device.

The last person to enter was both taller and broader than the girl. It's footsteps were loud and clanging like metal. The way the floor vibrated beneath his feet, he could tell that whatever it was it was heavy. The person was covered heavily from head to toe with a large tarp that had been formed into a vaguely hooded cloak that managed to hide away discernible features under its tan surface.

Unseen because of his visor, Armsmaster's eyebrows knotted together in suspicion. He'd be watching out for that one.

He turned his attention to the young girl. She froze when she saw them, her mouth opening and eyes going wide as dinner plates.

"Good afternoon," Miss Militia welcomed them pleasantly and gestured to the chairs. "Please, take a seat."

The skinny girl didn't reply for a moment and stood there stock still, gawking at them.

"Y-you're Miss Militia!" She suddenly gasped out and pointed at her, and then at him. "A-and y-you're Armsmaster!"

"Taylor, it's very rude to point." The man standing next to her reprimanded lightly, but he was smiling amusedly at her reaction to them.

"O-oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean t-to!" She apologized pulling her finger back like she'd been burned, cheeks red. "It's just, I-I didn't expect that you'd be doing this interview but gosh you're Miss Militia! And he's Armsmaster! I-I never thought I'd meet you this soon! I mean I knew I'd eventually see you, well if I actually get to be part of the team but you know I didn't think it would be like right now because I'm like the biggest fan and this like the best thing ever and..." She paused and Colin saw the smile on her slightly wide mouth all but split her face. "ohmygoshthisissoawesome-"

Colin was grateful she didn't squeal at the top of her lungs like other girls did when meeting celebrities.

She was, however practically jumping in place as she kept excitedly gushing on until the man, her father he assumed, put a hand on her shoulder.

"Taylor, breathe." He laughed softly, Miss Militia did so as well.

"Okay." She exhaled to calm herself and moved towards a chair her father led her to, dropping onto it with a plop. "H-hi." Her cheeks were still red, sounding thrilled but more subdued. "Sorry about that. I'm just, wow..." She gave them a very nervous smile.

"It's quite alright," Miss Militia assured her, waving away her concerns. "I'm flattered to know you think so highly of us." Her voice was mellow and welcoming.

Armsmaster was glad that Hannah was taking the lead here. His people skills...required work. She'd never had that issue. Even before she learned the language.

"As you already know, my name is Miss Militia." Her posture became more professional while her tone retained its warmth. "and this -" She gestured to him with a delicate open palm, " - as you also know, is Armsmaster." He offered a polite nod in their direction as she continued.

She put both hands on the desk and to steeple them together. "Now, I've heard that you've recently gained what you believe are powers. Is that true Miss...?" Colin of course knew that Miss Militia was well aware of the girl's name. This was a standard procedure test to see if she was willing to share her real name, or her cape name.

Barring certain circumstances, her identity would still be protected should she choose not to reveal it to them.

Colin wondered why Hannah wasn't following the rest of it though. There was a procedure that included the introduction of their branch and what they both were.

"A-ah, yes. I mean uh..." The young girl stuttered and looked even more nervous now that it was her turn to talk. She looked to her father searchingly and the man gave her a reassuring smile, nodding at her to continue. She gulped, sitting up straighter on the chair and coughed. "I mean, yes. My name is Taylor Hebert and this is my dad, Daniel Hebert." She gestured to her father who nodded and greeted them.

Hebert? That sounds familiar...

"About a week ago I woke up and just started building things, I took apart a lot of stuff in the house and made something I didn't know I could build before."

Standard Tinker habit, Armsmaster thought. The urge to build was strong, especially after a trigger event. He'd felt it the first time, and many times since. Though he'd managed to gain a lot of control since then.

"I figured that would make me a cape and I uhhh... think I'm a Tinker. Dad agreed, and now we're here. I'm thinking of joining the Protectorate." She fidgeted in her seat as she said this. Colin noted that she was hugging the ball more tightly and narrowed his eyes when he saw yellow lights flash.

"Your father explained similarly on the phone call." She nodded at her explanation and leaned a bit forward. "I would like you to know that it pleases me very much that you're interested in becoming part of the Protectorate , Miss Hebert. We always welcome the chance to let parahumans such as yourselves join our ranks."

Especially right now, he thought drily. There was a huge difference in numbers when it came to parahumans that wanted to become heroes or villains. The nature of trigger events had led more to the latter than the former. Right now the heroes needed all the help they could get.

Hannah straightened up in her seat, looking at them more seriously now. "To start, I'd like to first say that whatever happens in this room stays in this room. Though you have revealed to us your identity we shall not in any way take advantage of that knowledge and keep it us solely to ourselves. No matter what you decide today, you may go on with your life as Taylor Hebert without anyone else knowing of your powers besides those you wish to give that information to." Those were part of the unwritten rules that they all abided by. Colin learned throughout his career that even villains complied with them, though not quite all of them.

"Wait," Daniel Hebert cut in, Colin noted that he wore an anxious look on his face. He also saw that the young Tinker was more tense in her seat now, looking worried. "We walked into this building with people all around the place. What about them?"

"The people in this building are in the employ of the PRT, and are likewise predisposed to obey the rule of identity nondisclosure." Miss Militia told them, making a brushing motion with her hand. "Your were given instructions to enter the building through the other entrance besides the one in the front, yes? That was to prevent the tourist from seeing you. While we've already set policies that prevent them from taking pictures or videos without our express permission, we know that some of them are likely to break them."

Ugh, tourists. To this day Colin couldn't stomach the fact that they needed to market themselves, even when he knew that public imagery was important. Armsmaster had always treated himself as a soldier, with his powers simply a very important tool that helped him fulfill his duty.

"Ah," The father relaxed, while his daughter visibly slumped in her seat in relief. "That's a load off our backs." He chuckled, giving his daughter a wry smile.

"Rest assured, we take extra care when it comes to capes identities." Armsmaster interrupted, speaking for the first time since they entered the room. "Especially one of our own." He added, hoping that they took that as an incentive to join.

"R-right." The young Tinker muttered in reply, looking at him with wide eyes. He appreciated the undeniable admiration he saw in them, one perk of public imagery he supposed, was that it painted a pretty picture for all his heroics while in the line of duty.

"With that out of the way," Hannah took control of the conversation once more. "I think it's time we discuss what it means to join the Protectorate, first there is the..."

She went on to talk about the perks of joining the team and about the Wards, and he would add his input at specific parts. Otherwise he kept the rest of his attention on analyzing the most silent occupant in the room, the one hidden away in the cloak.

Who was this guy? Throughout the interview he had not moved to take a seat like the other two, merely standing there like statue. No movements, not even a twitch. Not one word spoken, not even a sound.

And no breathing either.

Eyes widening behind his visor, Armsmaster realized that what he was looking at might not be human at all.

Ah, of course.

...Did she make this all by herself?

+++V+++

Sorry about the wait, life got in the way.

As always, read and review, let me know if you hate this or you like it.