(Author slowly walks onto stage. Looks at crowd sheepishly.)

Um… Hi.

Before I start, I just want to ask you guys something.

Have you ever had a moment where you come up with something; something you think is the coolest thing ever? You've ever had people tell you it's dumb and you just ignored them because you felt that you were right? And then at a later date, you look back and wonder what the hell you had been thinking at the time?

Yeah. That's my feelings on the Cauldron story now.

I still think it's pretty badass. Take my favourite broken characters and basically murder Scion with them. But after I spent some time stewing over my anger and finally calming down and thinking about it some more, I realised that a lot of the complaints had a point. It didn't really fit in, and I hadn't really thought about why Cauldron wouldn't just call for them again.

So the Cauldron Story? Not canon anymore. It's being left in as an Omake thing. Just something fun.

I guess I was in such a hurry to get Scion out of the way that I just went with what was easiest, even if it didn't make all that much sense. And I forgot that I've got 15 years before he naturally goes psycho. So for anyone who I insulted, sorry about that.

And for everyone who gave suggestions as to how to get rid of Scion without having a big 'final battle', thanks for that too.

And so now that I've formally apologised, it's time for the next chapter. And setting up events that our 'heroes' might have to deal with.

Chapter 24: Villainy. Villainy Never Changes

If Rey Andino had to admit to one major flaw of his, he would have to say it was his inability to look before he leapt. Other people would check all their facts before making a decision; write up a chart on pros and cons. Certainly that's what his more sane Tinker acquaintances would do. But Rey had always been more interested in results and confirming theories than actually following rules. He was always the kind of man who asked whether or not something could be done, rather than if it should be done. Sometimes, it worked out for him, more or less. Other times, not so much. He would end up making a crucial mistake, pissing off the wrong person, and generally getting in over his head. Not a good place to be when all you have to defend yourself is a deeper understanding on plant biology.

Unfortunately, right now was one of the bad times.

He twitched as he walked down the street, eyes jittering from one person to the next. He had been a fool to think it would've worked. In hindsight he should've never tried it. He was extremely lucky to have gotten out of the city with his life. But when he heard of what Blacklight was capable of, of how it could alter genetics within the realm of what was possible… Well, he just had to get a sample. Just a small amount. Just enough to study it. What was the old saying again? 'Stealing fire from the gods'?

Well, he tried it and got burnt. And unlike Prometheus, he wasn't going to live through the eagles pecking at his liver.

His arm burned at the stump, the fungus he applied cauterising the wound. He resisted the urge to scratch it. It had seemed so simple at the time. Snip a tiny bit off one of the strands forming a building. Put it in a jar, and get it home. Start studying it and dissecting it. But everything went wrong the moment he grabbed it. The sample wriggled free of his tweezers. Creatures started howling. And the sample dug into his arm. Panicking, running, he felt his arm ache as the sample got to work. Pulling out a blade, he used fear to work up the courage to sever his arm. He applied the fungus as he ran, smearing it all over. A quick jog to the van, activating the decoy, and then several tense minutes to the border. He heard his decoy scream realistically as it was torn apart.

Now here he was. Back in Boston, and not too far from his new labs. And he was still worried that he was being followed. Any one of these people could be an agent for Zeus. Despite what everyone (or rather, the Government) believed, his reach extended far beyond Brockton Bay. He was among the most powerful figures on the planet, and people would be willing to do anything to get on his good side. He steered clear of the block before him; Evolutionaries hung out there, preaching the word of Zeus to anyone that listened. If anyone had Zeus' spies among them, it was those guys. Taking the twisting turns of the alleyways, he eventually made it to a small, decrepit screen door. It was barely hanging on its hinges, and creaked whenever it was opened.

But behind it and down the hall, a second hidden door opened only to his codes. It sealed shut behind him with a resounding boom. The lights turned on, lighting up the lab and revealing the pristine equipment and tools lying around.

One day, he really had to thank the anonymous donator that gifted this to him. He had a few ideas as to who they were, but he didn't want to make any presumptions. Groaning slightly, he used his remaining hand to grab some seeds. Working quickly, he tugged at some of his hair, dropping it into a petri dish. He snipped at the end of a seed and tossed it in as well, the seed already growing. Once he had waited long enough, he grabbed the seed and shoved it into the fungus. It started growing outward, using stems for bone and muscle. Within minutes, he had a second working arm again. Sighing, he peeled away the fungus covering his face, mopping his brow afterwards.

Sleep. He wanted to sleep. He wasn't a fighter; he wasn't good at keeping calm under pressure. Just getting out of Brockton Bay had tired him out. He was about to hit the bed when his computer chimed. Eying it warily, he approached the screen. An email had arrived, completely untraceable. Yet familiar to him.

After all, it looked exactly like the email he had gotten about this lab, back when he had been looking for a place to stay.

Feeling more awake, he woke his computer up, ready to see what his 'benefactors' wanted.

To: Blasto (b1a5t0 )

From: &$%2) (***** )

Subject: Temp Work.

We recently heard that one Blasto was found dead in Brockton Bay, hunted down by Zeus' Hunters for attempted theft. We are sorry to hear that you failed.

But you are on the right track. People like Zeus are a threat to everybody. Parahumans and the like that believe themselves to be above the law in all regards. Capes can't help us. They're just as bad. And worse, fallible.

Anything you make isn't capable of turning against us. They will destroy these threats until death. That is why we need you.

This email was sent with a key to a hidden file in your computer. You now have access to greater resources.

Use them wisely, and for a good cause.

You shall be well rewarded.

Rey scratched at his chin as he took in the email. Just as he figured, his benefactors were people who hated Zeus. That left him with a few choices. It was probably the Government, or the PRT. They were the immediate choices given their resources and ability to keep themselves off Zeus' radar. Normally, he'd be worried about working with them. But these 'resources' they offered… Well, they were just too enticing. He closed the window, and found a new link on his desktop.

He found two options available to him. Database, and samples. Curious, he opened up the database.

And stared in open-mouthed awe.

The PRT database. He was looking at the PRT database. All the information and data they had collected over the years. And if this was the database… trembling slightly, he went back. Opened up the samples list.

The list was separated into three categories. PRT Cape database. Non-PRT database. And miscellaneous.

He couldn't stop himself from smiling. He had access to every DNA sample the PRT had ever collected. He went searching quickly, but quickly found that all traces of Blacklight had been deleted and removed from the system. A pity, but at least he had other samples to work with. He went down into miscellaneous, eyes roaming as he went down the list. He stopped when he came across three distinct samples.

Leviathan. Behemoth. Simurgh.

An idea came to him. It was even crazier than stealing from Zeus, but he just couldn't leave it alone. Just had to know if it was possible.

Could he take the sample of an Endbringer, and make his own version?

A grin spread across his face as he selected the Simurgh sample. As long as he was careful, there shouldn't be too much trouble. Right?

Right?

(5 Years Later)

It was a pitch-black night, the moon hidden behind an encompassing layer of cloud. One wouldn't be able to see past the end of their nose in that darkness, or see their hand before their face. The only bright spot in the area, in miles and miles of empty space, was a complex. It was blocky, unmarked, and lacking any distinguishing features. The only oddity was the large amount of lights arrayed around it. Hardly a single area of it was dark.

To most people, it was just some rich guy's storage shed. But what most people didn't know was that the rich person in question was the PRT. This was one of their storage sights. Where they kept any items too dangerous to be used, but too valuable to be destroyed. Now, you'd think that such a place would be well guarded. And it is. But its biggest defence is its remote location. If any parahuman really wanted things hidden away in here, there wouldn't be much the guards could do.

Johnson yawned as he leaned back in his seat, feeling that he may possibly have the most boring job on the planet. No one even knew this place existed. There hadn't been any action here since they opened the damn place. The only time they ever have guests is when more shit gets brought in and dropped off. Honestly, he'd almost want someone to invade just to break up the mind-numbing boredom that is…

Something changed. He couldn't for the life of him tell what, but something happened that made his sleep-deprived mind jolt. He had to rub his eyes as he leaned forward in his seat. Funny. Everything looked to be in order. None of the warning lights were flashing. Nothing appeared to be broken. He glanced at all the CCTV screens. Everything looked fine on those too.

He grumbled as he settled back in his seat. What a goddamn waste of time. And he couldn't even do anything else. The CO already confiscated his phone when he caught him playing games on it. A complete hardass. He was sorely tempted to sneak off to the bathroom, find his porn stash, and start…

He started. There is was again. That annoying feeling that something was wrong. Swearing to himself, he started checking over his instruments again. No warning lights; check. Nothing broken; check. Screens online; check. Lights all going…

Wait. He leaned forward, looking at the screen for the West-most side. It took him way too long to finally notice something off about what he was seeing.

One of the lights had disappeared. Hidden behind some fog or something. No trace of its light.

It didn't seem like normal fog to him. He wondered for a moment whether or not he should let his CO know. Get them to check it out. But he discarded the idea almost immediately. The team would give him hell if he sent them out there for nothing. It was probably just really foggy, and the wires for the light broke.

But then the next light went out. And he realised that the fog was getting closer.

He grabbed his radio and pressed the button. "Guys, we've got something weird going on the West side. Anyone in the area, could you maybe check that out, over?" He released the button, waiting for a response. But it was completely silent. "West side patrol, please respond, over." Still no sound. It was like he was alone. He looked around the screens, trying to spot the patrol. "Phillip, what the hell are you guys doing? I need someone to look into this crap, over." Phillip and his team didn't even react. They just kept walking. "Assholes." Johnson grumbled, linking to a widespread line. "Guys, Phillip isn't responding to my calls. Could someone go to him and get his ass in gear, over?"

Once more, pure silence. Now he was starting to get worried. While he had tried to get in contact, the fog had moved even further in. He decided to check his radio. Maybe the battery went flat or something. But when he glanced down, he found a hole in the plastic. Peeking in, the wires had been sliced apart.

This wasn't mere equipment failure. This was sabotage. Which had to mean that the fog…

Panicking slightly (and a bit happy to have something to do), Johnson pressed the alarm button. But there was no sound. No lights flashing, no doors locking. He pushed it again, and again. More sabotage. Whoever this was, they had been planning for this. He looked up at the screens, hoping to catch sight of the attackers.

Instead, he saw Phillip and his team writhing on the floor, covered in bugs. And then the screen turned to static, the camera cut off. He glanced at the other screens in fear. They were all turning to static. And the few glances he got showed either teammates being swarmed by bugs, or hidden behind the fog.

Wait. There had been two villains from Brockton Bay said to have these kinds of powers. And so if they were here, then that meant that…

"Oh shit." He gasped, grabbing his baton with trembling hands. Zeus. Zeus had to be here. Fuck this job. This place wasn't worth dying over. He fumbled for the door, ready to just hightail to his car and get the hell out of here before he met any monsters. Maybe he'll get himself posted somewhere else. Someplace less important. Guarding a rubbish dump sounded ok. No way that Zeus would want anything from that. He finally managed to get the door opened, his fingers finding purchase. He opened it wide…

And came face to face with a black figure. A swarm of bugs resembling a tall woman. He had barely enough time to squeak before the swarm hit him, burrowing into his clothes. He screamed as they bit and stung him, trying to get into his mouth and eyes. Sound was muffled as bigger bugs crawled into his ears and started biting. He rolled on the floor screaming, squashing bugs against his skin. But there were just too many.

And then he was smothered by the fog, and the bugs were the only things he was aware of.

Down guarding the vault itself, Freefall's first clue that something was going wrong was when he picked up panicked screaming over his radio. When he tried to respond, no one was answering. The second clue was when something big and heavy started tearing into the door at the end of his tunnel. He immediately used his power to flip his personal gravity, falling towards the roof and crouching down.

The far door was torn away, and black smoke billowed and filled every inch of the corridor. Freefall found his world suddenly dark and silent. He couldn't discern anything within an inch of his nose, and he couldn't hear any sound. This had to be the work of the villain Grue.

And that meant that based on intel, Swarm would be with him too.

He felt around the ground before him for a hidden handle, all too aware of the multitude of bugs heading his way. If he couldn't hide from those insects, he would probably be lying on the ground, struggling to get them off. Luckily, he found the handle. Practically falling into the hideaway, he closed the hatch behind him. He calmed himself down, trying to make his breathing quieter.

Several long minutes passed by, his world completely blank. But then the darkness vanished. A thin light shone down through a slit. Cautiously, he slowly and carefully slid the hatch open, taking stock of the situation.

As he expected, Grue and Swarm were below him, examining the door. He took careful note of their appearances, since their photos were a little out of date.

Grue had apparently swapped his biker theme appearance for a more armoured one, with black studded plating covering most of his body. Enough to protect vital areas, but exposing enough cloth to not hamper his movements. Smoke wisped around his body, flowing from vents around him, making noting any more details difficult. So he turned his gaze to Swarm.

She had gone with a more mystical kind of look it seemed. A long flowing cape hung down to her knees, and underneath it was another cloth that hung down lower. She wore armoured gauntlets underneath large sleeves, and was right now holding up some kind of spider creature. Since she was approaching the vault door, it was probably some kind of code cracker or something.

He had to act fast. He couldn't let them get access to the contents of that vault. National security depended on him right now. Breathing in through his nose, he jumped out of the hideaway. And then he altered his personal gravity, pointing it towards Grue and increasing it.

Grue had barely turned around before Freefall slammed into him feet-first, smashing him into the ground. Swarm turned around in surprise, but she already had a baton ready. Blocking the blow with his armoured arm – he still hissed from the impact – he heard something roar behind him. He changed his gravity again, heading towards the end of the hallway. He turned in time to see the monster rushing him, some kind of crossbreed between big dog and insect. He slammed into it, felt its claws scratch at him, before they slammed into the wall outside. They made a pretty big dent, all things considered. He finally managed to grab some foam grenades, sticking two against the beast as he flew backwards again. The grenades practically glued the beast to the wall, but it may not last. Turning around again, he spotted Grue trying to get back up. And Swarm readying a pistol.

Covering his head with his arms, he aimed for Swarm first. That gun would be pretty damn dangerous if he got within range. He felt bullets ping off him, and then he crashed into Swarm. There was a slight resistance… and then he passed right through her.

Shit. If he accidently killed her by mistake, he would be in so much trouble.

As he landed against the vault door, he turned around to see that what he had thought was Swarm was actually just bugs. The real one had been crouched down behind her copy. And then the bugs were covering his helmet, working their way through the vents. Blinded, he could only try to shift away.

A baton smashed into his stomach, hard enough that it still hurt. He wiped away the bugs in time to see the corridor fill with darkness again, blinding him again. He kept going; one thing he remembered reading about Grue was that he could see and hear things inside his darkness. The best thing to do would be to either head out and report this, or just keep bouncing between the two ends and hope that he hit someone.

Mind made up, he shifted back towards the vault door. He went feet first, ready to smash into something solid.

Instead, something solid found his chin. He dropped to the floor as he teeth clacked together, a ringing in his ears. He heard his helmet click as the locks came off, and then there were bugs biting at his face. His yell of pain sounded very small in there.

And then the shadows parted, and he looked up in time to see a skull man punching him in the face.

I winced at the sound of the hero's head smashing against the floor. His body went limp as he was knocked out. Grue stood over him, rubbing his fist.

"That was a bit much, wasn't it?" I said reproachfully. "He was already practically down and out." I grabbed his helmet from where Grue had thrown it, ignoring the man under the mask as I put it back on. I wasn't here to learn someone's identity; I was here for a job.

"That first blow hurt like hell. When you're running on adrenaline, you tend to want some revenge." Grue replied, barely sounding sorry. He picked up the hacker spider we were using and placed it on the control panel. A quick message from me, and it woke up and started hacking the door.

Left with nothing to really do, and no one to really impress, I ended up smoothing down the front of my suit. Grue gave me a sideways glance. I think. I've gotten better at guessing his mood behind his skull helmet, but it was still tricky sometimes.

"Sorry." He finally said. "That guy surprised me, and I guess I lashed out. I thought that this area was clear."

"We both did. I was the one checking with my bugs. I somehow missed him. Him jumping us was my fault."

"Still should've paid more attention. I'm the leader. I should be more aware of things like that."

I shrugged. "Everyone has off days. Today was one of those days. Shit happens."

"True. But at least we're nearly there." The door finally chimed, the spider done cracking the code. I had it scurry back to me as the heavy door opened wide. I quickly checked on our escort, found him nearly free of the foam. Confident that he would be ready for any more unexpected surprises, I followed Grue inside.

It was amazing how much stuff was inside here. How much contraband the Protectorate and the PRT had seized from villains. It would've taken all day to search through everything, longer to get it all out. But we didn't have days; someone was bound to notice that this place had gone dark.

Luckily for us, we already knew what we were looking for.

"I'll look around here." Grue said, already moving to the labelled shelves. "You have your bugs check the higher levels." I nodded, already at work. Dozens of bugs crawled out from under my suit, buzzing up and around. I closed my eyes and focused my power. Hours of practise finally paid off.

I was seeing what my bugs were seeing.

Of course, if they were normal bugs, the world would just be a jumbled mess. Like looking at something someone had drawn in an art program at max zoom. Luckily for me, these bugs were modified to perceive the world with much more clarity. With them, I had managed to read an entire page of a book legibly. And whether from training or my powers, I didn't have as much difficulty receiving so many images as I thought.

With nearly fifty bugs flying around and reading tags, it didn't take nearly as long as I thought to find the tag I was looking for. I still shuddered as I read the name.

Bonesaw.

"Found it." I said aloud, opening my eyes. I sent all the other bugs towards its location, before leading Grue after them. They were high up, near the top of the shelving. Grue found a sliding ladder, and moved it in place. He held it like a gentleman for me, and I started climbing.

Of course, I was pretty sure he was taking the time to admire my ass.

Get your mind out of the gutter Taylor. Focus on the mission. I reached the drawer quickly, and gave it a tug. Thankfully, there was no lock on it. They must've believed that the vault door and the guards would've been enough to keep people away. Personally, if I had been holding onto stuff from Slaughterhouse Nine, I would've thrown in a lot more security.

I reached into the drawer and grabbed the handle. Pulled it out as far as it could go. And grabbed a large clear box. One of two.

Inside, was one of Bonesaw's spiders. One of her bots that helped her alter and control innocents. Just holding onto it made me feel ill.

I looked down to check if Grue was ready, and then I dropped it into his waiting hands. Waited until he put it down, grabbed the second one, and dropped that too. Now that we had what we came for, I closed up the drawer and slid down to ground level. Grabbing one case, we left the vault, sealing the door behind us. We took the elevator back up to the outside, finding it just like we left it. Dark, silent, and swarming. Our ride, a giant Hydra, sat waiting off to one side. My bugs all flowed back towards me, and our Infected re-joined the Hydra. We hoped inside the hollowed out insides of the Hydra, and as soon as the doorway sealed up we were moving. We buckled ourselves and our cargo in as we tipped downwards.

Behind us, the darkness was fading. The lights were turning back on. Apart from some sabotage and reports, no one would've known that we had been there.

Mission accomplished.

The two of us sighed in relief as we levelled off, a seatbelt sign flashing off to let us know it was safe to move again. I slipped off my helmet, letting my hair spill over my shoulders. I leaned back, sighing in relief.

Sure, the mission hadn't been that difficult (barring one surprise). Sure, we got away without any trouble. Sure, we got our objective without even spotting any reinforcements. But I still always worried when we went on a mission. I was almost certain that the next one would be the mission that took us down. Some might call me pessimistic, but I felt that our luck would only last for so long. At some point, we were bound to fuck up.

Brian took of his own helmet, standing up and stretching. The black smoke had stopped billowing around him, making his figure easier to see. He had worked up some more muscles, but not to point of parody like those weird images of gym-hogs absolutely bulging, with pecs on their pecs and weird shit. He was still slightly slender and athletic under all that muscle, able to throw a punch when needed and dodge a blow if he had to. And despite how firm he looked, he was still gentle to the touch.

And yes, I have first-hand knowledge of that.

"Feeling like having a drink." He said as he unhooked the bag strapped to the wall, opening it up to grab a drink bottle. He held out a drink bottle to me. "You want one too?"

I smiled at him. "Yeah, thanks." I took a deep, long gulp of the bottle, drinking up nearly half of it at once. "How do you feel? It looked like that hero hit you pretty hard."

"A little sore, but not too bad actually. The armour numbed the nerves for me. I'll probably have to be careful not to stress anything for maybe a day or two though. Don't want to injure myself further." He slowly twisted his shoulder in its socket. "But hey, at least the mission was a success."

"Yeah. I just wish we hadn't been after those." I looked at the cases with distaste. The spiders moving slightly inside of them. "Why would anyone want those things anyway? They're horrible."

Brian shrugged. "The employer said he had a Tinker who could reverse engineer them. Make them into medical equipment. Don't know enough about Tinkers to know if that's true or not. But if they're lying to us, I doubt Alex will let them live for very long."

He was right. Alex wasn't fond of people lying about their motives to him and using him. Partly it was because as king of Mount Olympus he couldn't afford to be made a fool of, but personally I think he was tired of being used like a tool. Whatever the reason, anyone that lied about their interests usually ended up with a personal visit from Alex. Or whatever they wanted being crammed down their throat and out their chest.

As for why we and Alex were working for an employer? Because despite being in charge of Brockton Bay for five years, it was still kind of us against the world. Officially, the embargo against us was still ongoing, and wouldn't come down until we surrendered control of the city. No one was to do business with us, offer donations, or enter our borders.

Unofficially though? Pretty much everyone ignored all those rules. Despite the ships blockading our harbour, we were still getting supplies coming in. They slipped past underwater, in the dark of the night, and even in one special case just turning into a Titan and almost smash its way through. We even started moving underground, bringing in whatever we needed. As for business, well some people are willing to do anything for a quick buck. Villains, PMCs, the black market… Thanks to our 'villainous' connections, we had made a lot of allies eager to be on our good side. Donations were deposited in the Blacklight churches, and then shipped off to Mount Olympus, and as for border jumpers… Well, no matter who they are, no one is able to stop border jumpers.

And of course, it helped a lot that we were technically the safest city on the planet.

But the one thing that was difficult to come by was the money needed to buy all our supplies. A city's income comes from trade, and ours was barely holding up. City Hall had to balance offering more jobs with letting the Infected work for free, and you couldn't keep everyone happy. So we offer ourselves as mercenaries. If someone wanted something done, we would get sent out to deal with it. Every villain that worked under Alex was expected to take part. No exceptions.

Not that I was complaining, of course. You couldn't have a bunch of villains ruling over a city without giving them something to do. At least mercenary work kept us all busy. And personally, if it was helping the city, then I would be willing to help out any way I can.

That didn't mean I had to like every mission though.

"I just feel like this is a bit like handing Blacklight to someone. Yes, they say they're using it for a good cause, but it could just as easily be used for a terrible one. He could be building more mangled horrors, like Bonesaw did." I said.

"Well, unless you're willing to not hand it over – and probably piss of this guy and Alex I might add – there's not a lot we can do. We'll just have to cross our fingers, and hope for the best." He munched on a sandwich we had left in the cooler bag. I grabbed an apple. We just sat there and ate for a while.

After he threw his rubbish back in the bag, he got back up. "Well, I'm going to bed. It's still going to be a few hours before we get back to Brockton Bay. Would be a good idea to rest up before we get there.

I smiled a little as he passed by, standing up myself. "I think I might join you." Brian stopped. Turned slightly. Gave me a smirk.

"Wasn't there a book you said you wanted to read on the way home?" He said.

It was my turn to shrug. "It can wait till home. I feel a bit tired too, to be honest." I walked towards him, placing a hand against his chest. He kept smirking as he put an arm on my shoulder. It made me realise that we were practically the same height now.

"Alright then. But nothing too strenuous. I'm pretty sure a doctor would tell me that my arm can't handle it."

"I could give you a massage." I replied in some weird tone. It was, and has always been, my best attempt at being sultry. To me, it always sounded to breathless.

Brian smiled now, gently walking me to the room at the back. "I think that sounds wonderful, actually."

The bugs streamed off me and my suit, staying behind as Brian closed the door.

We were woken up by the sound of a fist hammering at the door. "Hey, lovebirds!" Tattletale called out. "Get your clothes back on and stop wasting everybody's time! The client wants the package ASAP!"

"Just a second!" I shouted back. Or at least I thought I did. In my foggy mind I could've just gurgled at her. Rolling out of bed in just panties and a singlet, I had to stumble around a bit while remembering where I had dumped my suit. But I eventually found it on top of a chair. By the time I had put on my socks and slipped into my suit, Brian was…

How did he get fully dressed ahead of me? He had been sleeping like a rock when I woke up.

When we opened the door, we found Tattletale on the other side, smirking to herself. "Typical." She said. "We send you two on a dangerous mission, and you both start making out like rabbits before you're even home."

"Nothing happened." Brian replied defensively. "It was a long trip, and we were just sleeping together."

"As in we shared the only bed. And we were actually sleeping." I added hastily, blushing under my mask.

"Suuure you were. Just maybe keep your pants on for future missions. The kind of people contacting us aren't the most patient people." She turned away and headed for the boxes, grabbing on and lifting it to eye level. "They don't look like much." She noted.

"They were Bonesaw's. So assume they're nastier than they really are." Brian cautioned, taking the box from her and grabbing the other one. We exited the Hydra to find ourselves inside Den Station, a little underground area for travelling Hydras. As we headed upstairs, our ride started moving for the bigger den further on, where it could rest and wait for new orders.

Outside, an Infected-drawn rickshaw was waiting for us; big enough for the whole team and decked out in our logo. Brian secured the boxes as Tattletale and I jumped onboard. The rest of our crew was already waiting for us.

Unlike me and Brian, the others hadn't really updated their looks since I first joined. I suppose it's probably because they're less likely to get into combat situations quite like we do. Or maybe they just didn't feel like they had to show that they're pretty much nobility in Brockton Bay like I did. I always saw respect as a big part of villainy, and a good way to get respect is to look the part. But I could be biased; the power to control bugs never sounds like a strong power at first. Brian upgraded simply because he attacked up close. He wanted something that could help him survive hard-hitting attacks, and let him wrestle with bigger tougher foes.

The rickshaw shuddered slightly as we got moving, heading through the New Athens district for Mount Olympus. It wasn't officially called New Athens, but everyone said it so often that the name stuck. It was bigger and better looking since it was first built. Alex used the last few years to smooth things out, make them look more normal. There was just enough Blacklight influences around though to show that this place was not truly normal.

Alec let out a fake groan as he stretched, resting both feet on the seat before him. "So, how was Texas?" He asked us. "Boring as all hell, like always?"

"It was mostly quiet. An easy job again until the end. A hero with gravity powers surprised us."

"Sounds like Freefall." Lisa said. "He's a bit of a rising star in the Protectorate. Can affect his personal gravity to make him heavier or lighter, and choose a direction to go sailing off in. He usually fights by dropping down on people with twice his weight. He's not so fancy indoors though. Not enough space to get some speed."

"There wasn't anything in the briefing about him being there." I said firmly. "We need to get on top of that kind of stuff, or the next mission could have Eidolon or Legend waiting for us. We could end up with life sentences, or worse."

Aisha shrugged. "What's to worry about? We distract them, run back here, and we're safe. They can't do anything to us. Not with Alex watching over us."

"Won't do us a lot of good if we can't get back." Brian argued. "Taylor's right. We need to have a better idea of just who we might run into from now on."

"I'll talk to Dana; see if we can't do something about that." Lisa said. The Rickshaw slowed as we stopped for traffic. I took the time to look out the window.

Just beyond, Mount Olympus rose up like an actual mountain. Alex had been piling on biomass, using metal from Kaiser's power to help support its weight. Several towers jutted from it, casting long shadows over the ground. Alex clearly followed the same line of thinking that I did.

It wasn't enough to be the biggest badass in the room. You needed to make sure everyone knew you were the most important guy.

The lights changed, and we made it to Mount Olympus without any more hold ups. Going through one of the entrances around the side, we ended up on an elevator that walked up the walls towards the higher levels. After that, we hopped out of the rickshaw, grabbed the cargo, and headed through the far door that automatically opened for us. The inside was as dark and imposing as the outside; all dark materials and straight lines. A short walk through the hallways led us to the Throne Room, where Alex and Dana were waiting.

Dana smiled and waved as we entered. Alex, standing over by the large windows overlooking the city, turned and stared at us. He gave us a curt nod; that's practically a warm welcome from Alex. "You're back. The mission was a success?" Alex asked.

"See for yourself, boss man." Imp said cheerfully, grabbing one of the boxes and tossing it towards him. My heart jumped a bit as it sailed through the air, almost certain that it would shatter, and then we'd have metal spiders trying to carve us up and modify us…

Alex's fingers lengthened, and he grabbed the box as easily as catching a tennis ball. He observed the spiders, and took in the slight scratches from where they had tried to break through. "The doctor will be happy to have these." He said.

I felt like now was a good time to speak up. "Are we certain we can trust this guy with those? They could cause a lot of damage in the wrong hands."

"They could." Alex agreed. "But the money he's paying is far more important to us than the moral implications of handing dangerous items to anyone other than ourselves."

"Besides, we need to act like professionals. That means not betraying our employers because we don't trust them." Dana added. "Is this guy legit? Maybe. Would I trust him with my life? Probably not. But sometimes you gotta just take a leap of faith." A squat creature grew out of the ground, Alex dropping the box he held on top of it. Brian handed the other one over. "I'll get those shipped out to our buyer ASAP. You guys get a twenty percent cut, and we'll have enough money to keep paying people wages. And then I'll need to check with Mayor Dooley on who gets more funding." And she walked off, the Infected waddling next to her.

Leaving us with Alex.

Alex turned away, his arms crossed. "The six of you have been on at least three missions altogether in the past two weeks. Dana told me that I need to give you some time to rest and recover, so any missions that come up will be handed to the Travellers to do. You're now dismissed. Go count your money or whatever you do on your days off." The door back to our rickshaw opened. His way of saying that the conversation was over.

"So why does he keep staring out the window?" Alec asked, once we were back in the rickshaw and heading downwards. "Is he just trying to be melodramatic?"

"Maybe?" Lisa replied. "He doesn't relax like regular people, and we're the closest things he has to acquaintances, so we know he doesn't socialise. What exactly do you do when you're the 'lord of the city' and there's nothing left to do?"

Alex kept staring out the window of his throne room, drinking in the view of Brockton Bay. The repaired offices, the new homes, the roads and freeways linking up the city. The window flexed slightly, zooming in on the city centre. Humans walking around, taking advantage of his Infected creations. He watched as people hopped onto a repurposed bus he and Hephaestus had modified into a suspension carriage. Some could say that it was a possibility of the future; mundane and Tinker tech, working together.

The window returned to normal. He commanded the pane next to it to show an image of what Brockton Bay had looked like five years ago. The shattered buildings and roads, the holes in the ground, the water flowing everywhere. It was a marked difference from what it was now.

He felt some manner of pride in his work. In five years, he took a city moments away from being abandoned and made it a living city again. He cleaned out the filth and dregs, and made things peaceful. He did a better job than the Protectorate or the PRT, and no one could pretend otherwise.

Still, he also felt a sense of resignation. An emptiness inside of him.

He wasn't blind to this. He knew that one day he would be left without something to do. The fact that he was for all intents immortal, and didn't have any interest in normal human activities, meant that eventually, he would've been rudderless. He would run out of things to do, people to kill. Even his drive to evolve was nearing its end. Without an actual challenge, he couldn't evolve. He was getting close to an evolutionary dead-end.

He would have to talk to Dana about this. Maybe she could find him something to do with his life.

But she was busy right now. So he just kept standing there, staring out the window at the city below.

Three quick knocks. And then Alex waited. A confirmation from Dana, and then he entered her room. Courtesy between siblings. He found Dana sitting at her desk, tapping away at her computer. Multiple screens grew from the wall, showing dozens of different reports. News channels, internet, world map, and the like. More screens along the next wall, showing the same thing. He took a quick glance at them, looking for anything that he might want to know.

He stepped closer to one of them; a screen showing the front page of a newspaper website. Followers of Zeus Stopped in their Tracks, it said. The picture below showed the Protectorate standing triumphantly over defeated villains. He didn't recognise any of the costumes.

Dana saw him taking an interest. "Not the most accurate of names, is it? Government probably wants them to imply that we're behind it."

"What is it about?" He asked.

"Some villains wanted to jump on the conqueror bandwagon. Take over their own city and live like kings. The Protectorate stopped them cold."

"They're getting stronger again."

"Five years, fear that the 'Big Bad Zeus' starting a conquest of the world, more attacks from villains... means more Trigger Events. More parahumans. And therefore more heroes."

"Does your intel suggest that they might attack again?"

"Not likely. Definitely not in big enough numbers. The newbies, they might try. They've got nice shiny new powers, they've beaten some villains, and they might think that they've got what it takes to 'free' Brockton Bay from us. But the guys who were here when we won won't let that happen."

"Good. Glad they're learning." He turned away from the screen, looked towards Dana. "Anything else interesting going on? Like someone trying to muscle in?"

"Nothing on that front. After we wiped out the Teeth, chatter like that went dark." She gave him a concerned look. "Still not having any problems with Butcher?"

He gave a slight smirk. "Nothing. The voices of fourteen people are nothing in a sea of a hundred."

"Glad to hear it. But so far, everything's been quiet around here. Heroes and villains fight; one side comes out on top. The biggest news is mainly about that former actor. John something-something. The one who went nuts and killed his three girlfriends and then said that he was being mind controlled."

"Sounds boring."

"Yeah, it is." She suddenly snapped her fingers. "Oh wait. There was something else. A bunch of high profile murders." She tapped at her keyboard, bringing up a different article. "It's a little nasty, but since when would you give a shit?"

Alex leaned over her shoulder, taking in the article. It was talking about how a young actress, Monica Chamberlain, was found in several pieces in her home. There was no sign of a break-in, and so far police are suggesting that this is a parahuman attack.

Normally, he would've asked what this had to do with them. But right now, it wasn't like he had anything better to do. He should at least be aware of any potential competition. "You got more info on this?" He asked.

"As a matter of fact, I do. I managed to get the report from the coroner, along with pictures of similar crime scenes." The screens all changed to show different pictures. The actress was front and centre, a mixture of photos taken at the crime scene, and at the morgue.

As the article described, she had been exploded. Her torso was ripped apart, and her limbs were lying haphazardly around the room. According to the report, there was no scorch damage on the limbs, and the damage caused to them resembled someone (or something) tearing them off like an insect. He looked at the others. A man with a blood splatter around where his head would've been. A woman ripped in half, her intestines dragged out of her body. A man with a hole in his chest. A woman with her pelvis area exploded. There were even a few children; the only way you could tell was the size of the remains.

He frowned, noticing similar details on all the remains. "These weren't caused by conventional explosions. They look more like something forced their way out of their bodies."

"Like those chestbursters from Alien? Gross." Dana looked at the pictures again. "That would be a nasty way to go."

"It would be. Unless they came out near vital organs you're more likely to bleed out. Death would take between ten to thirty seconds. Damage would be too great to heal without parahuman help. A bullet would be merciful."

"Yeah." Dana replied, distracted. "Wait. I think I just noticed something." She zoomed in on one of the remains. That of a child. Filtered the picture contrast. A giant patch of white, along with several white boot prints heading away from the remains. "You see that? Someone walked through that."

"Yeah, they did." The boots definitely suggested human; there was no reason to incorporate boot prints in a beast. Inefficient. "Bring up the other pictures again. The ones for the crime scenes." Dana did so, and they both looked through them carefully. "We've got another boot print." Alex pointed at the woman with the exploded crotch. "Same imprint."

"Got one here on the headless body." Dana said. "And there's another with the woman ripped in half."

"They match up with the direction her intestines are going. They must've been wrapped around his leg." Alex noted. "This isn't some creature bursting out of them. The same guy grows out of their bodies, tearing them apart as he displaces them." It would explain why they only found fragments of rib cages, spines, and skulls. A human figure growing out of those areas would shatter them like a bomb.

"Ant Man." Dana suddenly said. Alex looked at her in confusion. "You ever heard of Ant Man?" Alex dived into his memories, seeing if the name resonated with anything. Thankfully, he got a match.

"Ant Man. Real name Hank Pym. A fictional character created by Marvel. Uses the Pym Particle to alter his size, making him the size of an insect or the size of a giant." He recited. "You're thinking that's what this killer's power is."

Dana shrugged. "It makes sense. He gets really small to sneak in the homes and get inside their bodies, and then he returns to normal size, ripping them apart as he does so. That is… legitimately terrifying." She started tapping again. "I'll put this all into their files. They'll probably change their security again, but I figure they should have some idea on what to look for."

Good idea. Let the Protectorate hunt this killer down. Unless someone paid them to deal with it, this man wasn't his problem. He was about to ask Dana what he could do for 'fun' when he noticed something else in one of the pictures. He leaned in again, vision zooming in on the picture. "Dana. Zoom in on the photo of the headless man. On the wall above his body."

She did so, revealing that someone had cleared away some of the blood. Enough to scratch something into the wall. MACELLUM IX vitae.

"What is that, Greek?" Dana asked in confusion.

"Latin. Google Translate Latin actually."

"Ok. So what does it say?"

Alex glowered at the photo. "Basically, 'Slaughterhouse Nine lives.'"

Blasto hummed to himself as he worked on his creations, so invested in his work that he didn't even notice how off-key he sounded. The little dears were coming out so well. All failures and dead ends were culled, leaving the best to keep growing and improving. The samples gifted to him had been the best thing ever. Almost as wonderful as that sweet lady he met one day. Nothing could compare to her.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped back and adjusted his glasses, unaware that the lenses had shattered years ago. In fact, his whole appearance was in disarray from how much work he had been doing. He had lost weight. Had he lost weight? Didn't matter; women loved a slim guy anyway. He looked at all the labels of the growth tubes. Chevalier. Aegis. Triumph. Bastion. Glory Girl. Clockblocker.

Behemoth. Leviathan.

There was the sound of feet against floor. "I'm back." A sweet, sweet voice called out. Blasto smiled even more as he turned around, the most beautiful woman standing before him. She had long white hair, pale skin, and feathers covering her body. Her face was slanted just right to be exquisite. "How are our babies? Are they growing well?"

"Right on schedule." Blasto stuttered. "In just a couple of months or so, they'll be fully formed and ready to live."

She pulled him into a hug. "Wonderful work my love. And they will have the powers of their samples? Bastion will be able to create barriers?"

"Somewhat." Blasto admitted. "There is proof that our powers can affect our cellular structure thanks to people like Canary. But in most cases, the effects are minor or miniscule. But by splicing them with my usual creations, I should be able to boost those minor effects to at least something substantial. They will never be anywhere near as great as the real deal, but they will still have power."

"Oh, that is wonderful." She kissed him deeply. "I love you Rey."

Blasto turned bright red. "And I love you, Morrigan."

Before any of you guys start asking, I have no idea how sampling Protectorate DNA would grant powers. That was just the only reason I could see as to why in canon, Blasto used Myrddin DNA for his Endbringer creation. I mean, if he wanted human DNA to shore it up he could've used any DNA. So there's got to be something he could work with. And they make it clear that the fact that Morrigan is a Simurgh-Myrddin hybrid is apparently really important.

Besides, having an army of plant/parahuman mutants would definitely give everyone a challenge to work through.

And yeah, Slaughterhouse Nine is coming back. I was trying to think of a power that could be incredibly lethal, was watching Civil War recently, and then I wondered 'what would happen if Ant Man got inside your ear and then grew to regular size?' And that's when I realised how perfect that power would be for a murderer. (You can make guesses as to how he got inside of them, though I think it's pretty obvious with the woman with the shattered pelvis area.)

Oh. And I had Alex say it was written in Google Translate Latin because that is what I used to get it in the first place, and I don't know how accurate Google Translate is. It could make me sound like an idiot.

Finally, to anyone wanting to see a big fight between the Teeth and the Pantheon… I am terribly sorry we skipped over it.