Interludes 5:
-Alec-
Alec stared out the window of his base. He could see Coil's men keeping watch, keeping the peace. Not that there would be much going on in the middle of the afternoon. He was fine with that. Having them around meant less work for him. Not that there was much of an alternative to the soldiers unless Coil wanted him to cut loose with his power. And that might just ruin the heroic image that they had spent so long building.
Alec had to keep himself from laughing at that. Hero was never a label that he had expected to be stuck on him, after all. Having Heartbreaker as a parent meant starting with a negative score when it came to reputation.
Not that Alec cared. He was pretty sure the Protectorate knew about him. It would explain why they all kept away from him when they interacted. He could have checked with Lisa, had her verify, but...he didn't care enough.
"Maybe I'll see if Imp will help me out with taking over here..." he said to himself. Of all of the members of the Undersiders, she was the easiest for him to connect with. She seemed to actually enjoy his antics, rather than just accept them.
Hard to believe she was Brian's sister.
He started heading down to the first floor of his base when his phone started going off. He picked it up and glanced at the screen. The number was vaguely familiar. One of Coil's soldiers. He couldn't remember the man's name. He answered the phone.
"Yello?"
"Regent, sir, um...there's someone here to see you." the man said.
"And...who is it?" Alec asked, reaching the bottom of the stairs.
"Cherish, of The Nine."
Alec could feel his face shift to a scowl. "Oh? Is that so?"
"Yes, sir. What...what should I tell her?"
Alec sighed and looked toward the ceiling. "Let her in, I guess." he said, hanging up the phone. It didn't take long for the door to open, and she walked in.
"Cherie." Alec said.
"Jean-Paul." Cherish said, smiling. "Long time no see."
"Yeah, been a while. It's Alec now, by the way. Or Regent." Alec said.
"Then it's Cherish, now, little brother."
"Sure. What's up? I'm kinda busy." Alec asked.
"What? I'm not allowed to visit my little brother? The big time hero of Brockton Bay?" Cherish asked.
"You've been in town for a while. Why wait till now?" Alec asked.
"Been busy. I'm pretty useful on the search and rescue front." Cherish said.
"Well, don't feel like you need to take time away from that for me." Alec said. "I won't hold you up."
"Jean-Paul..." Cherish said. "I'm here because I want to be. You know, as a member of The Nine, I have a bit of sway."
"And?" Alec asked, pulling out his phone to shoot a text to Imp.
"And...well, we're always on the look out for potential members. And I've suggested that you may be a good fit."
"Not interested." Alec said.
"...what?" Cherish asked, looking shocked. "But...they're...we're the strongest hero group..."
"And I don't really care. I'm pretty comfortable where I am. Don't see that changing." Alec said.
"This gig you have now? It's small time. We're Vasils. We're meant for bigger things. If we were on the same team, imagine what we could do."
Alec shook his head. "Sorry, not interested." he said. His phone vibrated and he glanced at it, expecting it to be a response from Imp. He was momentarily surprised to see that it was from Coil. He opened the text and read it.
Regent, is Cherish with you?
Alec raised an eyebrow and responded, letting his boss know that his sister was, in fact, with him. He turned his attention back to her in time to see her approaching him. "You don't really understand, Jean-Paul. You can't just say not interested. The Nine are bigger than that. If they think you're good enough, they'll test you. And if you pass, you're in."
"Yeah, well, guess I'll have to disappoint them if they decide to test me." Alec said. His phone buzzed again, and he looked at it.
Bring her to my base.
That caused Alec to pause. What could Coil want with Cherie?
Another buzz.
There will be a bonus in it for you.
That...was even more interesting.
"Listen to me, Jean-Paul. I was nice enough to give you a warning about this. The least you can do is take it seriously." Cherish said.
Alec sighed. "Guess you're right. It's only fair." he said.
"Wh...what? Really?" Cherish asked, seeming surprised. That caused Alec to smile. It was always fun to catch her off guard.
"Yeah, let's walk and talk. My boss wants a word with you. You can hit me with your pitch on the way." he responded. "But don't try anything. I still remember how to take control of you."
Cherish seemed to hesitate at that, but then nodded. "Alright...fine..." Cherish said. "Now, to start..."
Alec rolled his eyes. Coil had better come through with that bonus. And it had better be big.
-Jack Slash-
"Where is Cherish?" Jack asked. He looked over his shoulder toward the rest of the team.
"She said she wanted to visit her brother, while she had the chance." Burnscar said. "Said it should only take a few hours, at most."
"Hmmm, less than ideal. She's had some time to visit. You all found opportunities, after all." Jack said, turning to look over the city again.
"She's been assisting many people. She's been one of the busiest of us." Marquis said. "Besides, what's a few more hours in the city?"
"Well...I suppose there are worse fates." Jack said. "It will give us more time to get everything in order."
He turned his attention to Bonesaw and Sphere. The two were arguing, and had been for some time.
"I can't believe you gave Dragon some of my formulas!" Bonesaw yelled. "Why couldn't you give her something of yours?"
"The prediction software could be of vital importance." Sphere said. "Dragon and Armsmaster were...less interested in my wares than yours. Besides, the formulae that I delivered to them were older concoctions. You have not used them for...8 months, 2 weeks, and 4 days."
"That's not the point!" Bonesaw said. "You could have at least asked me before you..."
"Have you two stocked up on supplies?" Jack asked, interrupting the argument. The two of them stopped and looked at him.
"I have purchased and traded for a number of materials." Sphere said.
"Will it be enough to last you a while? Who knows when the next time we'll have an opportunity like this will be?" Jack asked.
"More materials are always preferable to less." Sphere said, quietly.
"Excellent, then the two of you will go and stock up." Jack said.
"I don't want to go anywhere with him." Bonesaw said. "He's a jerk who takes my things and..."
"Alan, apologize for selling Bonesaw's creations without asking her." Jack said.
Sphere was silent for a moment, before dropping his head and speaking. "Apologies. I should have asked. Though, the prediction software will prove invaluable, I believe..."
"Ugh...I don't care about that. And I still don't want to..." Bonesaw began.
"Riley, please. Alan apologized. Now be a good girl and go get supplies. Take Crawler, too. He can carry your purchases." Jack said.
Bonesaw hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Alright, Jack." she said. The two Tinkers climbed onto Crawler's back and they were off. Jack glanced to the Siberian, who seemed on edge. He sighed a bit and smiled.
"They can take care of themselves." he said to her. "Especially with Crawler there. No one will try anything."
The Siberian nodded, but remained stiff. Jack turned to Marquis and shook his head.
"The turmoil of leading a team." Marquis said, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it.
"It is a delicate act." Jack said.
The two looked out over the city in silence for a few moments. Jack was the one to break it.
"Is it strange for you? Being back in your old turf?" he asked.
"No, not really." Marquis said. "In some ways it's unrecognizable. In others, it hasn't changed at all/"
"And...your daughter?" Jack asked. He could see the other man's skin shift, bones threatening to break the surface and strike him.
"I would prefer not to speak on such matters. She is alive and well, and will hopefully thrive...whatever path she chooses." Marquis said.
"I hope so, old friend. After all, you gave up so much to giver her a chance..." Jack said.
More shifting, but Marquis restrained himself.
"The city may fall into turmoil when we leave." Jack warned.
"It's always been in turmoil. It's gotten through trouble in the past. It will do it again." Marquis said.
"I hope all of the heroes believe that as you do." Jack said. "As soon as everyone is back here, we'll have to leave. Start our rounds again."
"Of course." Marquis said. "Can't devote all of our time to one place, after all. Others may get jealous."
Jack nodded, reflecting. Marquis was invaluable, but difficult to control. He was a natural leader himself, which led to more than a little butting of heads. Luckily, Jack had learned that mentions of Marquis' old life was a nice stick to hold over him.
Jack smiled, turning toward the sunset. "Well, we also need to prepare for the next Endbringer. I'm sure the Heroes of Brockton Bay will be able to hand things here."
-Sophia-
Sophia silently moved to the roof of the warehouse, reveling in the darkness of the night. She had patrolled with Skitter for a bit before the other heroine said that she needed to go and deal with something for that red haired girl with the dreads. Something related to the Merchants. Skitter had said she and her team would handle it, and that Shadow Stalker wouldn't be needed. Sophia had decided to patrol on her own. And, if she happened to find the Merchants, so be it.
Wasn't hard to find them. Subtlety was not in their vocabulary, apparently.
She glanced down into the party and looked around. She didn't see any capes other than the Merchant leaders themselves, which was interesting. The Undersiders tended to stick out.
After a little while, she did see someone familiar.
"Hebert..." Sophia mumbled to herself. It figured that the loser would run to one of the gangs once the city got fucked up. And the Merchants were the only gang to pathetic enough to actually take her.
She also saw that blonde girl who had shown up on the day that Hebert left Winslow. Well, maybe Hebert was trying to join them for a while. Sophia really didn't care.
She then noticed the four men with them. They...didn't look like Merchants at all. They looked like soldiers. The way they carried themselves reminder her of the PRT soldiers. And they were looking to Hebert, who was giving them orders.
That...was interesting.
Sophia watched them as they moved further into the party, stopping only to apparently buy a girl. Sophia thought she recognized the girl. Someone from Winslow?
"This makes no sense..." Sophia mumbled to herself. What was Hebert doing there? With soldiers?
That was when shit started going crazy. An all out brawl broke out, and Sophia became disoriented for...some reason. Once she had her senses back, she saw that someone had apparently triggered.
Then Faultline's crew showed up, and the whole place started reshaping itself. Sophia backed toward the entrance, not wanting to engage the mercenaries. In doing so, she lost sight of Hebert and her little group.
Until they came outside, holding some papers and discussing something. The orange skinned Case 53 of Faultline's appeared and asked for the papers, which Hebert handed over. The girl that they had rescued seemed distraught, on the verge of a breakdown. Hebert was trying to comfort her, apparently, which just caused her to back away.
"What the hell is going on?" the girl...Charlotte, that was her name. Charlotte was yelling now. "What was all of that, and why were you not panicking?"
Sophia could see Hebert sigh from where she was perched on the roof. And then...then she saw something that caused her to gasp. A swarm of bugs flew over to Hebert and circled the girl.
She couldn't hear what Hebert was saying, but it really didn't matter. Sophia shifted into her shadow state and floated away from the building.
Hebert was Skitter? How on Earth could that pathetic girl be the hero who had just laid claim to a section of the city earlier that day? Who had faced off with Lung twice?
When Sophia was far enough away, she shifted back to normal and pulled out her phone. She picked the number she wanted to call quickly and held it to her ear.
Emma answered on the second ring. "Sophia? What's up?"
"I...I need to talk to you about something..." Sophia said. "You're not gonna believe it."
-Hookwolf-
Stormtiger approached Hookwolf and bowed a bit.
"Sir, our men have reported that The Nine have been seen leaving town." Stormtiger said.
Hookwolf nodded. "Send a message to Purity. It's time for us to take this city back."