16.2
Opening Salvo
_

[Lisa]

Sitting in her info-sphere, Lisa paused and leaned back in her chair to enjoy a quiet moment of reflection.

Her 'info-sphere' - which wasn't actually a sphere, but Wheeljack had worked hard on it so she wasn't going to argue - could have dozens, if not hundreds of floating screens open at once. It also had the processing power to parse dozens of complicated searches simultaneously if she so wished.

She only felt a little bit guilty for using it to look up funny cat pictures.

Smirking, she closed the screen and turned back to her 'real' work, sorting through the information Waspinator had taken from the Empire Eighty Eight.

Putting her arms above her head, she stretched until her spine cracked with a satisfying pop.

"Don't let Ratchet catch you doing that, he'll lecture you for hours about it," Taylor said from behind her.

"He does that already," Lisa said with a smirk, intentionally keeping her back turned as she rolled her neck. "He keeps insisting I go outside and exercise more."

"Well he's not wrong." Taylor's footsteps came closer as she entered the room and placed a cup on a small pedestal next to Lisa, the smell of coffee rising from it. "You should go out more."

Lisa snorted, looking over her shoulder at Taylor. "Oh sure, there's just the little issue of a psychopath out there who wants me dead."

"That doesn't stop you going for a jog in the courtyard," she said with a sigh. "I'm sure one of the bots would be happy to keep you company. If nothing else, we could easily install a jogging machine inside for you."

"I'll think about it." Rolling her eyes, Lisa tried to mask her amusement. Taylor wasn't exactly a fitness freak, but everyone knew she jogged daily, often escorted by Steeljaw or Ravage.

"You're gonna end up getting fat," Taylor warned with a playful laugh that Lisa returned.

Her smile turned mischievous however as she turned her chair round to face Taylor. "That reminds me, what's this I hear about you and Amy sneaking into each other's beds?"

Taylor's face went scarlet as she spluttered explanations. Victoria had found it cute, the pair of them trying to be all secretive about sharing a bed while on the island, but Lisa never could pass up a chance to tease them both.

"I mean, really, her sister was right there, couldn't you have waited a couple more days? Or did that make-"

"Nothing happened!" Taylor nearly shouted, looking one good prod away from a panic attack. "We were just sleeping!"

"Teletraan?" Lisa said sweetly, "can you send a copy of that recording to Victoria?"

"Ignore that!" Taylor snapped. Taking a deep breath, she glared at Lisa, but there was no real heat to it.

"Y'know, I could always just throw you into the bay, right? No one would stop me."

"Oh you don't mean that." Lisa sat back in her chair with a laugh. "Where is Amy anyway? Normally you two are joined at the lips."

"We're not that bad!" Taylor huffed, her blush deepening. "And she's with her family. Some New Wave thing that her aunt insisted she attend."

Still smiling, Lisa decided to ease up. It couldn't be healthy for anyone to be that red. Besides, she'd already had disagreements with Amy about her family and there was no reason to poke that wound a second time. Instead, she picked up her coffee and took a long sip, enjoying the warmth and flavour.

She wasn't sure the name of the brand, just that it was expensive and that the Autobots had started stocking it after Amy had complained about the crap the hospital always made her drink. Taking another sip, Lisa had to admit, Amy may have been a bit of a bitch, but she had great taste in coffee.

Glowering over her own cup, Taylor nodded at the monitor. "Anything interesting?"

Turning back around, Lisa tapped a couple of keys. "Hmm, not really, but I think the Empire knows we're watching."

"What do you mean?"

Lisa brought up a screen with a series of messages on them and nudged it towards Taylor.

"Seen three messages like this so far this week. The wording is different, but the goal is the same. They're setting up fake meetings or drug deals and trying to trap anyone who attacks them."

"So, they either know someone's listening, or they suspect a leak and are trying to flush it out?"

"Pretty much. I was tempted to turn it back on them, maybe try to frame one of their capes as a mole? From what I've heard, Kaiser's not too happy with Rune right now."

Taylor shook her head with a grimace. "As tempting as that sounds… it's probably a bad idea…"

Curious at Taylor's sudden reluctance, Lisa loosened her grip on her power. Doesn't like Rune, but doesnt want to hurt her… knows who Rune is… has a connection to Rune - no, a friend knows Rune. A friend is dating Rune!

Lisa's eyes widened as the information flooded in and Taylor looked at her with a mix of frustration and horror. This was, how did they keep this from her?

Before Lisa could speak, Taylor had a hand over her mouth.

"Yes, I know and no, you can't tell anyone!" she hissed. "The whole situation is so fucked up it's not even funny!"

Lisa shook her head with a snort. 'Fucked up' was putting it simply. Rune was dating one of the Wards; the Protectorate was going to flip. This was the sort of information Coil would have killed for.

The reminder of her former employer, and perpetual thorn in her side, soured Lisa's mood. Needling Taylor about Rune's dating habits suddenly didn't seem as fun. Huffing, she pushed Taylor away.

"Anyway, I can tell you that Coil has been in contact with the Empire. Looks like he's offering to sell them some tinker-guns."

"Great," Taylor groaned, running a hand down her face in frustration. "Any idea why?"

"To annoy you, of course. As long as you're fighting the Empire, you're not paying attention to him."

"Some fight," Taylor muttered. "They run as soon as they see us… think you can find anything more? I don't like the idea of tinker weapons in the hands of the Empire."

"Tell me about it." Rolling her shoulders, Lisa focused on her monitor. "Give me some time, I'll see what I can drag up.

"Alright, I'll have someone call you when lunch is ready."

Lisa hummed in response as Taylor left. Bringing up the more recent emails and text messages, she started skimming.

Teletraan was filtering most of the information, but the Empire was large, larger than most people realised. The thugs on the streets were just one part of the organisation. They were the 'public face', the loud minority of the gang.

There were countless supporters across the city, from blue-collar workers to bankers and politicians that people never thought about. They never wore the colours, they never said anything in public, but they would all feed information, money or things of value back to the Empire.

Of course, this made them complacent, and they would act in ways more experienced criminals would not. For example, someone who had been arrested in the past would know to have two cell phones. Many of these 'silent supporters', however, used the same phone for personal and 'Empire' related calls.

This resulted in a large amount of data and made keeping track of everything a logistical nightmare without a large investigative team, or a couple of strong Thinkers.

'Or,' Lisa thought to herself with a smirk, 'if you get a Tinker to build you supercomputer.'

Teletraan was using a mix of keywords and adaptive algorithms to fish out important information and highlight it for review. When possible, texts, emails and even bank records would be grouped together and linked to related names and places to help give a clearer picture.

Minor stuff, like petty drug deals, got put on a 'to-do' list, and if any Autobot was nearby, they could deal with it.

More serious stuff went to Dragon and Taylor. They would either pass it along to the PRT or handle it themselves.

She didn't even need her power to process most of it, just the occasional prod here and there.

He's setting up a date, she's selling drugs, he's cheating on his wife.

She paused at that one and, in a moment of spite, redirected the email so it went to the wrong woman. Taylor probably wouldnt approve, but Lisa would take her entertainment where she could.

He needs a loan, he's trying to set up a safe house, he's getting kicked out by his landlord for keeping a goat in his apartment…

Pausing, Lisa found herself glancing twice at that email, only for her power to slip free and tell her exactly why he wanted a goat in excruciating detail. Her stomach twisted and she quickly turned away from her desk as she started to dry heave.

+User discomfort detected,+ Teletraan chirped, +would you like me to call for assistance? Please specify if you would like to speak to Ratchet, First Aid or Rung.+

"I don't think they can help with this one," Lisa said bitterly, fighting to keep her breakfast down. Snatching up her now lukewarm coffee, she gulped it down. Without looking directly at the offending email, she poked it with a finger. "Send this guy's name and address to animal welfare… then close it."

+Contacting now… message sent.+

Sighing, Lisa put her now empty cup aside and tried to carry on with her work when Teletraan interrupted her.

+Keyword located: Coil.+

She was barely able to stop herself jumping out of her chair in her rush to bring up the result. It was a text message — even better, it was part of an ongoing conversation.

[Ian - So i spoke to Kriss. He said he can get us three of those tinker rifles Coil's been giving them. Ours for the night, no charge.]
[Jay - Cn he b trsted?]
[Ian - Yeah, we go way back. I knew him before he went merc.]
[Jay is currently typing...]

'Well,' Lisa told herself as the conversation continued, 'Taylor wanted more info.'

Flagging the conversation as important, she started digging into Ian. She had his phone number, so it only took seconds for Teletraan to find his full name and address. A bit more poking and a quick check with her power confirmed that he only had a single phone.

Hoping to get more on his 'merc friend', she set Teletraan to scour the various social media pages. She got a hit almost immediately.

Ian labeouf
Age 30
Manager at Grime-Max

Glancing at the profile picture, Lisa was almost disappointed by how bland he was. Middle manager at a company, wife, child, mortgage, went hunting on the weekends.

It wasn't like she'd expected him to be posting pictures of him and his buddies in white robes or meeting at a local cross burning, but damn this guy was dull.

Turning an eye back to the ongoing conversation, she was a bit annoyed that the mercenary's name hadn't come up yet.

Bringing up Ian's photos, she gently released her power as she skimmed through the album. Her power immediately started filling in the blanks, giving her rough ideas about who and what she was looking at.

She started with his weekend hunting album. The site tended to ban pictures of dead animals, but there were nearly a hundred group shots of him and his 'friends' camped out in the woods. Half of them were 'silent supporters' of the Empire and saw themselves as some stalwart protectors of the city, readying themselves for the day the 'immigrants' showed their true nature and attacked.

The idea was beyond ridiculous. Just the paranoid delusions of a bunch of disillusioned men who thought the world owed them a living and wanted nothing more than to go back to the days when they were treated like kings.

Typically that meant highschool.

Laughing to herself, Lisa closed the album, a little surprised that the mercenary friend wasn't in there or the next album titled 'boys nights'. Moving on to the third, she ignored the slight twinge in her head as she let more of her power seep through.

They don't hang out often, merc doesn't like Ian much, keeps in contact because Coil finds it useful.

Relationship goes back a long way. Trusting her power, Lisa went back to the main directory and started skimming through the album titles, eventually stopping when she hit one that was labeled 'academy'. Opening it, she was met with scanned-in pictures of a younger Ian, possibly twenties if she had to guess, in blue slacks and a grey shirt with BBPD printed on it.

Didn't make it as a cop. Failed training when he called his commanding officer a slur.

Chuckling quietly, she moved through the photos until she found it. The photo was labeled 'Ian, Shawn and Kieran' and showed two men in training uniform gathered around a third who was lifting weights.

"Teletraan, can you search police recruitment records for these two men?" She traced their outlines with a finger and Teletraan beeped in response.

+Twenty possible matches found.+

"Put them on screen." Scrolling quickly down the list, she stopped when she found both men, opening their profiles on separate windows.

Kieran currently worked for BBPD and was just as bland and unremarkable as Ian. Shawn, however, was different. He left the police and joined the PRT for a year or so, only to leave when he was accused of excessive violence. He then went on to work private security for…

'Damn.' No further details. 'There is no private security, the company is a front for Coil's men.' Reining her power in, Lisa leaned back in her seat. Her head was starting to hurt. She would have to put this aside for later.

Almost idly, she put Kieran's name into Facespace. Her heart almost stopped when she immediately got a result. Kieran had an account! What's more, it was still active!

Lisa almost jumped out of her seat in her hurry to bring up the details.

Kieran wasn't completely stupid; his account never mentioned who he worked for and never showed anything incriminating, but he still had a profile and was regularly posting pictures.

"Teletraan! Scan this account, match as many names and faces as you can!"

She could barely keep still as the search ran. This was huge. She had a lead, an actual solid lead on one of Coil's fronts.

As soon as the results started appearing Lisa threw herself into her work. Most of Kieran's 'friends' were workers for the same unnamed security company and they all had similar profiles. They were all ex-cops, PRT-officers, military and so forth, and most had left previous jobs under suspicious circumstances.

Given that, she was a little surprised to find he still had a few 'friends' in the PRT. She flagged them for Dragon to look at later.

That's when she saw him.

It wasn't a clear shot, he was standing around in the background of a group shot apparently unaware of the camera, but she knew it was him.

Coil! He was middle aged, tall and painfully thin, bordering on skeletal with pale skin that stood out against his dark suit and short cropped hair. The dour expression on his face added to his air of disinterest. It was him, it had to be!

Her power slipped from her grasp. Is a 'manager' at the security company, is doing an 'onsite inspection' to keep up his cover and provide an alibi…

Almost in a frenzy, Lisa opened window after window, running every picture she could find through every program Teletraan had in an effort to pick out any detail that could help.

If she could match a name to his face, Taylor and the Autobots could storm his home. She would win, he'd be in prison, or dead, and she'd finally be free.

She scoured every account related to Kieran and the security company, desperately trying to find anything that would help. One profile became two, became three and soon dozens of them were floating around her in a dizzying array of names and faces, her power practically singing.

Wait! There! Flicking back to a previous image, she smiled widely. In the back of the shot, only visible in a reflection was a company vehicle, the name branded across the side.

Flipping the image, she ignored the pain behind her eyes as she searched for the company. Their website was professionally done, all tasteful black and white minimalism that had probably cost a fortune but didn't give much in the way of details. Not that she needed them.

A quick check with the records at town hall -thank you Dragon!- gave her the location of their office. From there, it was almost trivial to find their IP address and to probe the company firewall.

It was a fairly standard corporate firewall from a big name supplier. It took Teletraan maybe a minute to bypass it and give her full access to their servers and the personnel files inside.

There were no pictures, obviously, but they still had records, names, dates. The pain in her head was getting worse, but she ignored it, she almost had him!

Breaking the password on their payroll software, Lisa skimmed through the names until she found the one her power said was it.

'Mike Banes'

She held her breath as she asked Teletraan to cross check the name with PRT and police records

Michael Banes, Director at Lions Security Forces (LSF). Ex-PRT, he left after a mission failed and resulted in a number of deaths. He went 'traveling' for a year and was mostly off the grid. Upon his return, he formed LSF with a number of old work colleagues.

'Not a holiday, was getting used to his powers. Triggered when the mission went bad.' Was setting up his identity and forces.

She had him!

Glancing back at the company server, Lisa frowned when an image file appeared titled 'Sarah Livsey'.png

Curious, and a little apprehensive, Lisa clicked on the file. She wasn't too worried about viruses; Teletraan was a custom made, Tinker built, operating system. The virus likely didn't exist that could infect him. Still, it never hurt to be careful, and she let Teletraan scan it before opening it.

A stylised drawing of a snake wrapped around an eye filled her screen and Lisa's stomach fell. Leaning forward, she buried her face in her hand with a groan and the headache she'd been ignoring came to the forefront of her mind with all the force of a vengeful god.

She bit back an angry sob. Coil had played her! How could she be so fucking stupid? She didn't even want to think about how he'd set all this up, nevermind the why.

That question echoed in her mind. Why would he set it up? Hissing, she clutched her head as the movement sent a wave of pain and nausea through her body, spots dancing in front of her eyes.

She had to call Taylor, she had to warn her that Coil was planning something.

Before she could even attempt to open her eyes, she heard the sound of metal feet approaching, each step sounding like a gunshot in her head before a cool-gel eye mask slipped gently over her eyes.

She had a brief moment of panic as arms reached under her, but relaxed when she felt the sharp fingers of Cyclonus as he carefully picked her up.

"Thank you," she muttered as he carried her down the corridor. "Tell Taylor, Coil's planning something big and it's going to happen today."

"Already done," he rumbled. For such a large and imposing looking mech, he was surprisingly gentle as he carried her into the Medical wing and laid her down on a bed.

Doing her best to ignore the pain, Lisa relaxed as First Aid started to fuss around her. She was never going to hear the end of this, was she?

##

[Taylor]

Sighing, I forced myself not to swear.

I could understand where Lisa was coming from — the threat of Coil had been hanging over her head like the sword of Damocles and I couldn't blame her for wanting him gone. But now she would be out of action for at least two days while she recovered from her power induced migraine.

Longer, even, as Dragon would likely insist Lisa not be allowed to return to work for at least a week, barring emergencies.

"Do we have any idea what Coil might be planning?"

"Well…" Wheeljack tilted his head in thought, the fins on his helmet flashing as he spoke. "He's giving the Empire guns, right? Maybe he wants them to do something for him?"

"Maybe…" I glanced at the video screen to judge Dragon's reaction. She was currently in Tennessee, investigating reports of strange activity near Eagleton and a suggestion from Onyx R&D to help contain the Machine Army.

"It's possible, Coil is known to use intermediaries after all," she said with a nod.

"Yeah… but it doesn't feel right…" Sighing again, I rolled my shoulders. "I'm going to suit up and do a circuit of Empire territory. Maybe I'll get lucky and stumble onto something or someone will take a shot at me."

"I don't approve of you using yourself as bait," Dragon warned, her tone stern as she frowned at me. "But a patrol is probably a good idea. Just remember to keep in constant contact."

"I will," I said with a shake of my head, smiling as I turned back to the monitor. "Oh, enjoy your meeting with Blackrock!"

"Please don't remind me," she muttered, screwing her face up in disgust.

"Is he really that bad?" I'd only ever seen him on TV and he seemed personable enough.

"I'll introduce you to him sometime. If you can get through one meeting without wanting to punch him, I'll buy you a present."

"I'll hold you to that." I laughed as I slipped into my armour and ran a quick systems check. "Seriously though, be careful?

"Don't worry, I have no desire to get eaten. Call me if anything comes up."

"I will."

As the call ended, I stepped out of the ground bridge onto a rooftop in the northern end of Empire territory, and took a moment to collect myself.

Like a lot of things related to capes, the Machine Army was something out of a horror movie.

They were small machines, barely bigger than a cell, that could take things apart on the microscopic level and build more of themselves. If left alone for too long, they spread outwards, absorbing plants, animals, rocks or other technology and slowly converting them into more machines.

They weren't very fast, but they liked to burrow deep into things and if you missed a couple, they would soon start rebuilding.

The PRT had considered bombing the area flat in the past, but there was too much risk that a few machines would survive, or worse, get blown away by the explosion and spread out so far they would be impossible to contain.

My Autobots were banned from going near the place, and the only reason Dragon was allowed there was because everyone thought 'Tess' was her real body and therefore 'safe'.

Putting the depressing thoughts aside with a sigh, I took off into the sky.

The streets below me were quiet as I soared overhead. The Empire really had been keeping their heads down since I hit their human trafficking ring; even their capes seemed to have gone into hiding.

Part of me worried that I'd gone too far and exposed my advantage too soon, or that I might have pushed the Empire too hard, backing them into a corner.

It was, as Dragon explained quietly one night, the bane of heroics. If we pushed too hard, if we made the villains desperate, they could lash out in retaliation. Even if the heroes would win in the end, a lot of innocent people would get caught in the crossfire.

*Taylor, you have a message from Amy,* Rewind beeped and I landed on a nearby roof with a smile. The people below me looked up briefly before going back to what they were doing. Some pointed their phones at me and I gave them a friendly wave.

[Amy- Hey, wot u up 2?]
[Taylor- Just patrolling the south side. The Empire's up to something. You?]
[Amy- Hurting. Carols mking me spar against eric. Without my suit!]
[Taylor- just give him the big watery eyed look the first time he grabs you, then kick him in the stomach.]
[Amy- thats evil. I love it. Tips for dealing with Vicky?]

I felt sorry for Amy, really I did, but if she wanted to fight and patrol with the rest of her family, she needed to train and practice with them.

[Taylor- Run and hope she gets distracted by something shiny?]
[Amy- Thats not hupful! ¦( im telling her you said that]
[Taylor- no you won't.]
[Victoria- yes she will!]
[Victoria- get your ass up here i think its your turn to fight me!]

Yeah, that wasn't happening.

*I'll make sure there's some bruise cream in your room for you both later,* Rewind beeped, his spark flickering with barely contained amusement.

Why would I want bruise cr - oh, oh!

"Rewind!" I squawked, scandalised.

I was seriously considering opening my armour so I could strangle the giggling little bot when a call came in from an unknown number. Normally I would have ignored it, but they were calling my personal, unlisted number that only a few people knew.

"Hello?"

*get out of the city!* the caller said the moment the call connected, her voice quiet and muffled.

"Who is this, how did you get this number?"

*Listen to me," she hissed, *they've gone fucking nuts, they are going to kill you! Get out of the cit-* there was a gasp, then the call cut off.

"Rewind? Did you trace the call?"

*I didn't have time,* he beeped, shamefaced.

Unnerved, I couldn't stop myself from shivering, especially when I noticed the crowd below me had grown bigger while I'd been talking.

Something was wrong. I was used to people pointing and staring at my armour, I was bright red and blue after all, but this was different. There was a restless energy coming from the watchers, many of them were shooting each other furtive glances or shuffling about nervously.

A couple of people were waving at me, gesturing for me to come down. 'Is that a news camera?'

What was going-

*Taylor!* I jumped at Rewind's sudden shout and for one heart-stopping moment, I felt like I was going to fall from the roof before I could regain my balance. *You need to see this!*

A window appeared in front of me. On it, an immaculately dressed man and woman sat behind a desk, the words 'Breaking news! PRT leak, heroes at risk!' scrolling across the bottom of the screen.

'What?!'

"Good afternoon," the man said calmly to the camera. "I'm Robert Epps."

"And I'm Carly Spencer," the woman said with a brief smile. "We interrupt your regularly scheduled broadcast to bring you this urgent announcement. Approximately thirty minutes ago, the Brockton Bay branch of the Parahuman Response Team published the names, addresses and other personal details of dozens of capes, potentially putting countless lives at risk."

She looked across to Robert who picked up the conversation. "The leak is believed to have come from the acting director, but the PRT has yet to issue an official response-"

Waving my hand, I closed the screen. "Rewind, is this true?! How far spread is it?"

*It's all over PHO!* he cried, and a window filled with PHO threads appeared in front of me. *Automated bot accounts are reposting it quicker than we can take it down!*

"Wheeljack! Take PHO offline!" I snapped, Dragon would understand.

*It's not just there!" he called back. *It's on Stormfront, Facespace, JusticeForAll, Youtube, you name it! There's no way we can contain it!*

As he spoke, more windows appeared in the air around me, each one showing the details posted over and over again in neat alphabetical order.

They all used the same format: Cape name, Real Name, Age, Address.

Skimming through the list, I couldn't help but feel like I was missing something and I needed a second look to realise what it was.

"Where are the villains?"

*I… don't know,* Rewind beeped.

Protectorate capes, Wards, Rogues, independents and affiliates were all there, but there wasn't a single villian on the list. I barely paid attention to my name; my identity was already public so I was in no more danger than before.

*I'm checking all the lists now, but I can't find any of them on it, may- The PRT has sent out an emergency recall! All Ward and Protectorate members are to return to headquarters immediately!*

Tapping my radio, I connected to the PRT-HQ downtown.

"Matrix to console, I just saw the recall order. What's happening to the Rogues and Indie heros?"

*Console to Matrix," a man's voice said with the practiced calm of a comms operator. "Our current priority is Protectorate and Wards members.*

"So they're on their own?!"

*Negative, Matrix. If they can reach us, they will be protected, but we don't have the manpower to reach them all.*

"Well I do," I snapped, switching back to the Autobots. "Wheeljack, get the bridge online! Autobots! Search and rescue. Pick a name from the list, get to them and bring them back to the base."

*What if they have families?* Arcee pointed out.

"Bring them along if you can, call BBPD for backup if you can't! Soundwave, I want you to coordinate responses. Blaster, put the word out on the radio, tell anyone who's been exposed to run for the PRT or the nearest police station! Windblade, see if you can find somewhere we can send them all when this is over!"

*What if they won't come with us? Or the gangs try to stop us?*

"Then we did all we could. If the gangs interfere… put them down! Wheeljack, where's the closest person to me?"

Taking off, I spun around until I saw the highlighted target on my map. I gritted my teeth as a name appeared. I was tempted to ignore it, but even she didn't deserve this.

"Autobots, move out!"

It took me only a few minutes to reach my target, but the gangs were already on the move. They must have found out about the leak almost as soon as it happened.

"Rewind, start backtracking the leak, see if you can find out where it first appeared."

Smoke was already emerging from the small, two-floor hostel as I closed in and a dozen men were gathered out front. All of them had their faces covered with black and red bandanas.

The front door crashed open and two people came running out, one carrying a kid. At the same time, a dark figure in a cloak burst from one of the upper floor windows, a pair of miniature crossbows in her hands.

Firing one at the waiting men, she tossed the empty weapon aside as she shouted a threat, drawing the crowd's attention to her and not the escaping civilians.

I was too far away to help as she dove towards them, dancing through the crowds of Empire thugs. Firing her remaining shot into a man's knee, she hit another over the head with the empty crossbow before discarding it.

As much as I hated her, I had to admit she knew how to fight.

I'd almost reached them when a man stepped out of the crowd, a metal mask shining in the light before he exploded into a mess of blades and hooks that twisted themselves into a large metal wolf the size of a car.

Not slowing down, I slammed into Hookwolf with as much force as I could. The sound of tearing metal filled the air as we skidded across the pavement, metal and asphalt flying in our wake.

Twisting around me, Hookwolf curled himself into a ball, trying either to crush or impale me.

With a whine of capacitors, my armour electrified itself and his grip loosened enough to free up my arm. I fired a high powered shot that tore through him in a shower of metal.

Hookwolf's body broke apart, the largest piece of him flipping over in the air, twisting and extending itself into a smaller wolf that ran full speed for a nearby alleyway, even as the remains around me became inert.

I hesitated as he left my sight. That was far too easy and Hookwolf wasn't a coward. I wanted to chase him, but I had more important matters to deal with and he likely knew it.

Turning back to the now burning hostel, I scanned the building for life signs but nothing came up.

"Everyone got out while you were playing with Hookwolf," Shadow Stalker said, taking a careful step towards me. "The rest of his thugs took off at the same time… well, those who can still walk."

Pausing, she took a moment to deliver a heavy kick to a man in Empire colours who was lying by her feet.

"You here to arrest me, Hebert?" She tensed, ready to bolt if I made any sudden movements. Not that she'd have gotten far. "How'd you even find me?"

"I'm here to save you life, Hess, so try to sound a little bit grateful," I snapped. "And I've known your location since Leviathan." I sighed, rolling my shoulders to relieve the tension in them.

"You expect me to believe that?"

"I don't really care if you do." I shrugged and turned my back to her as I called Wheeljack for a pickup. "We need to leave. The gangs are attacking people all over the city. You can either come with me now, and I'll have Wheeljack drop you off anywhere you want to go. Or you can take your chances solo."

"Just like that huh? All sins forgiven and all that shit?"

"I haven't forgiven anything." God I wanted to punch that stupid hockey mask right off her face. "It's just more useful having you here, pissing the Empire off than sitting in a prison. Wheeljack, where's that pickup? I don't want to be here if Hookwolf comes back."

Shadow Stalker scoffed and muttered something nasty, but I ignored her.

*We're just picking up a family of six. Bridge will be at your location in one minute.*

A map of the city appeared in front of me. On it, locations had been highlighted with the names of various indie heroes and rogues. The ones we had been able to reach had been picked out in green, those who were still at risk were in red.

So far, two people were already missing, three had made it to the police and were, for now, safe, and at least two were outright dead.

It had taken us too long to notice; the gangs had been given too much head start and we couldn't be everywhere at once. I tried not to dwell on it too much as the ground bridge appeared with a crash.

Walking forward, I barely thought to glance over my shoulder to see if Shadow Stalker was following.

##

Emerging through the ground bridge, I was surprised to find the base relatively empty when I'd expected the arrival area to be packed with refugees. Instead, the only people inside were Wheeljack and some of the minicons.

"Wheeljack, where is everyone?"

"Outside," he said, not looking up from his console and waving an arm in the general direction. "There wasn't enough room, so Ratchet and the others have put the tents up in the courtyard and - incoming!"

I jumped aside, barely noticing Shadow Stalker doing the same thing as the bridge reopened and Nautica came running through the portal, a young Iraqi woman following close behind.

Nautica barely managed to stop herself from crashing into me, a nervous smile on her face.

"Oh, hey! We just came from the University, did you know the Empire had people there? Well, I mean, they have people everywhere, cause that's what they are like and-"

"Does she ever shut up?" Shadow Stalker groaned. "Everyone's outside right?" Stomping past, she followed a series of holograms that popped up to direct her.

"I…" Nautica spun to face Shadow Stalker, eyes wide with hurt and the turbines on her back falling.

Putting a hand on Nautica's shoulder, I pulled my helmet off and gave Shadow Stalker a warning glare.

"Ignore her, Sophia's a bitch."

"And yet you still saved her?" the girl who had followed Nautica said, having caught her breath.

"Yeah, well, we all make mistakes… I'm Taylor, by the way."

"Sabah," she said with a nervous smile. "I don't suppose you know what's happening?"

"Not yet. But I'm going to find out. Nautica, can you take Sabah to the others?"

"Oh, right, of course!" Perking up, Nautica spun on her heel and led the way outside, chatting happily about the various machines around them as they went. Sabah was close behind, a slightly dazed look on her face.

Following them outside, I stopped at the door and stared at the collection of tents that had sprung up in my absence.

They were the same modular design as the ones we used on the island. Two dozen of them were crammed into the courtyard, their white fabric fluttering in the breeze. They weren't very big, each one roughly eight-foot square, with people milling about either by a tent or looking nervously out from one. One tent was actually two joined together on one side, a large red holographic cross floated above it.

Leaning against the door frame, I stared at the tents. A sense of unease hovered over the courtyard that I could relate too. Nearly twenty capes, plus families, had just had their lives thrown into chaos, all because the PRT had fucked up somehow.

Strictly speaking, not all of them were 'capes'. Capes went out and did things, like working or fighting, but many of the people who had been unmasked had only gone out a handful of times. Some had willingly approached the PRT after getting powers, then never used those powers publicly.

Even if I only counted the known indie heros, I couldn't imagine how this was going to unbalance the city. The gangs now had a serious advantage over the heros. For many of them, the threat of retaliation against their families was suddenly much more real.

The fact the Empire had already moved on the unmasked capes was public proof that they didn't give a fuck about the so called 'unwritten rules'.

"Taylor?" Blinking, I looked over my shoulder as Windblade approached. She had a tablet in her hand, a wire connecting it directly to her head. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just… thinking I guess. Do you think this was what Lisa tried to warn us about?"

"No, I don't think so." She held the tablet towards me; on it was a live feed from the PRT national headquarters, where Chief Director Costa-Brown was standing before a number of microphones.

There was something timeless about Director Costa-Brown. She had to be in her forties, but she could have passed for late twenties. Her business suit looked as immaculate as ever, but there were faint rings under her eyes that were almost hidden by makeup, and her lips were pressed into a thin line.

"Good afternoon and thank you for coming," she said briskly. "As you are aware, a short time ago one of our employees released a list of parahuman identities to the public.

"This was an unconscionable breach of not only ethics but PRT policy and federal law.

"The perpetrator has already surrendered themselves into custody, pending a full investigation. For matters of security, we will not be releasing their identity.

"We are already making arrangements to protect those affected by these events. My heart goes out to all of you and you have my word that I will do everything I can to make this right. If any of the victims are watching this, I urge you to go to the nearest PRT office or police station where we can protect you and your families."

There was murmuring from the reporters that were just out of view as Costa-Brown stopped talking, but one voice rose above the rest as she turned to leave.

"How did this even happen?! People deserve to know!"

Visibly hesitating, Costa-Brown stepped back in front of her microphones and sighed. She seemed to age quickly, and for just a moment, she truly looked her age.

"You're right." The brisk, 'business-like' tone was gone from her voice now. "The source of the leak was mastered with a time-delayed command. They are… beside themself with grief and just as much a victim as the parahumans who have been exposed."

Drawing herself up, her expression hardened and with a short nod and quick 'thank you for coming', she marched off as the crowd started to talk amongst themselves.

The feed cut off and I leaned against the door frame.

"Who was the leak? More importantly, how did this even happen? Dragon built the PRT systems, and she designed anti-master effects into everything."

"It was Director Renick," Windblade said softly with a shake of her head. "He was attacked during the riots and one of his attackers turned out to be Valefor. As for the how… well, after Dragon's… near death, the PRT decided they needed to scale back their reliance on her. They upgraded their network and streamlined some of the systems…"

I snorted in disgust. "You mean, they stripped out half the security features because 'they never needed them and they just got in the way' and now everyone's paying for it?"

Windblade said nothing, she just nodded quietly and turned to look at the refugees.

Following her line of sight, I caught a few people peering out of the tents at us. Forcing myself to smile, I gave them a wave and laughed as they quickly ducked out of sight. "Did you have any luck finding somewhere to send them? We can't have them camped out front forever."

"New York. Legend has offered to take everyone in and get them all safely rehomed. It'll be hard on them, but it's better than the alternative. I was just on my way to tell the… refugees?" She shrugged. "Want to come? I think some of them want to speak to you any-"

*Taylor, we've got a problem by the main gates!* Arcee's tone was terse and I could easily imagine her glaring at whatever the problem was.

With a sigh, I waved Windblade off and pulled my helmet on. What was the saying, 'when it rains it pours'?

Setting a brisk pace, I cut through the refugees, barely slowing to nod in greeting at the civilians that were peering out of their tents and only outright stopping once to say hello to a little girl who was so overwhelmed by the day's events she was nearly in tears.

A quick hug and an introduction to Steeljaw seemed to help and I left him running in circles around her, her mother's grateful thanks still ringing my ears as I finally reached the gates.

A trio of PRT vans were parked out front, and a couple of officers had climbed out and were peering suspiciously at the paparazzi and amateur photographers that were a nearly constant fixture outside.

As I approached, I found Arcee having a glaring match with a broad-shouldered man with a large gut in a white coverall suit. The PRT logo was on his chest and an ID tag hung around his neck.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes, we're here to do a site inspection?" He flipped through some paperwork on a clipboard. "Says here, that there are concerns regarding a parahuman transport system?"

I stared incredulously at him, my mouth hanging open behind my mask. "Really!?" I didn't quite shout. "Do you not know what's going on right now?"

"I… I'm sorry." He had the good grace to act like he was ashamed and pointed a thumb over his shoulder at one of the vans. "But this was all scheduled weeks ago; the inspection team was sent from DC. If you refuse, it could take months before we can free them up again."

"Then reschedule," Arcee snapped. "Surely you have protocols for emergencies. We've got refugees inside!"

"Of course, it's just…" The man sighed. "Look, we've had complaints from 'concerned members of the public', including some very important people. If we don't do the inspection now, then any further use of the... " He flipped the papers again. "'Ground bridge' could be classed as 'assault with a parahuman power'. You could face fines and even prosecution if you keep using it. People don't want another Ridgewater on their hands."

I frowned as Rewind opened a screen with the information on it. Ridgewater was a small town that had to be evacuated after a tinker's experimentation with teleportation had caused his entire workshop, and everything else within fifty yards, to vanish without a trace, and bathed the town in enough radiation that Eidolon himself had been called in to help with the clean up.

The whole incident had spawned a number of ghost stories and at least one movie.

"Has anyone been in contact with Dragon?" I asked Rewind, pressing my hands against the front of my helmet in an effort to ease the building pressure in my head.

*No, she's still in her meeting* Rewind beeped. *Wheeljack has been checking everything they've said. So far, they seem to be telling the truth and all of their credentials check out.*

Looking around to ensure there was no one else close by, the man bent forward and spoke quietly. "Look, we're not stupid, we've been listening to the radio chatter and we know what's happening. How about we take an early lunch, maybe something a good distance away. That should give you an hour or so to clear the premises?"

"Windblade, how soon will everyone be ready to go?" I muttered over the radio so he couldn't hear us. .

*I'm just talking to the last of the refugees now. Most are happy enough with an all expenses trip to New York while the Protectorate sorts this mess out, but a few have asked to be sent elsewhere. Mostly to meet up with family out of state...*

"Alright, make it happen. Jack, when these guys get back from lunch, give them all the help you can. The rest of you, I want everyone we can spare out on patrol. Let's see if we can keep the gangs from trying anything clever for at least one day."

Nodding to the PRT man, I spun on my heel and marched back into the base, already compiling a list of things I needed to get done and working out what I could do remotely, as there was no way in hell I was going to still be here when the PRT got back.

Wheeljack could deal with them. I was going to find something to punch, or at the very least blow off some steam patrolling.


An: chapter written under commision.

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