Coil

The start of every plan was like the first few moments after opening a jigsaw puzzle, all of the scattered elements were laid bare so that anyone could see them, but the structure was still waiting to be formed into a greater whole.

Those who existed day to day might see the four corner pieces and decide they were finished, that just the very idea of a plan would be enough to see them through the day.

Others who gained some level of strength might put in the borders, applying some minor amount of labor but never truly doing anything that would amount to greater success.

And of course there were those who put in the time and effort, filling in each piece until they hit a spot where further work became too tedious of an affair to bother.

But for myself? Even the most dull pieces would have their place, infinite effort going toward the cloudless skies as they had the fuller images of the picture. Every piece in place and prepared until there was not a hole left to be found. All of the pieces had their purpose after all, from the homeless man paid to keep an eye on a street corner and report what kind of flowers were popular from the corner shop to the high ranking plants I had installed within both the PRT and local police forces.

My ability allowed me to accurately scout for the right pieces without losing time, always finding the correct spot with enough scenarios being put forward. Even those who stood opposed to me found their way into the picture, because despite their struggles they were simply another piece waiting for placement.

I applied a firm push for the last piece of the puzzle in front of me, finally completing the large scale painting of city hall, a lovely little puzzle that had given me two days of stress relief between my grand designs. A not insignificant amount of pride came to me as I looked over the piece, putting it to memory before focusing on other tasks.

With the perfect timing I had become known for I picked up an incoming video call the moment my computer brought up the notification, revealing a helmeted figure dressed in a worn sports jersey and jeans, spots of oil and other such residue clinging to parts of him. "I do hope the information you have to give me is worth the not insignificant amount of money I have had transferred to your account, Desperate."

The villainous tinker laughed, the single glowing eye at the center of his helmet focusing toward the camera. "Would we really be talking if we didn't both have a mutual friend that could ensure my information's authenticity?"

I had to admit that he had me on that point. Recent events had forced me to reach out beyond my normal sphere of influence and call in favors from those I recognized as equal to myself in the grand scheme of the game. While I was always loath to get elements that I couldn't directly control, involving Accord and his Ambassadors were the closest thing I had to allies and thus the fallback I had found necessary to take to deal with a point of vexation toward the puzzle that was Brockton Bay.

A vexation that went by the name of Thread.

"True, then shall we get down to business?" I laced my fingers together and leaned forward, my costume shifting slightly as my eyes narrowed. "Give me any information you managed to gain from your fight against her."

Desperate gave a mock salute in reply before speaking. "Let me go ahead and get the obvious out of the way first, when it comes to the 'dolls' that she can summon up your better just assuming that whichever one she called upon is either perfectly suited to solving said situation, or versatile enough to deal with a wide range of issues. For instance the one I fought while she was attempting to take down Heartbreaker could be considered basically a perfect match against parahumans who focus on emotional and mental attacks."

I considered his words for a moment, was it possible that the tools that Thread made use of were custom built ahead of time for missions? That would fit in well with the common theory that she was a tinker, having to only maintain whatever creation was going to be currently in use would save on timescale and supply, and even in cases such as the boat graveyard a tool of that level would only really need to work for a short period of time.

But that was speculation, and at the moment I needed to focus on facts.

"However even when pigeon holed she managed to use tools that didn't fit to work out how to give herself an advantage, I would say her ability to adapt to a situation makes dealing with her difficult for you mastermind types who plan around everyone else's plans." Desperate continued.

That was food for thought, most tinkers lacked a sense of moment to moment situational awareness in combat activities, most would fall back on the strength of the tools they had made and stubbornly keep using them even when the situation became disadvantageous to them. Tinkertech was a marvel even beyond the typical points of greatness that appeared in the modern day, but thinking outside of the box on using them was a trait most lacked.

"Beyond her tools, what was your personal opinion of her?" I had enough footage and second hand information about the capabilities of the technology she used, what was missing from the puzzle was the critical human element. The part that I could slot into the waiting puzzle to make it work.

"Strong willed, brave, and reckless. She was willing to bet her own safety on the last goal instead of trying to fallback and come up with another plan once her initial attack didn't work," the villain paused for a moment. "I should clarify I'm not saying she is dumb, she used the limited tools in front of her and managed to kick my ass so it would be a bit hypocritical to call her that. She is the type that is most dangerous when she is just about to lose, which is weird because normally it's the opposite in our circles."

I understood well enough what he meant, once victory became impossible in a fight between hero and villain one side would deescalate before a point of no return could be reached. The fact that she pushed forward to the point where it might leave her vulnerable if things turned south was something to keep in mind. I would have to carefully approach any scenario involving her to ensure a quick and decisive defeat.

A notification beeped out from my computer and interrupted both my thoughts and the meeting. "Pardon me, it seems that something requires my attention for a moment."

Desperate gave a small shrug in response. "Go ahead."

I quickly put the video call on hold and looked over the notification, finding it was a high priority message from one of the guard squads within the base itself. "I believe I made it clear that there were to be no interruptions during this meeting." my voice was cold enough to freeze fire as I spoke.

"Sorry sir, but this is a bit of an emergency," the voice that answered was not one I was expecting. Normally only the captains of the various squads had direct radio lines to my office for security reasons, but I knew the captains of the various groups by voice, and this wasn't one of them. "The Captain started seizing out, the other guys and I managed to hold him down but he isn't waking up. Some of the others are pretty shaken up."

My lips pursed into a frown as I ran through what he had just said and found myself confused. I had been very particular about the guards I had set within the heart of my operation, choosing them not only for their loyalty but also their health and physical fitness. To have someone suddenly suffer a seizure from an unknown cause was concerning to say the least.

I split timelines, in one of them ordering them to wait for my arrival before doing anything further and in the other telling them to return to their posts and just leave the Captain to their rest. In the second timeline I reopened communications with Desperate and focused back on the conversation. "Apologies."

"No need, anyway I guess the last thing of note is that you probably don't want to cr #S-" the image on the screen distorted for a moment, vibrant colors exploding across the surface before righting themselves. By the time the image righted itself Desperate was looking at the screen with a bit of confusion. "Are you getting interference on your end?"

"Yes, given my current location it isn't unusual," the unfinished Endbringer shelter that my organization called home was buried under tons of metal, stone, and earth. As such it was perfectly normal to have the occasional bout of interference. "Can you repeat that last part?"

Desperate gave a nod before repeating himself. "What I was saying is that she probably isn't going to be the type to accept bribes or threats, In other words it's a situation a guy like you is perfectly unsuited for, Mr. Calvert."

My blood turned to ice as that name was spoken, even over a secure line like this hearing it while in this suit was enough to throw me off far longer than I was comfortable admitting. "How do you know that name?" I hissed through clenched teeth.

"I'm honestly a bit surprised," Desperate continued, utterly ignoring my question in favor of continuing. "Accord's Ambassadors, all I had to do was say they sent me and you bit into the bait faster then I would have guessed. Then again you were probably pretty on edge considering how badly things have been going recently. Failed kidnapping plots, PRT getting its nose all in your weapons business, and of course the girl that keeps crashing your ability when it tries to do more than a rudimentary workaround of her."

I slammed my hands into my desk and yanked the power cord from the back of the computer tower, already trying to figure out how to deal with the mercenary. However to my surprise even with the tower being unplugged the screen continued uninterrupted.

"But luckily for you my bosses have taken a bit of an interest in your operation, and they are more than willing to help you. Whether you want it or not. I look forward to working with you real soon. In the name of the Third Cause." the image on the screen began to distort again, colors exploding across the screen as if someone had taken a bat to an old television screen.

I tried to pull myself out of my chair, thoughts of escape already fresh in my mind. But I found that my body couldn't move, I didn't have the strength to lift a single limb no matter how hard I raged. But that was fine, I would simply collapse this timeline and focus on the one where I had left the room to check on the Captain. It was odd to consider that as the safe timeline but it was still necessary.

…

I was still here. Still in the chair. Thinking back I couldn't even remember the timeline where I had left the room to check on the Captain. I had done so, I remember my power activating but I had no memory beyond leaving the door. Even if I died in a timeline the memory would still come to me, but there was simply darkness.

I apologize for the less than pleasant greeting Thomas, but you are a very difficult man to contact through normal means.

A voice came from my monitor, and it was all I could do to focus on the screen again, seeing the colors give way to…blackness. It wasn't that the colors had disappeared and been replaced by a black screen, but rather that the screen itself had been replaced by a deep pit that seemed to drink in the light around it.

The voice itself sounded wrong somehow, not in the way that a computer simulated voice might come off. Each word was well spoken and had not a trace or hint of accent to it, it sounded like something that had grasped the concept of speech and mastered it, but was still unused to having to speak.

Deception is poor manners, but you will forgive me for it soon enough. I want to assure you that there is no malice behind my actions, I simply seek to help.

From the black void within my computer monitor odd tendrils began to come forward. They were a light blue color, akin to veins in appearance and tipped by small hook-like blades. The tendrils brushed against my suit in an almost comforting manner, like a monstrous version of a hug.

And then the hook like blades of the tendrils dug through my costume and into my skin. I wanted to scream but the luxury of speech had been stolen from me along with movement. Pain exploded over the areas where they dug themselves into me but there was no blood, no warm feeling that came with injury. But there was pain, there was pain beyond any scope or description I had ever experienced.

Despite the pain however I forced myself to stay aware of my surroundings, my PRT trooper training coming to me even now. I needed to stay awake, not allow whatever ability was affecting me to take hold. But my efforts were in vain, the sheer agony that laced through my body was such that I could feel my mind trying to flee into the comfort of nothingness to escape it.

But then all at once the pain was gone, and even more than that I felt great. Despite selling drugs I had never partaken for myself, but I imagined what I was currently experiencing was akin to a blissful high.

I am sorry about the pain Thomas, but you will never feel it again. No more pain or discomfort will ever touch you again.

If I had been able to speak I might have broken out in tears at what the voice promised. Even if I had only experienced it for a moment the pain had been such that if I had ever been forced to endure it again I wasn't sure that my mind would be able to hold against it.

I scolded myself for that thought, after all whoever was doing this had inflicted it upon me in the first place. This had to be a master effect, or some other esoteric parahuman bullshit that was warping my perception. I had to set my mind against it, force out any influence before it could dig into my mind.

But if the pain had been beyond my ability to suppress the pleasure flooding me right now was twice and again stronger then it. There was no ebb in it, it was always set in the best moment of this feeling and had no clear sign of stopping. The pleasure even hid the feeling of the odd tendrils continuing the snake through my body.

Ha, snake. Like my costume.

That's right Thomas, there is no need for you to do anything but enjoy the gift that I bring. You will be made better, just as those you've brought here with you have already been made better. A part of something much greater than yourself.

I tried to push against the blissful feeling but my will was breaking, it was impossible to deny how good everything felt. Even the minor discomfort from the tendrils was gone now, and my screen was replaced by a dark mirror that showed my costume was untouched.

"There we go, that should be the last of it," the voice spoke from my own body now, and I felt myself rise out of my chair and walk toward the door to my section of the base. My body opened the door and revealed my guards with glassy expressions and simple smiles on their faces. "Just sleep now Thomas, we will have such great things to do moving forward."

I knew I shouldn't listen to the voice, that I should keep fighting against whatever force was now part of my body. But the bliss told me that everything would be alright, that for the first time since Ellisburg things would be okay if I just allowed myself to rest. And so I let go over any petty concerns over my body, and let my mind become one with the bliss awaiting me.

The Third Cause

I spent a moment of my time fixing up the mess that had been made and starting back up the computer, opening the video messenger and focusing on my favored agent with a smile. The mask that had covered this face moments ago had been removed along with the suit in favor of more comfortable clothes. "I think that went rather well, don't you?"

Desperate, let out a small laugh and waved off the joke. "Still you're taking a bit of a risk on this aren't you boss? I'm pretty good at blending in, but if you decide to throw down with the newbie we might risk drawing the Puppeteer's notice before we have everything in place for Bliss Day."

I waved away the man's worries with a simple gesture. While he was a dedicated agent to the Third Cause he was also prone to worry, given that he was an inoculated it was one of the burdens he was forced to hold. "I would find it unlikely that we have escaped notice, Sister-Of-Mine is much more easily tracked than myself and has managed to totally escape notice. The Seekers have made an excellent smokescreen for our work."

A small laugh escaped the man. "Well I'm just a mercenary at the end of the day, so I'll just continue to follow orders and keep my nose out of your business. Best of luck." the screen went black, revealing the reflection of the face I had now taken as my own.

"Yes." a slight tremor flowed through my body as the pieces of my true body moved through the form I had now taken. "I believe luck is firmly on our side now."

With that said I forced the activation of the shard connection and began to explore our next move.