"I'm back."
James turned to see Liv, who had dressed in her armored costume, instead of the hoodie that he wore over his costume when he went out to patrol. The hoodie itself was not armored, and since Liv was capable of traveling very, very quickly anyways, she had gone back to HQ and retrieved her costume.
"Is Alloy safe?" James asked.
"Yeah. Hospital."
"Are they going to call a healer for him?"
"He's arguably the most powerful member of the Canberra Heat," Liv said. "What do you think?"
"Going to call OD, then?" he asked, referring to Australia's most famous healer who only charged a couple thousand dollars per healing. Which, when considering the kind of injuries he healed, was probably cheaper than arranging for surgery and life support and several years of physiotherapy.
"Definitely."
Alloy lay in a reinforced hospital bed, as two men stepped inside his room.
They were known as Three Dimensions and Other Dimension, the teleporting healer duo. 3D was known for being incredibly laid back, like, permanently-stoned levels of laid back, and OD was known for being a weirdo. No other way to put it.
Neither of them really had costumes. 3D wore an olive tee, a pair of cargo pants that had zippers around the knees that could turn into a pair of shorts, and a pair of thongs; he wore a pair of those cheap 3D glasses, with the red and blue lens, and had a frizzy afro. That was the extent of his 'costume'. OD was wearing a tank-top with a pair of denim shorts, a pair of pink thongs, some sunglasses, and the only indication that he was a cape was the fact that he was wearing six wristwatches of various sizes, colors, and brands on each arm.
"Mister Alloy," OD said.
"OD," Alloy replied. He pronounced it like 'odd', which was a running joke in the community. Odd and Edd.
"Boy, these don't look good," Other Dimension said, staring at his legs. "It looks almost as though a Striker with slingshot capabilities threw a ute into your legs."
Alloy stared at him.
"Alright, sheesh, tough crowd." OD stepped forward. "Now, if you'd look into my eyes, please."
Alloy knew that eye contact wasn't necessary, but it did usually distract his patients from the rather disturbing sensation of everything moving back into place. Alloy looked into OD's John Lennon-style sunglasses and wondered if anyone had ever bothered to tell him it really didn't fit his square face shape. Or maybe he had been told and simply didn't give a damn.
OD sucked in a breath, and bellowed, "the power of Scion compels you!"
Then he bitch-slapped Alloy across the cheek. Dazed, Alloy raised a hand to his face, and realized that OD had just slapped a band-aid onto him.
"There ya go, you're all fixed."
Alloy glanced down at his legs, which looked exactly like it had been two and a half hours ago. 3D got his name because he was a teleporter and he could travel 'between the three dimensions'. Other Dimension got his name because he had 'dominion over time' - he could effectively hit the 'undo' button on real-life objects. A second trigger had removed his Manton Effect and now he went around offering his services to 'reset' injuries back to health.
"Thanks," Alloy said weakly.
"No problem. That'll be two thousand dollars, thank you very much."
"I'll… have my employers make a transaction."
"Counting on it!" OD called as he waved cheerily and stepped out of the room. 3D gave a lazy salute to the Tinker and followed him out.
No matter how many times he saw them, the bizarreness of the situation never failed to amaze him.
"What about us?" James asked.
"What do you mean?"
"What are we going to do?" James said. "How do we deal with Killshot next time? It's clear he has no regard for human lives apart from his own. We can't expect him to just surrender, or he'll murder people to get his way."
"Yeah," Liv murmured. "I'm sure Alloy will have something to say about Killshot when he meets the higher-ups."
"And the new cape that makes arms," James shuddered. "Or maybe body parts in general. Alloy did say the cape could hear him talk. Maybe he made some eyes and ears where people couldn't see them."
"Ew," Liv muttered. "But yeah. You're right. A Master-Shaker combo? With a dose of Thinker thrown in because they can project their senses as well, if what you raised is true. Damn."
"What?"
Liv sighed. "Nothing. Just thinking about the near future. The Bloody Baron made his move on South Canberra, he's pushing into Sandstorm's territory. Do you remember the explosive Shaker from a few days ago? Looks like he's joined the Baron's gang. It's… not ideal."
"That one?" James murmured. "Only Steadfast or Alloy can reliably fight him."
"Yeah." James watched Liv chew her bottom lip. "There is one other possibility…"
"Hm?"
"…never mind. It wouldn't work out, Stratton wouldn't allow it." Liv cocked her head. "Could you repeat that please, console? …understood."
"Wish I had me a fancy earpiece," James said.
Liv stared at him weirdly and apparently elected to ignore him. "Console wants me to go to HQ. We'll probably have a briefing there, with all the heroes. I was also asked to extend the invite to you."
"Alright, sure," James shrugged. "I'll come."
"Thanks, Slip," Liv smiled. Though her eyes were hidden behind a blue visor, they were probably scrunched up the way they always did when Liv smiled. "How fast can you move?"
"Ehh," he replied.
"...okay. Here, let me carry you."
James blinked, then nodded as Liv picked him up with a grunt - God, she was strong. James wasn't exactly a lightweight, and intellectually he knew that Liv was very fit, but he hadn't really know just how strong. She carried him on piggyback and Blinked away; that was surreal. James squeezed his eyes shut and hoped he wouldn't get sick.
"How long does it usually take you?" James asked.
Blink. Blink. Blink. Blink. While the individual jumps weren't that far, Liv could string them together rapidly; barely a heartbeat in between each jump. "Uh," Liv spoke funnily, her voice cutting out every time she jumped, "not that long, honestly. Maybe five minutes from here to there?"
"That's about a quarter of the time it'd take you to get there by car," James said, amazed.
"Yeah, it's pretty handy. Shame I can't use it to sleep in on school days, though."
James elected not to talk the rest of the way either. The monosyllabic conversation was really starting to make him feel dizzy. He accidentally opened his eyes when he felt a jolt, and realized that Liv was jumping off the edge of a tall office building, and that definitely didn't help. He forced himself to grab tighter onto Liv and stared up at the sky in case he accidentally opened his eyes again.
"Almost there," Liv reassured him, and they landed with a thud on concrete. James slowly opened his eyes to find Liv standing in front of the PLE HQ with him still on piggyback. He felt a wave of relief as his feet touched the ground. "Sorry, was it a rough ride?"
"No," James lied.
Liv hummed, amused, and began walking inside. The officers in the lobby gave James a calculating glance, but otherwise ignored him. Liv grabbed his hand and dragged him into an elevator to the third floor; they came to a half-full conference room. There was Mirror Man, Duke, Wisp, Steadfast, a man who seemed kinda similar to whatever was visible of Steadfast, and a teen with a mask that James had never seen before. There was also two officer-captains, and Officer Stratton, the liaison for Parahuman Law Enforcement, Canberra.
Stratton had been appointed to his position when his predecessor got kicked off after the 2007 fiasco. He was - in a word, more trustworthy. While he had a bit of a beer gut now he wasn't performing field work, he still retained his somewhat babyish face, his bright, wide eyes, and his near-permanent, jovial smile. He was a people person, easily cracking jokes on the microphone and capable of directing away from prying ears without making it too abrupt and unnatural. Of course, his position wasn't entirely ceremonial, so he was also in charge of the Heat.
"Ah, Slipstick!" Stratton smiled, holding out his hand. His grip was firm, and under the growing layer of fat James could detect a lot of old strength. "A pleasure to meet you here."
"Likewise," James said neutrally, before stepping back to stand beside Liv and behind Wisp's chair.
Steadfast nodded politely at James - that was more of a reaction than he got most of the time - and the man beside her, wearing a domino mask, smirked and winked at him conspiratorially. The teenager gave him a brief grin and raised his hand; James wiggled his fingers at him. He was completely disregarded by Duke, while Mirror Man, notoriously shy, actually turned to him and spoke.
"Hello," he said, and James was surprised to realize how high-pitched his voice was, as well as how short he was - a couple of inches shorter than him, actually. "It's nice to meet you. Slipstick, yes?"
"Hey, and yes," Slip answered, holding out his hand. Mirror Man reciprocated the action, but James' attention flagged something in the movement. He had suddenly straightened a little, leaning forward slightly, and his arm angled unnaturally - was, was Mirror Man actually so socially awkward that he had to copy someone else's handshake? Then James felt bad at thinking that, and amended in his head that someone with his power should take every advantage they found, if only just because they could.
"I am a fan of yours," he said. "I have watched you fight in a few online videos. Your movements remind of Flying Fox, when the man was still active."
"Ah - yeah," James chuckled. "I did know him for a bit. He taught me how to throw a punch, things like that."
Mirror Man nodded slowly, digesting that. "I did receive an opportunity to watch Flying Fox's choreography in person, once. It was difficult to resist, the movements were strangely beautiful. While I burned it into my memory, I'm sad to say that without his rather unique power, I am unable to perform them myself."
James nodded. Fox's movements were difficult to replicate if one didn't have his range of three-dimensional movement. At around that moment Alloy stepped into the conference room, sans his shiny fuck-off gun, looking rather bewildered. Apparently getting healed by 3D and OD was an… experience, from what James had heard.
"Alloy," Stratton acknowledged. "We're all here, then. Let's begin the briefing."
He turned to the projector behind him, which was showing the first slide of a rather generic power-point which had probably been thrown together very quickly. Stratton hit one of the keys to reveal a satellite image of Canberra, and another click put up semi-transparent colored shapes representing the territories of the various gangs. James wondered if their size was a recent development, or if the police's attempts to contain them had never been particularly effective.
"Beginning on the night of New Year, the police was flooded with calls regarding explosions," Stratton said. "This occurred in North Canberra, thanks to whom we later discovered was Killshot, and in South Canberra, orchestrated by the Red Baron. While everyone was distracted with festivities, the two gangs coordinated to claim as much territory as possible, while creating as much mayhem as possible. Civilian casualties are in the hundreds, and deliberately, we think, heavy casualties towards non-white populations."
Stratton pressed a key, and a slightly different territory distribution popped up. Red Baron's territory lost a chunk to its west, while Killshot was restricted further east, as well. Then Stratton re-visited the map from before, allowing the members of the room to draw a direct comparison. "As you can see here, their strategy was quite successful. Due to the success of this night, several smaller gangs, generally led by non-Parahumans and often comprised tragically young people, were either destroyed or subsumed by the Baron or Killshot. The Baron mostly focused on pushing Sandstorm out, while Killshot attempted to expand into the safer neighborhoods as well. We're not entirely certain what his strategy was, although it could be possible he was attempting to carve a bloody path to the nearest police station, located here."
Given the trajectory of Killshot's gang, it wasn't an unreasonable assumption.
"Due to their high civilian casualties and their obvious disregard for life, we will be treating the two combined gangs as an A-class threat," Stratton said. Gone was the jovial man, now. "We will no longer play easy with them. The only problem is that despite their, frankly, simplistic powers, the Baron has proved annoyingly resilient. If this weren't the case, then my predecessor would have surely evicted the Red Baron years ago during the October 15th Massacre."
James politely pretended not to notice the way Alloy gave a low growl from his throat. The others did the same.
"Part of his stubbornness was because of his ability to appeal to the public living in his territory. The territory he controls - mainly Queanbeyan, Fyshwick, and other Eastern suburbs - have slightly higher proportions of white Australians and, even with immigrants, white immigrants from Britian, Ireland, and Germany. We have yet to determine if the Baron has ties to Gesellschaft or if he is simply a man of opportunity, but the Baron preaches white supremacist rhetoric to sway the more… extreme residents to his cause. We're hoping that his recent, indiscriminate attacks may have soured the public's opinion of him, but knowing our luck, it probably means that the more radical ones are now firmly in the Baron's camp."
He paused, and took a sip from a bottle of water. Liv shuffled anxiously beside James, and James brushed his hand against her arm. She glanced in his direction and gave a faint smile. James smiled back, not that it was visible under his helmet.
"In any case, Parahuman Law Enforcement will be removing the kiddie gloves and we will come down on them, hard. We will be prioritizing the neutralization of the Parahuman threat Red Baron, as we suspect that the majority of Killshot's gang are the Baron's men acting under Killshot's orders, and will be loyal to the Baron first and Killshot second. Un-powered police officers will be in charge of keeping the peace in North Canberra, and whomever else can be spared will be assisting PLE in the attempted capture of Red Baron."
Stratton turned to look at each of them in the eyes.
"There is no room for mistake. It is exceedingly likely that Red Baron and Killshot both, from what we know of their previous patterns, will fight like cornered rats, which is what they are. They will become exceedingly violent, they will not hesitate to kill you and civilians if they see a way out. If, at any point, you find that your life may be in danger, you have been granted Kill Order-status."
The air of the room tightened. James stiffened. This might very well be the first Kill Order in Canberra, maybe even in all of New South Wales. Even Wisp's discomfort was visible through all of her clothing, and the new teen had his mouth set in a tight line. Duke wore a neutral expression, a side-effect of his total motor control, and James briefly wondered what he was thinking.
"Now, you are both familiar with the two major Parahumans. Let's move onto discussing their newest lieutenants." Stratton hit a key, and the next slide appeared. "The first is a Parahuman we are calling Firestorm. This is undoubtedly one of the most powerful Blasters we've encountered; we've given them a rating of Shaker/Blaster Seven. Any operative without a Brute rating is not cleared to engage with this individual. In short, Firestorm's powers are an explosive generation of flame, followed shortly after by a shockwave. The range fluctuates, from what we've seen so far, between a minimum six meters to maximum nineteen meters radius, although it's entirely possible it could reach further. The explosions are powerful enough to give severe structural damage to ordinary residential buildings at close range. Even towards the edge of the explosions, without valid protection you may experience disorientation, concussion, first-degree and second-degree burns, and internal bleeding."
He switched the slide. "The next one, whom we are calling Spores. A Shaker/Master four capable of sprouting their body parts on surfaces, such as the ground, walls, or ceilings of buildings. Range is unknown, was first encountered by Alloy last night. They primarily used arms and hands to hold down enemy fighters, while they also displayed an awareness of conversation and location, which suggests Thinker abilities, or they are able to generate eyes and ears from surfaces. The disembodied body parts apparently do not feel pain."
Stratton looked at the two of them. "It will be undoubtedly difficult, and casualties may be unavoidable. However, you are law enforcement officers with access to the best equipment and the best training. Not to mention each of you, in your own rights, are capable of incredible things. Keep calm, and do not hesitate to retreat if you feel it is necessary to the wellbeing of yourself or your team members. While Killshot and Spores may not be present, after a while they may join in as reinforcement. Also be aware of Sandstorm possibly entering the fray - while we expect him not to intentionally harm you, we also expect he will be apathetic if you get caught in his crossfire. Sandstorm is arguably the most powerful Parahuman in Canberra; do not risk your life trying to help him."
Stratton looked at all of them, then nodded. "Good. The team captains are Alloy and Steadfast, both of whom have the most experience as law enforcement personnel. One team will be dedicated to the capture and retrieval of Firestorm, while the other team will be dedicated to the capture and retrieval of Red Baron. Un-powered police officers are capable of assisting; they will cover your flank against un-powered gang members, arrest downed gang members, and will also provide retreat options and medical support. I will be on console and coordinating between you and the police. Captain Proudfoot, you're with Alloy; Captain Singh, you're with Steadfast."
Stratton left the room, and the two captains moved to either side of their assigned team leaders. Steadfast and Alloy nodded at each other. Alloy, as the longest-serving Parahuman Law Enforcement officer, took center stage.
"Juggernaut, you're with me," Alloy said. James blinked; the young man standing beside Steadfast was the criminal he'd captured a couple of weeks ago? Maybe there was some credit to Steadfast and Juggernaut's cluster trigger theory. "Wisp, Synthesis, you're also with me."
Wisp stood and joined the Tinker, as did the new kid - Liv was watching the latter in mild surprise. Meanwhile, Steadfast looked at the rest of them, nodding at each. "Duke. Mirror Man. Blink. Slipstick." She took a breath. "Our target is the Red Baron. While not as immediately dangerous as Firestorm, he has not survived for so long without reason. He is cunning, ruthless, and is surprisingly good at laying low when the need demands it. Apart from myself, none of you have Brute ratings beyond what your armor gives you, and you will almost certainly find it difficult to fight the enemy without risk of significant injury or death."
"Pleasant," Duke muttered, and Steadfast ignored him.
"Most of you will be relegated to taking down Baron's support network. The Baron himself also doesn't have a Brute rating, so he cannot propel himself without injury. This means that if you are capable of quickly dispatching the man's un-powered support network, he will find himself stranded. We will eventually capture him, either after a long battle of attrition and a lot of collateral damage, or if Team Alpha - that's Alloy's team - manage to take down Firestorm quickly and come to our aid."
"What is this new kid's power?" James asked, and Steadfast thinned her lips.
"It's technically classified, but considering the circumstances, it would be best for you to know. You will not repeat a word of what I said to anyone." James nodded in agreement. "Synthesis is a Trump. He is capable of copying someone's power for thirty-three minutes via skin contact. He can copy multiple powers and merge them into one, at the cost of cutting the time limit to one-third of what it was."
James whistled. "Damn. That's really strong."
"Indeed. Which is why he is being mobilized before schedule." Steadfast didn't seem happy about it. "He is lacking training, both self-defense training, power training, and coordination with other combatants. I wish it didn't need to happen, but the Heat have far too few Brutes capable of withstanding the city's criminal elements as it is."
"So what's our plan?" Duke asked. "Do we have one, yet?"
"The battlefield is constantly shifting, which is frustrating," Steadfast said. "But most likely the battlefield will consist of multiple small skirmishes. Right now, the police, Baron's gang, and what few there are of Sandstorm's gang are in an uneasy ceasefire, tending to their wounded and making plans. Neither the Baron nor Sandstorm has made an appearance, although Red Baron was observed leading his men. We will remain hidden until the Baron himself appears, even if Firestorm shows up first. Likewise, if the Baron appears but Firestorm doesn't, Team Alpha will remain hidden to give the illusion that we do not have reinforcements."
Steadfast looked at them. "I will be the one to directly fight against the Baron. I am able to withstand the majority of his attacks, while you cannot. You will split into teams; Duke with Blink, Mirror with Slipstick. You will coordinate together to immobilize un-powered members, preferably the senior members, of the Baron's gang. We will continue communicating as we fight, and I will do my best to draw the Baron away from both your groups. We don't need to defeat the Baron - just outlast him and his gang. The cost will be high, but I'm sure all of you knew that already."
James nodded, alongside the others.
"Very well. Then let's gear up. Follow me to the armory."
Steadfast whirled around and marched out of the room. James didn't like Steadfast much, but watching her retreating back, he felt a little of his nervousness fade away. She really did give off an air of indestructibility, and in this moment, he appreciated that.
It was time to go to war.