Interlude: The Serpent
Thomas Calvert prided himself as a cunning schemer. Through years of effort and application of his parahuman ability, he had built a sizable fortune through both legitimate business and a small, but efficiently run bit of territory in Brockton Bay as the villain called Coil. He had over two hundred well armed, well trained mercenaries at his command. Two teams of villains were under his patronage as Coil, while as Thomas Calvert, he was a well respected and connected consultant for the PRT.
So, he had to wonder where the hell it had started going wrong.
Probably when Assault had been sent to investigate and report about a possible trigger and a potential new hero. Coil had initially begun to factor this new hero into his plans, whether to coerce, bribe, or simply put down the new face, but the issue was that while he sent out feelers, he got nothing back. This hero was completely foreign and new, the freshest of triggers in every sense. Even when he ran complex facial recognition software taken from the city cameras that had tracked the man's flight through Brockton, he didn't even get a civilian identity back. That wasn't even factoring in that his costume was of superb make, clearly professional in quality. It was a puzzling enigma, one Coil didn't appreciate.
He had split reality, forming a new timeline to investigate the girl that this new hero, 'Legacy' had saved. At first, based upon all the evidence in question, Coil assumed that this girl was perhaps a Changer, and had turned herself into this hero that called himself Legacy. Perhaps Assault or the hospital staff were covering it up. But when Coil sent an anonymous offer to this girl and a team to watch her (under the guise of the PRT of course), nothing had happened. No replies to his inquiries, no reactions, and when school was canceled, the girl just remained at home reading a book. It was supremely irritating. He sent in his two agents and ordered them to shoot the girl in order to gauge a reaction. The girl had reacted with surprise at the guns, but a telekinetic barrier stopped any harm from befalling her. Then his two agents had been frozen in place by some sort of Master effect. Shortly after, Legacy appeared in the skies above the city and flew directly to Coil's base, as if he'd known exactly where to find him. Coil had watched intently, already planning on closing this timeline, but the girl had remained at her home, panicking and calling someone, probably her father. So a Master of some sort and a Shaker due to the telekinesis… but even as he continued watching through the cameras his agents had placed, a young man had walked into view, demonstrating easy use of telekinesis to begin doing dishes of all things. Perhaps she was a Master then and had suborned other parahumans already? Another Heartbreaker in the making it seemed.
Legacy meanwhile had smashed through the roof of his lair, tearing through thick reinforced steel like tissue paper, ignoring all the weapons, both mundane and tinker tech that Calvert's mercenaries threw at him. He didn't even bother neutralizing them, just marched to Coil's office and stared at him.
"You tried to kill a civilian." He stated bluntly. "Why?"
"To see if you'd appear of course." Coil replied smoothly. "The agent's would not have actually killed her, I'm not a monster." Coil lied casually. "Is she Mastering you then or perhaps she's a family member? I can guarantee her safety and a hundred thousand dollars a month minimum in return for your services."
Legacy looked at him with something akin to pity. "I'm sorry that you think heroes can be bought like that. I'm taking you in."
His hand reached for Coil, but with a chuckle, the villain collapsed the timeline.
Sitting back in his civilian I.D's office where he had managed to get a good deal of paperwork done and have a nice healthy lunch, Coil pondered the events of the throwaway. So this Legacy was one of those kinds of heroes, the ones that thought themselves a moral paragon. Through his many interactions with the Protectorate ENE, Coil knew that the only hero there that would not compromise was Miss Militia. Every single one of the others had a breaking point, something he could use to blackmail or bribe them with, sometimes both. Heroes were not the infallible, incorruptible beings they liked to pretend they were. Coil was sure that even the likes of the Triumvirate had skeletons in their closets, if one were to dig deep enough. He needed to find more about Legacy, and the Hebert girl had to be connected in some way.
A quick internet search yielded enough information for his plots to begin. Her only living family was her father, Danny Hebert. It was simple to arrange to bomb the Dockworker's Association and have it plastered on the news. The girl had collapsed in shock, eyes wide. A man wearing a black robe had just appeared next to her and kneeled down. Even through the camera, Coil could feel the menace and power this figure exuded. He turned up the directional microphone as far as possible, he needed to know what was being said in order to dissect the new hero's mindset, see what her breaking point was.
"Why… Why does it even matter anymore…" The Hebert girl whispered, voice hollow with despair. "Why are you here?"
"I can give you justice my dear." The dark figure said in a strangely paternal tone, but it couldn't hide the rich and well practiced voice that oozed charisma. It reminded Coil of such parahumans as Legend or Kaiser. "Just unleash me. Say the word, and your father's murderer shall be dealt with."
"But… I can tell what you'll do. You'll hurt others… Innocents…"
"People who have spat upon your father's hard work. Who support the gangs that help choke the life from your city. There are no innocents in Brockton. Just let me help. This neighborhood has nothing to fear, not the good, hardworking folk, only the scum. You brought me out for a reason."
Mutely, the Hebert girl nodded ever so slightly. The dark robed parahuman or perhaps it was a projection of her true power, stood and led her out the door. Coil switched to an expensive remote operated drone that he liked to deploy when it was necessary to keep close tabs on certain individuals. As soon they were out the door the two lifted as if by an invisible force, floating up above the city. It must have been a stunning view and a stark contrast of the poorer parts of the city versus the rich downtown and boardwalk areas.
Coil turned on the drone's own microphone, which would sap its battery all the faster, but that didn't matter as this timeline was already destined to be discarded.
"I need you to say the words Taylor." It whispered softly. "I will obey this command, but only if you truly wish it. If it is truly what you want."
"... Do it. I don't care anymore." The girl's voice had gone from hollow despair to cold anger.
The black robed man nodded grimly and then raised his hand in a dramatic gesture before swinging it down, like a judge passing his verdict.
Then the city detonated.
It was like a bomb went off. From a central point in downtown a massive spreading ring of destruction emerged. A wave of utter devastation that swept away everything and everyone in its path, the force of it strong enough to even topple the handful of skyscrapers dotting Brockton Bay. Within his fortress that was supposed to hold up against Endbringer attacks, Coil felt the ceiling shudder and then collapse before the timeline ended.
Coil was beginning to feel worried. The girl was a Projection type Master, he was certain of that now. An incredibly dangerous one at that.
Perturbed, he split the timeline again and ordered his Tattletale to dig up useful information on Hebert, something to blackmail or bribe, a weakness, anything. Nothing was forthcoming and so he arranged to have Tattletale shot a few times.
Coil growled angrily. So the girl was resistant to Thinkers as well. The situation was quickly becoming an annoyance. Calvert played with the idea of simply abandoning the situation, leaving the girl alone for a time. See what would come of her hero career from afar before attempting to manipulate her again when he had more information. From what he'd already gleaned though, she had remarkable potential and power. Coil decided to split the timeline one more time, just one more attempt to subvert her or prod a weakness. He needed something that he could actually use. He needed to know if he could actually deal with her without losing his city in the process. He walked to go get a cup of coffee and clear his head, while also splitting reality again.
In that timeline he deliberately dropped hints and tells that would scare Tattletale, make her think he was going to kill her and the Undersiders (And perhaps he would, since it was a throwaway), while also remaining careless and letting information on the Hebert girl slip. Predictably, Tattletale sought out Hebert on her own, hoping to slip her leash. Coil started light, a few mercenaries and snipers that were dealt with by another sniper of all things, a Stranger-Blaster of some sort for sure if the impossible shots he pulled off and his lack of appearance were any indication. So either Hebert's power automatically summoned a parahuman when she was in danger or she was smarter than she looked.
Refusing to give up, he arranged for a full out assault on Hebert's residence. He gathered and armed all of his mercenaries, he called up Trickster and arranged for the Travelers to strike, all of his Brockton Bay assets, ready to attack. If she wasn't in a catatonic state like in the previous timeline, she wouldn't call upon that robed figure that had destroyed the city. If she summoned Legacy… Coil was confident that even the strongest Brute had a limit. Sundancer could do the job. Perhaps she had a time limit for how long she could keep her projections around. He needed something, anything he could use against her. He ordered them to begin their assault as soon as they were ready.
That's when things started going wrong.
Walking back from his lunch, his secretary made an urgent gesture and pointed to the door of his office. "Mr. Calvert, there's a couple of gentlemen waiting for you. They were quite insistent." She looked nervous, extremely so. "Capes," she mouthed silently.
"Thank you Tracy. I'll speak with them." Calvert replied with an easy smile. "Why don't you take an early break?"
"Yes sir." She glanced at the door and then a lower tone. "Should I send out an alert?"
Coil thought about it for a moment, "Only if I haven't called to confirm in five minutes."
Whoever these two parahumans were, walking into the heart of the PRT's headquarters was fairly ballsy. They must have been supremely confident. Striding into the office he took stock of the two men, one sitting in Calvert's own chair and one leaning against the right wall with a bored look in his eye. The one sitting was of almost inhuman features. He had curly blond hair, a beard, and green eyes, but everything about him seemed… perfected. His hair was too shiny, his smile too bright, his physique too well sculpted. The other frightened Calvert even more. It wasn't necessarily his appearance, simple slacks, an office shirt, jacket, though missing a tie, glasses, combed black hair. Japanese if Coil wasn't mistaken. No, what scared Calvert was the way he held himself. It reminded Coil eerily of the mysterious fedora wearing bodyguard he had seen when purchasing his vial or who occasionally appeared to hand him favors that Cauldron required of him. In his cold brown eyes was a complete, calm confidence. Like he was dissecting every single one of Coil's motions and expressions.
"Hello there!" The blond man said jovially. "Sorry for taking your seat, it's comfier than the guest chairs. Good power move on your part I guess." Between one blink and the next, the man was sitting in a guest chair. "Let's have a chat Mr. Calvert, hm?"
Coil slowly nodded, walking slowly to his desk, noting that his extra sidearm was still in its place. He didn't want to risk closing his alternate timeline quite yet, but prepared himself to do so if necessary. He needed options here and was feeling rather limited.
"How can I help you?" Calvert asked neutrally, folding his hands and leaning forward.
"Well first I wanted to ask a bit of advice." The blond leaned forward. "Oh, you can call me Janus. That's Mr. Suit."
"So you two are parahumans then?" Coil asked with false interest, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh no no Mr. Coil, ah, Calvert, we're supers. You know, Taylor's projections. Alternate dimension, dying world, yadda yadda, it's a long story." Janus leaned forward, his eyes burning with fury now. "What we need to discuss is you leaving our dear girl alone."
Shit. They knew. Coil needed options and his other timeline wasn't anything special, he could recreate that scenario on any day. He closed the timeline and started to split his current one when-
The timeline that had just been erased reappeared in his perception. He felt himself return to cognitive thought after having collapsed into nothingness.
Janus grinned, but unlike the previous jovial one, this one was downright predatory. "Ah, ah, ah. You aren't getting out of this that easily."
Coil tried to stand and open his mouth to shout while reaching for his gun, but the other cape, Mr. Suit, stepped forward with machine-like precision. He struck Calvert in the center of the throat, cutting off his windpipe, before grabbing his wrist and pinning it to the desk.
"None of that now Mr. Calvert." Suit said chidingly. "I may not like this world's heroes much, but I don't wish to kill any of them either." He let Calvert's wrist go and even helped him sit back down while he struggled for breath.
"Please," Coil rasped out once he'd massaged his throat a bit. "I can make your Master rich."
Suit raised an eyebrow, then his eyes glazed for a moment. He nodded to himself and then rattled off a string of numbers. Coil paled when he realized it was his primary account number with the Number Man and its access codes.
"As you can see Mr. Calvert, we don't particularly need you for anything." Suit said politely.
"I could use a test subject." Janus cut in.
"But Taylor is merciful. She wouldn't wish us to kill you. Or turn you into a lab rat." Suit shot a pointed glance at Janus who shrugged lightly. "So here's what's going to happen. Your forces are going to be decimated. Your puppets, the little Simurgh bombs in waiting, will be put away where they will not cause issue. Coil will cease to exist. Thomas Calvert will retire quietly, citing PTSD from Ellisburg, and you'll live out the rest of your life in peace. I'll even let you keep your fortune so you can do so in comfort. If you attempt to hurt Taylor again, I will know and I will ruin you, leave you destitute. If you attempt to do so again, then I will have Janus ensure you end up in the Birdcage. A third time and I will allow Janus to have you for himself."
Coil felt a chill. He closed the current timeline. Better to have his operation ruined and exposed, than to deal with the two terrifying monsters that claimed to be capes.
One reality snapped away, but the two supers remained, except rather than be present in his PRT office, they were in Coil's underground lair. His eyes bugged out as he stared at the two impossibilities that had somehow followed him through his own power.
Janus grinned again and leaned in close to Coil's face. He could see the utter insanity in the projection's eyes. "I am the master of time and space, you pathetic little worm. I have seen the world burn, watched stars die just to see if I could, and done such monstrous acts so as to make the Slaughterhouse Nine look like children, out of sheer boredom. It would be my utter delight to welcome you into my laboratory, but I am no longer the master of my own fate, therefore I am bound. But test my friend's limitations and we will act outside of Taylor's morality. You are a speck compared to our true mission."
He reached up and tapped Coil once, lightly on the forehead. With that simple motion… Calvert saw everything.
Dozens of timelines. Hundreds. In a rare few he even managed to kill the Hebert girl. But even if he managed that, he wouldn't survive long. No one would. Was this… was this how Janus perceived the world? Suddenly his madness made all the more sense.
Suit gripped Janus' arm, pulling him away from Calvert and fixed a firm stare onto Coil, seeming to stare into his very soul. "You have been warned. Do not make us intervene again."
Space warped around the two beings and like that, Coil was alone again. Ever so slowly he began to laugh hysterically, even as his amassed forces began their assault upon the Hebert residence. Why did the outcome even matter? Coil was done either way. Only Thomas Calvert would remain when it was all over. Still giggling to himself, he ignored the drone footage and began looking up pleasant places to retire. Somewhere nice and sunny.
And as far away from Brockton Bay as he could possibly manage.