Harbinger-Number man

June 4th 2000

King was dead and Jack was shifting course for the Nine, less organized crime, more freedom and wanton slaughter, point is we were going mobile. Partly out of necessity because when you escalate things, eventually so does the other side. I was crunching the numbers of our latest score, trying to figure out how to keep the trains running on time. Jack hated that, he was all about improvising and honestly I loved the guy, but it was starting to grate on me.

"Let's head to Seattle, you know try to rattle the cage and-"

"99.99999999 percent of you dying, 99.9 percent of a total party kill, let's just face facts, Seattle is off limits."

"We can beat the odds, we've done it before."

"No...not this time, this is an Endbringer and we're not going to have the backing of a good chunk of the worlds heroes and villians if we fight him. Just let it go Jack."

The others were listening in, Jack had a tendency to whine like a petulant child when he didn't get his way.

"Come on, think of the art."

"I'm thinking about our next safe house, our next meal, our next get away vehicle, you know the practical stuff that keeps us from getting killed."

I continued going through the computer, shifting through the data.

"What you working on?"

"Crunching the numbers, and well, they're not good."

"And?"

"Look a lot of capes end up ending their careers because of injuries, or death, or burn out. The PRT's been burning through capes fast because of Endbringer fights and just the normal wear and tear on the streets."

He shrugged.

"So?"

"So theres been a big massive spike of returning heroes, we're talking about veterans here, people who actually know their shit."

"They have some has-beens."

"Jack some of those veterans have a serious grudge for us, and they know our tricks. It's not enough to stop us but it's something to keep in mind."

I continued looking through my computer.

"What's that?"

I smiled.

"Something big, something hidden and black ops, it could be the edge we need."

Jack smiled wickedly and got ready to motivate the troops.

August 30th 2000

Streets have gotten rougher, the PRT's using their new edge to take out the worst of the worst while playing softball with villians who keep things under check. We still have the numbers, but now they have a nuclear option and everyone knows it. From the data I gathered it gets worse the further west you go. Seattle's pretty much a no go zone for people like us these days.

Place is pretty much owned lock, stock and barrel by the PRT and rogues are flocking there. To make things worse, a lot of former rogues who were press ganged into becoming villians have defected, and it's doing a lot of damage. It's like a golden age is coming to an end. Jack just doesn't see that things are changing, that we might have to leave the country if we want to keep this up. I'm looking for a score, an edge and the numbers are starting to come together. I have a location, a big one. This might be what the Slaughterhouse Nine needs to stay in the game.

September 13th 2000

3 days until Naples, Italy is attacked by Leviathan, the Endbringer truce is in full effect world wide. Heroes and villains alike are mobilizing and heading to Italy. Ironwood is already there building defenses, from what I've gathered they're still limiting what he's allowed to do, but with the prospect of another Kyushu the Italian government has given them carte blanche. Full evacuation orders are in effect and we have found the facility.

It's going to take awhile, but we're going to strike and strike hard, gather all the tinkertech we can and use it to keep our group going, god our lives would be so much easier if we had a tinker on our side.

September 15th 2000

Fuck... fuck fuck...Jack has decided to jump the gun, go balls to the walls. The facility is armed to the teeth, robots, and drones, and every kind of defense. I admit it, I feel alive, alive as we slaughter our way through their forces. There are capes here but their undisciplined and...

"The Protectorate."

4 of them, nine of us, 8, Jack's winging it again. I hate it when he splits the party, I hate it even more when he pulls shit off despite my warnings. He becomes fucking insufferable after that. The Protectorate's laying us on our asses, despite my leadership, despite every calculation we're surviving, but we're being pushed back.

"Fucking hell, Jack."

I stared at the woman.

"Made a new friend, call her Siberian."

I blinked as she... hero or not, he's going to be dead real soon, he's been bisected, Alexandras screaming at her now bloody face. Eidolon's face contorts in rage he takes his two team mates and vanishes. Legend is giving us a fight, staying out of range of our new cape. We might win this, Jack dances in glee around the blasts.

"This is the life, this is-"

The numbers get worse as a woman in a fedora shows up, a blank mask covers her face.

"Hey."

Our blaster dies...head shot, I look at jack.

"Deal with Legend, I can take her."

I pulled out my blades and she calmly motioned for me to attack. I jumped on her skill against skill, but she was like a ghost, or a ninja or some thing. Nothing I did remotely affected her and the numbers kept getting worse, kept-

Im pushed off the ledge and land on an exposed pipe its going through my guts the place is on fire. Jacks there and he smiles.

"Sorry, the heat's a bit much, we have to go."

Im weezing I lost a lung the right one, I can make it, I just need his help.

"Help me out of here."

Jack shrugged.

"Can't have you slowing us down."

I frowned it, was getting dark.

"Heck of a way to end a friendship, Jack."

"Sorry Harbinger, it's just the way it shook out."

With that he fled into the night, Legend glowed in the darkness and I felt fear as the fedora girl walked closely.

September 20th 2000

"Wake up."

Everything hurt, a woman in a lab coat stared at me.

"I-"

Pain, the fedora woman is silent.

"You cost us a very important resource Harbinger, and you hurt some very important people."

"Who-"

Pain...

"Who I am doesn't matter, what matters is that right now I'm the one who gets to decide if you live or die, and honestly after you fucked up one of our bases, attacked the Protectorate and oh yes ran off with a very important fucking asset, I'm leaning towards the die option."

I didn't move.

"My power. I'm not a precog, I'm a thinker, a math thinker, if it involves numbers I can crunch it, alter my odds it's why I'm so effective."

She listened in silence, and Alexandria walked in, this was good she was a hero and, she put her hand around my neck.

"You can't you're a-"

I squeeked as my neck felt her power.

"My fiancee was just cut in fucking half, I just had to have an eye regrown, several billion dollars are now down the shitter and a bunch of very important research is gone forever, and after that I had to go through a fucking Endbringer fight were billions upon billions dollars of damage was done. I'm not in a fucking heroic mood right now."

I took in some air.

"You want me to join the Pro-"

"No..."

I blinked.

"But you let an End.."

Alexandra smashed a fist into a wall I closed my mouth, the fedora girl stepped back.

"Here's the difference between you and Ironwood. 1, Ironwood hasn't killed any humans while you, well your death toll is in the low thousands. 2, Ironwood surrendered peacefully to us and has cooperated with us ever since. 3, Ironwood gave us vital intel on humanity's enemies and has agreed to fight in Endbringer battles, he's also given us three days warning each time, so far he's been in 2 Endbringer battles compared to your..."

She paused.

"FUCKING NONE!"

I could taste her rage.

"4, Ironwood has been a helpful asset healing civilians and our personal without complaint. 5, well he's far more powerful then you, and finally he saved Hero's life after you shitstains tried to fucking murder him."

She glared at me.

"So no, you don't get to be a hero, this is what's going to happen, the Slaugherhouse 9 took one of our assets and we're taking one of theres. From now on you work for us, If you try to fuck us you die, if you don't do your, best you die."

The girl in the fedora cracked her knuckles.

"So, where do I start?"

Alexandra July 2nd.

"It has to be a master effect, there's no other reason why we're compelled to watch this."

Hero had an arm around my neck as we watched the clip, Legend shrugged.

"I can do better."

Hero sighed.

"Way to set the gay rights movement back 5 years."

"I'm just saying I can sing it better."

Eidolon stood leaning against the wall.

"He's singing barbie girl, are we... we're not going to let this go online like the others, right?"

I looked at Doctor mother.

"It's not worth our time to stop it and... it's funny, hopefully this will help with morale."

When the clip was finished we switched to the view of him cuddling with the ice tinker.

"Adorable."

Hero was a romantic, I... I appreciated that, in many ways he kept me stable, kept me grounded.

"Did he use some kind of master effect?"

I sighed.

"No, she's clean of that."

"Money, is she after money? Or resources, fame there has to be some kind of..."

I picked up her file and tossed it at him.

"Page 22 to 48, her internet history."

He read through it.

"Robot love, flesh and steel, metallic org...this is all... right I guess there really is a fetish for everything."

We watched as she nuzzled in close.

"So...why did we allow this transfer again?"

Hero fed me some more popcorn.

"The rest of the team is hostile and we needed someone who was willing to play chaperone, a friendly face might help keep him on our side, if there's a chance that a honey pot might work then it's worth trying and of course because it amused me."

Hero put another bit of fluff in my mouth, he smirked.

"It's hilarous, she's just so bad at it and he's so oblivious."

"This is entertainment for you?"

He shrugged.

August 3rd Hero

"KISS HER YOU IDIOT!"

Going over the tapes had become kind of a weekly tradition, the love life of an Ice Tinker and a renegade Endbringer. Alexandria sighed as Ironwood clearly missed the hinting.

"She moved in with him, moved her lab in with him and she cuddles with him in his bed every night and he STILL doesn't get it."

"He's an alien."

She sighed at me.

"But it's so obvious, Doc what do you think?"

Doctor Mother shrugged, holding a wine glass.

"I don't know, on the one hand he's an alien, on the other hand it's like watching two, as you americans say, nerds trying to mate, hilarious and adorable at the same time."

Alexandra turned to Legend.

"Is he gay?"

"Contrary to public belief, gaydar is not an actual superpower."

"Bullshit, is he gay?"

Legend shrugged.

"I don't think so."

Alexandra grumbled and I opened up the box.

"What?"

"I've decided to ask you to-"

Her lips pressed against mine and the others cheered, except for Dave who sulked in a corner. No wait, he was actually clapping too. She put on the ring carefully, and leaned her head against my shoulder. This was the side that most people didn't get to see, when Connie put her hair down and just let herself be human. That's why I told a lot of jokes and tried to get her all flustered every now and then. Well that and she's adorable.

She turned her attention to the screen.

"So, the next Karaoke video?"

August 26th

"WOO!"

We laughed as Ironwood fell right on his face. I looked at Contessa.

"Did you meddle?"

"52 steps, you still owe me that 50 dollars."

I pulled out my wallet and forked over the cash.

"Cheater."

She shrugged as she put the money into her wallet.

September 15th Eidolon

Fuck, fuck fuck, Alexandria's bleeding, nothing ever makes her bleed. Hero's... fuck Hero's missing his other half. I...fuck fuck fuck what would Batman do? I grabbed both of them and teleported out of there. Legend was just going to have to hold down the fort. I trusted him to do that. I had limited amount of time and one option left.

I teleported to Naples, right in front of the Endbringer, I still didn't trust him, not completely but this was for my friends.

"FIX IT, FIX IT, FIX IT!"

God, Hero was getting cold. Come on man, don't! I relaxed as the bleeding stopped, as his heartbeat returned and his legs grew back. He put a hand on Alexandria and the missing eye filled back in. Did I fuck up, were they...

"They're ok now."

"Thank you."

The preperations were still underway and some medical personal took my friends away to be tested. I looked up at him, at Ironwood.

"I wish to talk in the private."

I walked with him through the deserted streets.

"What is it?"

"There is a woman on my team...who has shown interest in me."

He looked nervous and confused.

"I am unfamiliar with human courtship rituals, and don't know if it is ok for me to date a coworker."

I blinked...an Endbringer was asking me for relationship advice, somewhere along the line my life had gone weird, weirder then normal.

"I...ugh look we both know that we could die any day, you might not survive this fight with Leviathan, I might not survive it. People handle it differently, our lifestyle I mean. The girl, um likes you, yes?"

"I got the confession of love, I don't know how to respond."

"Maybe you should go for it, happiness is fleeting and you might not get another chance."

He nodded his head and we stared at the city behind us.

Legend September 18th.

Naples still stood, a tenth of us had died in the fight, it was better then how it went normally. It seemed like the only thing we could do was stall for time. A fourth of the city was gone, half was damaged and a forth untouched. It was about as good as it was going to be. Ironwood sulked, his great coat damaged.

"I preformed poorly."

I grimaced, these fights clearly showed that he had no idea of how to actually fight, but he was kind of like a rodeo clown. He distracted the bull so that the cowboy could get to safety.

"You gave us three days, a whole lot of people would be dead if it wasn't for you."

"So much was lost."

"I know, but you have to concentrate on what's going right instead of all the bad stuff. We're making progress big guy."

He slumped.

"I know it's..."

I could see how frustrated he was.

"I thought I could do more."

"We all wish we could do more, you do your best and then try to get better."

There was silence as we tried to find something to talk about.