Gathering Clouds 2.5

Vulcan examined Taylor's meager workspace with a critical eye. "Let's give this place an upgrade, shall we?"

His hammer was made of a pitch black metal with strange symbols carved into it. The symbols glowed with a bright red light. Taylor was reminded of Xander's prosthetic or Archmage's staff.

Vulcan took a deep breath and closed his eyes. They snapped open, glowing the same red as his hammer and he raised it with a mighty roar before slamming it into the ground! Rather than shattering or otherwise being damaged, the air became heavy and dense with raw energy. The basement expanded, the walls pushing outwards and made the rather small space much bigger.

Glancing around, Vulcan began to laugh deeply. "You really lucked out with how our powers interact."

"How so?" Taylor asked curiously.

"Because normally my powers are tied to a physical location." The large man explained. "But it seems they're tied directly to you instead. Interesting." He lumbered over to the full forge that had somehow appeared in the expanded area and inspected the meager tools that the basement had already contained. "I need some raw materials. I can transmute existing metals into my own vulcanium, but I can't make something from nothing." Vulcan let out an annoyed grunt. "Not yet at least. And since that punk kid Archmage launched all that valuable scrap into orbit just to be a spiteful prick, I recommend the trainyard. Let's get going."

Before Taylor could protest he walked out of the basement and house. Not wanting her projection to get into any trouble, she followed, though she had to speed up her pace to keep up with Vulcan's own brisk walk.

"What's vulcanium exactly?" She asked, voice laced with minor irritation that Vulcan was being so brusque.

"Meta-material of my own design, can easily be colored any shade for custom jobs, is stronger than anything else on the planet, lighter than it should be, and it channels the cosmic energy/ radiation stuff that gives supers their powers." Vulcan listed off. "Also my gear can grant ordinary folks enhanced skill (if it's a weapon at least) and minor Brute/ Mover ratings."

"So you're kind of like a Tinker/Trump?"

"You could say that's how I use my powers." Vulcan agreed. "I used to commit bank robberies or fight for the highest bidder. But I quickly realized that I took no pleasure in violence, only my craft. So I changed business models. Started making weapons and armor, some for heroes, some for villains, or just those who could pay me enough." A look of nostalgia passed across his features for a moment. "Good times."

"Why does my power keep giving me villains…?" Taylor muttered.

Vulcan let out a deep chuckle at her words. "Because we're still people too and we have a vested interest in keeping this Earth safe." He turned and looked her dead in the eye. "A half-life is still better than permanent death."

Upon arrival at the trainyard, hulking rusted out train cars and shipping containers laying everywhere, Vulcan began to rip off chunks of scrap metal and examine them intently. Whenever he found a piece he seemed to like, he'd grunt and then shove it into his tool belt, which must have been bigger on the inside or something.

Once Vulcan was satisfied, he looked once more around the trainyard. "This would've been a good base of operations, but I suppose your house will do."

"Speaking of, how are you going to stop my dad from noticing the expanded basement?" Taylor asked wryly. "I mean sure he isn't the most observant guy, but he'll definitely notice the tech stashed down there and the fact it's several times its original size."

"I'll throw up a compulsive effect to make him stay out." Vulcan replied idly while seeming to find another interesting piece. "You should set up a teleportation pad or a few secret entrances. That way you won't be caught sneaking in or out of the house."

"You can make teleporters now too?"

"Not me. Electronics and my power don't mesh well together. Too much fine detail, too much cosmic energy. It's why my gear tends to be more classical weapons and armor, just simple metal and other basic materials."

"Who would you recommend then?"

"Eh," Vulcan shrugged. "Ask Legacy. I didn't know many Tinkers in my day, but the UHF collected them like trading cards."

"I'll keep it in mind." Maybe Marion will have something. "Let's head home."

The sound of clashing metal filled the space of Taylor's basement turned workshop. The smell of burning charcoal and oil pervaded her nostrils. The rhythm of Vulcan's hammer kept at a steady pace, only occasionally interrupted by the super sticking his bare hand into the coals to make sure the temperature was right.

"How much time do I have to craft all this?" Vulcan asked as he hammered away. "I need to know how much power I can invest."

Taylor measured her headache versus past experiences. "I need the gear ready by the end of the week, but it looks like I'm reaching my limit when it comes to keeping you here."

Vulcan grunted in response and seemed to fiddle with a separate piece. "Here." He tossed a small object through the air.

Taylor caught it easily enough and examined the small vulcanium ring that rested in the palm of her hand. A thin band of runes encircled it, glowing a faint silvery color. "Please tell me this won't make me invisible…"

Vulcan chuckled. "A fan of the classics I see. Did they ever make movies on this Earth?"

"They made Lord of the Rings movies?!"

"HA! Damned good ones too." Vulcan bent a piece of metal flat with his hands. "Nah, the ring channels the cosmic power of the Storm. Should take the edge off." He growled in frustration. "Far from my best piece. I was once able to make a necklace that simulated an Emergence of power. Like a temporary second trigger as long as you wore it. But that took a damned long time to make and then that punk Emillio had to go and break it… Ah, anyway, don't rely too much on the ring, but it should at least help you keep us around a bit longer than normal. Eventually you won't even need it anymore."

Taylor nodded in reply and slipped the ring onto her index finger. Immediately her headache receded and she felt invigorated. "So your powers are like Dauntless then right?"

"No."

"But you do the whole empowering items thing…"

"Hrmm." Vulcan let out another grunt. "Not exactly." He stuck a piece into the coals and let it sit there. "I suppose you ought to know so you can use me better. You're the only one who I've had the pleasure of telling." He smiled grimly. "At the most fundamental level, the best way to describe my power is reality manipulation."

"WHAT?!"

"It's not as convenient as you might think." Vulcan ignored her loud shout, yanking the rod of metal out of the fire, testing its softness and then nodding before beginning to hammer at it again. "Like I mentioned earlier, it's linked to a location. My 'domain' if you will. Within that domain the laws of physics become mere suggestions. It's why I'm able to do things like put my hands into the flame or do all this hammering by hand. Vulcanium was my solution to the obvious issue of my power being tied to a location, it ensured that I was never truly powerless. Also I'm able to take the energy that I command within my domain and invest it into objects of power. It's how things like my hammer function. But I'm only able to harness so much power at once. No matter how much I reinforce it, my body remains human." He suddenly turned back to Taylor, eyes filled with an age old sorrow. "Despite all of my power when within my domain, I am far weaker outside of it. It's why having my power tied to you instead is a convenience. Far more mobile that way."

Perhaps it was Taylor's imagination, but she felt that she could detect a note of pain in there. She decided to store that tidbit away for the moment. "So how strong are you within your domain as compared to outside of it?"

Vulcan let out a hum of thought. "Inside of it, I am practically invincible. Mostly. I can still be fought, I can still be beaten, I just don't know who could, other than a veritable army of supers. Outside of my domain… Eh, I could probably fight one of your Triumvirate."

"Bullshit. You just said you're weaker outside your domain!"

"Yeah, that would be weaker." He turned burning red eyes onto Taylor. "While I have not fought them myself, only seen your memories of them, I am confident I could kill an Endbringer, if it was within my area of influence. Even without the full breadth of my powers, the amount of energy I have invested into my weapons and armor outside of my AoE would still be very powerful."

"That has to be the most ridiculous claim I've ever heard." Taylor outright laughed in incredulity from the sheer arrogance of it all.

"You'll see." Vulcan replied. "Though when the day comes that you must fight an Endbringer… well, I would not be the one to call upon."

"Then who should I summon?" Taylor felt her guts churning at the mere thought of fighting an Endbringer.

"You'll know." Vulcan solemnly replied.

Once again Taylor found herself sitting across from one of her projections in a cafe, though this one was much different from her conversation with Peyton. Short black hair that was graying at the edges, a well maintained beard, and bright green eyes. Archmage or Daylen as he introduced himself, looked much more like a movie star or perhaps someone's rich, but nice father, than a supervillain.

Emerald eyes danced with mirth as he took in their surroundings. "Very forward of you my dear, but I'm afraid you're a good deal too young for me."

Taylor gave him a flat look in response.

He chuckled and took a sip of the drink in front of him. "Tea?"

"It's better than coffee."

"Oh I am not displeased, it's simply surprising to see one at your age who isn't enamored with coffee." He took another sip. "Though to be fair I am a proponent of coffee myself. Used to own a chain of cafes in fact."

Taylor raised an eyebrow. "Weren't you a supervillain?"

"I needed a legitimate business to launder the money through." Daylen shrugged in response. "I had a whole megacorporation in fact. It was a good backup in case the whole supervillain thing went to hell, it was a handy retirement plan."

"How do you justify it?" Taylor asked with a frown while crossing her arms. "How do you justify being a… a criminal?"

"The world is not so black and white as you think it to be." Daylen replied, his voice growing a degree colder. "You think because I flaunt the arbitrary laws of men that I am a bad person?" He leaned forward, eyes practically glowing. "I have seen true evil. I have battled true evil. And while many I worked with were no saints, the very same applies to the heroes you aspire to be like." His tone softened. "You have a kind of idealism that would see you become a true hero in my world, but here, in this broken, wretched place called Earth Bet? You will be crushed beneath the weight of your own self imposed expectations, called a villain and a monster by those you wish to help." He leaned back and snorted. "Or maybe I've just gotten cynical in my old age. Take my wisdom or leave it, it doesn't truly matter to me anymore I suppose."

Taylor had to bite her tongue to keep from yelling as she turned over what Daylen said in her mind. "Is this Earth really so different from yours? That you don't think someone genuine can be a hero?"

"Oh you have your genuine heroes. Legend in particular strikes me as what I'd dub a 'true' hero, the kind I tried not to kill when I could help it." Daylen complimented (?) the Triumvirate leader. "But I think the difference is that… Our world had hope. We had optimism for the future and we had the example of Legacy to aspire to. Even us villains, most of us were not monstrous. In fact, we were heroes to people in other countries, it was only in the U.S we were villains." He looked around sadly. "This world has lost hope. The Endbringers have seen to that. Now it's a desperate bid to hold onto a decaying society that will crumble in the coming decades. The PRT and Protectorate are too focused on public opinion, too full of those simply furthering their career, as if such a thing matters in the face of imminent destruction."

He sighed and set aside the finished tea. "Why do you seek the wisdom of an old supervillain anyway? Aren't you an aspiring hero?"

Taylor looked away from those damnable empathetic eyes and into her cup like it held the secrets of the universe. "I used to admire the Protectorate so much. They are, or at least I thought they were, everything I wanted to be. Strong, brave, willing to help those in need, just… heroic. And the closer I've gotten, the more that image seems to just be fiction. I want to figure out what it means to be a hero on my own and decide what kind I'll be."

Daylen regarded her for a long minute and then chuckled warmly and ruffled her hair. "You're going to go far kiddo. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Days later and Taylor sat on the edge of a rooftop, clad in her armor, a spear by her side (she'd wanted a sword, but Vulcan had insisted a spear would be better), staring at the helm Vulcan had forged for her. Instead of its ordinary black coloration, Vulcan had made it all gold and silver, beautifully worked and etched with patterns that glowed faintly with the Storm's energy.

She looked to each side of her at the assembled team. Dryad, Erection, Deadeye, Launch, Conductor, and Kite. Above her in the night sky, Legacy and ReNew floated side by side, ready to act as backup.

"It's time." Taylor whispered, sliding on the helmet.

Then she threw herself from the rooftop. Tonight, the Merchants ended. The cleansing of Brockton Bay began now.