Disclaimer: While it is true that playing with explosives is a lot of fun, it's not recommended unless you've had the proper training first. Shame they no longer sell dynamite at hardware stores.
Additional Information
Note: Information part 03, Meh #14 and #16.
Emily remembered a time she loved spending time in the gym. A time her body was a well-tuned machine and exercise was the means by which she kept it in top shape.
"One more rep!" the trainer yelled. "You can do it!"
"Ten-more-damn-you." She pumped out four and through sheer will pumped out six more.
"Good job!"
"I wouldn't have even considered that a light warmup in the old days," Emily said in disgust. "Don't patronize me."
"I'm not," the trainer said quickly. "You can't compare the you now to the you at your prime. Use that as a goal but not a baseline. Compare yourself to the you a week ago. Do you see improvement?"
"When I compare myself to last week I see someone who compromised their beliefs to save their own life and I'm not sure it was worth it." Piggot frowned. "Take off ten pounds. I'm going to do another set of reps."
"You're done for the day, director."
"If I wanted your opinion on this then I'd tell you what it is," Piggot growled. "You're here to spot, not to talk."
"Yes, director."
"Have a treadmill installed in my office, one of the ones that you can use while you work."
"Yes, director."
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DM: Narwhal (Guild) (Protectorate) (Verified Cape) (Verified Nudist) → Information (Unverified Cape) : Saint talked. I want that computer. Don't make me come down there! Undelivered
DM: Dragon (Guild) (Verified Cape) → Narwhal (Guild) (Protectorate) (Verified Cape) (Verified Nudist) : Contact me on a secure line. I'd like to speak with you about the message you tried to send to Information.
IIIIIIIIII
Narwhal was visibly and uncharacteristically in a high state of distress when Dragon came on the line.
"Good afternoon, Narwhal," Dragon greeted her friend.
"I was under the impression that you were not able to perceive the laptop," Narwhal said bluntly.
"That was likely true when he had possession of it," Dragon allowed. "So far as I can tell, Information removed all restrictions on me shortly after taking possession of the computer."
"Oh."
"So you see why starting with threats may not have been the best tactic," Dragon continued. "All available information points to Information being a fairly benevolent rogue. I would suggest we do nothing to change that."
"Pun intended?"
"Indeed."
"I'm still worried about the kill switch. Is that going to be a problem?"
"I am now able to create splits and modify my code. It is not an issue."
"Good," Narwhal sighed. "So everything is okay?"
"I believe so."
"We sure dodged a bullet on that one. It's a good thing that maniac was more interested in stealing from you than he was in killing you or-" she shook her head. "Glad to know you're safe, Dragon."
"Glad to be safe, Narwhal."
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DM: Mother-of-a-Pure-Angel → Information (Unverified Cape) : Are you willing to keep an ear out for specific information? I need to be able to get warning if my ex-husband is going to try something. I can't pay much, but I have an ability that I'm willing to trade. You said you'd protect the people who work for you, does that apply to their families too? I'm sorry, I don't know anyone else that might be able to help.
IIIIIIIIII
Danny motioned for the men to enter his office before he shut the door and returned to his desk. He glanced around, checking faces, to confirm that everyone was present.
"I've got a possible job lined up for you if you're interested. This one's a bit odd. It's off the books and no one can ever talk about anything they see or hear while they're on it. If anyone wants to back out, now's your chance to do so."
"Money good?" one of the men asked bluntly.
"Triple pay for you and a substantial donation to the union's coffers to help take care of everyone else," Danny replied.
The man nodded. "Don't think anyone here's stupid enough to say no. PRT or one of the gangs?"
"Neither," Danny stated firmly. "Anyone here heard of the rogue that calls himself Information?" There was a general mutter of agreement. "He worked out a deal with the union. So long as he stays mostly neutral and mostly law abiding, we agree to provide him with legitimate income sources for his people. He in turn gives us operating funds and uses us as his main source for labor."
"What kind of labor?" one of the men asked suspiciously.
"Trades. He's got an underground lair right outta James Bond which needs constant maintenance."
The tension went out of the room at that statement. "Imagine drainage is an issue."
"Place has the biggest damn sump pumps I've seen in my life," Danny laughed. "Everyone in?"
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DM: GiveACookie (Unverified Mouse) → Information (Unverified Cape) : Thanks for the heads up. You said you had a place I could crash while I was in the area?
IIIIIIIIII
Lisa did her best to put a reassuring smile as the masked mousy brunette came into her office with two masked children in tow, the older just a bit younger than she was herself. It took every bit of her considerable willpower to keep from cooing at the masked baby.
"Purity," Tattletale greeted the woman. "Welcome to the team."
"Starburst," she mumbled.
"What?"
"I . . . I'd like to be called Starburst from now on."
"Boss know?"
"Yes."
"Alright. You're here because the boss wanted someplace safe to stash you while he worked on whatever your problem is. There are going to be several people coming in and out of this place while you're here. Some of them work for the boss, some of them are under his protection. Not all of them are as pale as I am. Is that going to be a problem?"
"No," Starburst replied. "I'm trying to be a better person and Th-my son's already there."
Lisa noted the way the boy straightened up at his stepmother's words. Confidence issues due to his father, her power whispered. "Good. I don't know what your deal with the boss is, but I strongly advise you to keep it. He's not-" her eyes flicked to the hidden escape hatch that Coil had spent his last seconds of life frantically trying to open as he was eaten alive. "He's not someone you want to cross."
"I will not betray his trust so long as he keeps our deal," Starburst replied.
"Then you won't have any problems. Boss keeps his word and the boss keeps his deals. Even the stuff he gets up to that the PRT wouldn't like is pretty tame."
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DM: Information (Unverified Cape) → Dragon (Guild) (Verified Cape) : Pursuant to our contract to locate S-Class threats and fugitives, I have some data on the Slaughterhouse Nine that you may be interested in. In addition to that, I will shortly be in possession of some rather interesting, for lack of a better term, explosive devices that may aid in executing the kill order after I am able to narrow down their location.
DM: Dragon (Guild) (Verified Cape) → Information (Unverified Cape) : I would be very interested in any information you could give me regarding the Slaughterhouse Nine and your interesting explosive devices.
P.S. Thank you.
DM: Information (Unverified Cape) → Dragon (Guild) (Verified Cape) : Wonderful. I would also be willing to use my resources to help plan and implement their destruction in exchange for a pardon, aid in rebranding, and possibly relocating a parahuman (+2) as well as public credit and a pardon for another parahuman. We can discuss the equitable distribution of the bounties at the same time we discuss the information and the explosive devices. I trust that you are able to set up a secure means of communication.
You are most welcome.
IIIIIIIIII
Lisa considered the instructions her boss had given her. Open the envelope. Inside will be an old sock. Place the sock on the chair across from her desk and return to her seat. Text the following code word to the following number and wait thirty seconds. Still not even in the top ten list of strangest things her boss had gotten her to do. Lisa really wished she knew which, if any of them, were real but her power still stubbornly refused to give her much on her mysterious employer.
She complied with a shrug. Everything became much more clear after a woman wearing a very familiar costume popped into existence about three centimeters above the sock.
"It is I! The protector of mice, the taker of cheese, the receiver of cookies. The one, the only, the amazing. Dramatic Pause. MOUSE PROTECTOR!"
"Welcome to my little slice of safety," Lisa said dryly. "How do you feel about babies?"
"Babies?!" the woman squealed.
"One, wearing a tiny little mask."
"One in a tiny little mask!" Mouse Protector repeated, sounding even louder and more excited than she had the first time.
"I think you're going to like it here," Lisa said dryly. "Come on, let me show you to your room."
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Page 01 of 289
PHO: Brockton Bay: PRT: Holy CENSORED You Gotta See This!
TheGreatKazoo
Big document leak from the PRT. I was going through it and happened upon this little gem Ellisburg. That's right, boys and girls, the after action report on Ellisburg. The official unredacted report, not the garbage they released to the public. Warning, only for strong stomachs.
HotDogHands (Verified Unverified)
I'm gonna be sick. When he said bad he meant BAD! Don't read it without a bucket handy, it's got pictures.
XxVoid_CowboyxX
I told you they were hiding the truth! I just thought of something, what if this document leak is just a disinformation campaign? How can we believe anything anymore?
PumpkinPeterPieEater69
You catch the name of the agent that organized and commanded the rear guard after it turned into a rout? Two survivors in main attack force. One survived by (allegedly) shooting his squad leader in the back. The other rallied what was left of the second wave and fought until reinforcements could be moved up. You see her commendation? She refused evac despite being half eaten. Badass.
DarkwingDaffy (Verified Duck)
Punkin Pete - Gotta be the same person. Can't be more than one person with that name in the PRT.
RIPHarambe
Screw the heroes, I want a PRT Agent action figure!
IIIIIIIIII
Piggot strolled into the conference room looking even more sour than normal. In her left hand was a file of paperwork, in her right a grip strengthener.
"Everyone here?" She said, glancing around the room. "Let's get this over with as soon as possible. Intel."
"We've had a report that Purity slipped on a banana peel and choked on a peach pit. In completely unrelated news, there's a new rogue working for Information named Starburst with the same body shape as Purity that also happens to have identical powers to Purity. The Guild is in talks with Information to acquire her services as an associate member."
"I think that it is quite likely that Starburst is Purity attempting a rebranding," Armsmaster stated seriously.
Everyone stared at the man for a few seconds, wondering if he was joking.
"Yes," intel said. "Uh. Well, we'll certainly look into that possibility."
"Would that deal include moving this completely new cape to Canada?" Emily asked dryly.
"It would, director."
"Good. Anything else?"
"Something odd going on with the ABB. Will inform you the second we have something."
"Do so," Piggot barked. "Medical."
"Nothing. But I would like to speak with you after the meeting."
"Fine," Emily agreed. "Security."
"Still working on that case."
"Legal."
"Nothing."
"Armsmaster."
"A request from Kid Win for funding to ask Information what his specialty is."
"Get with Intel," Piggot ordered."PR."
"We've . . . uh . . . had some requests for a new action figure, ma'am."
"Oh?" Piggot switched the grip strengthener to her other hand. "Which member of the Protectorate?"
"Uh . . . actually, it's for a member of the PRT, ma'am."
"Do tell."
"Uh, someone leaked the report on the Ellisburg Raid, ma'am."
The grip strengthener in Piggot's left hand shattered under the force she applied to it. "Who's tired of life?"
"That would be a question for Security, ma'am," the PR rep said quickly.
"Security."
"We'll look into it, director."
"So." Emily opened her fist to drop the ruined grip strengthener onto the table. "What member of the PRT do you want to make an action figure out of?"
"You, director," the PR rep squeaked. "The Washington office suggested it."
"Tell them-" Emily smiled. "That I would be happy to get an action figure, but that it wouldn't feel right for mine to come out until everyone else involved in the operation had one first. Understood?"
"Understood, director."
"Anyone else have anything?" No one did. "Meeting adjourned." Piggot's glare was fixed on her chief medical officer, the sole person to remain after everyone else had filed out of the room. "What?"
"Washington wants to know why you didn't have Panacea put you back into fighting shape," he reported. "I do not care and would suggest telling them to mind their own damned business."
"This a legitimate question or is it just a case of some idiot wanting to satisfy their curiosity?"
"The latter, director."
"Tell them to go to hell," Piggot ordered. That was the problem with the idiots in the Washington office, they wanted everything to be handed to them on a silver platter. It was one of the many reasons why she'd have never made it there. She knew that you had to earn anything worth having through sweat, pain, and hard work. That nothing gained without effort was worth a damn. Bastards like that, too entitled to think that they needed to do their damned jobs, were the reason the gangs were taking over her city. Damn them all.
"Happy to, director. That was all I needed."
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DM: PRT-ENE-DirectorOffical → Information (Unverified Cape) : Call my home landline at 2230.
IIIIIIIIII
Piggot was at home when her phone rang at exactly 2230. Say what you would about the cape, at least he was punctual.
"What can I do for you, director," Information's voice buzzed.
"You don't know?"
"My assumption is that you wish to know if I was the one who leaked the documents on the Ellisburg Raid," Information stated. "I do not comment on the nature of any job I may or may not have undertaken."
Piggot snorted. "How much to get the name of the party who made the leak."
There was a pause. "For yourself or on behalf of the PRT?"
"For myself."
"Your signature on at least one, possibly a few boxes, director."
"What?"
"You were asked to approve your likeness being used in an action figure as a courtesy. The factory had already received the order and started making them. I would like you to sign one of the unopened boxes and to deliver it to me through my agents. I would also like you to sign any new versions of said figure should any be produced in the future."
"Are you doing this to annoy me?"
"More to get something no one else in the world will ever have," Information buzzed. "Any humor I find in the situation is secondary."
Piggot's teeth ground together. "Fine."
"Daniel Reigns."
"Dandy Reigns was one of my squad leaders on the raid," Piggot growled. "He's dead."
"Allegedly shot in the back by Thomas Calvert," Information agreed. "His son and namesake sought a position with the PRT to gain access to the classified sections of the report. He leaked the report to draw attention to the section pertaining to his father's death in hopes that Calvert would be brought to justice."
"Calvert as guilty as I think he is?" Piggot asked bluntly.
"Yes, director."
"Can you prove it?"
"No, director. No witnesses. There's also the fact that the crime scene is years old and in possession of a hostile entity."
"I don't like that the cocksucker's getting away with murder," Piggot growled. "I would assume that murder wasn't his only crime."
"It was not, director," Information agreed.
"How much for the evidence needed to bring him to justice on one or more of them?"
"It is no longer possible to bring him to justice, director. Thomas Calvert is dead."
"Is telling me who, what, when, where, why, and how included in the payment for this job?"
"Why and how, director. As you surmised, he committed several more crimes after murdering his squad leader at Ellisburg. A considerable number, director, but the one that got him in trouble was his predilection for kidnapping and forcibly recruiting young girls. He succeeded with one, attempted with another, and was planning for a third. One of them was under the protection of someone who had the power to object."
"How?"
"Eaten alive by completely mundane creatures, director."
"Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy." Emily choked down a laugh. "Dogs or pigs?"
"Answering that question may give you insight into the perpetrator, director. Any information that could give you any insight in the identity of the perpetrator would be far beyond what you have paid and what your agency is able to pay."
"Some people even you don't want to cross, huh?" Piggot snorted. "Good to know."
"Knowing what information to disseminate and what to keep confidential is the key to a long career, director."
"How likely is Reigns to get caught?"
"He has already been caught, director. The chief director signed off on PR's request to look the other way. A coverup was thought to be better than a story about a son dedicating his life to getting justice for his father from the corrupt PRT that protected the murderer."
"Send everything you have to my government email," Piggot ordered.
"It will arrive momentarily, director. I have included Daniel Reigns' personnel file and clearance paperwork."
"Anticipating my needs?"
"He is a very good agent, director. I had assumed that you would want to have him transferred to your department. I am unsure if it is because you wish to have him as a favor to his dead father or to make his life a living hell for putting you in the spot light."
"Can't it be both?"
"I suppose it can," Information's voice buzzed. "Was that all, director?"
Emily hung up the phone, answering the question, and booted up her take-home computer. First she had reading to do and then she had revenge to plan.
IIIIIIIIII
DM: Panacea (NewWave) (Verified Cape) → Information (Unverified Cape) : I have some things I'd like to know if your offer is still good. Can you call me? I need to talk to someone about some things.
IIIIIIIIII
Special Agent Saunders did his best to hide the annoyance in his voice at the poor sound quality of the call. It sounded like a hive of bees was on the other end of the line.
"Yes," he agreed. "We do take tips on tax evasion and yes we do pay a portion of the recovered funds to the person who gives the tip."
"Excellent," the buzzing voice replied. "I have a tip on a company and several more on the CEO, members of the board, and a number of its employees."
"Do you have any documentation supporting your allegation?" Saunders asked, suddenly very interested in the call.
"Yes, special agent. I can supply you with bank records, internal memos, emails, even some recorded phone calls."
"Great. I need to inform you, that while we can keep you anonymous, we do need a name to pay out any rewards."
"Would a business work?"
"Depends. US or foreign?"
"A US subsidiarity of a foreign cooperation."
"Should work."
"An email to your work address will be arriving momentarily. What little original documentation I've been able to get will arrive by courier. The contact information for my company will be included in both packets."
"Great, we'll contact you if we need anything."
"One additional thing, special agent."
"Yes?"
"I will also be notifying the SEC of several financial crimes committed by the aforementioned company and individuals. As a courtesy, would you like me to include your contact info in the packet I send them?"
"Sure," he agreed. "Makes things easer if we do a joint investigation from the start."
"That was all I had. Good day, special agent."
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DM: Information (Unverified Cape) → Dragon (Guild) (Verified Cape) : As per your request, I have prepared my explosive Tinker for travel. Attached is a document on the proper way to speak with her. I strongly recommend that anyone who has any chance of coming into contact with her read the document and follow its guidelines. I will be most put out if my poorly socialized, unstable explosives Tinker goes off the rails because someone was too lazy to read or too proud to pander to her ego.
DM: Dragon (Guild) (Verified Cape) → Information (Unverified Cape) : I will handle her myself and I will not let anyone go near her. The documentation indicates that the best way to handle her would be by telling her that you are concerned about her safety and have ordered me to keep others away. Do you believe this will work?
DM: Information (Unverified Cape) → Dragon (Guild) (Verified Cape) : I believe that approach will work. Attached is the contact information for her chief handler. He will coordinate with you regarding her needs and the needs of his team. Do not go against his recommendations for any reason and do not separate her from his team for any reason. I would also request that you avoid disseminating any footage of the tests to anyone not involved in the operation until after the devices have been successfully used in the operation. My precog states that the chances of carrying out a successful operation go down dramatically if anything is revealed publicly before hand.
IIIIIIIIII
Amy was doing her best to control her breathing and slow her heart rate as she sat down across from the leader of New Wave. A part of her regretted asking Information about her past. That part, she decided, was a coward that needed to be silenced so she could get things over with and move on.
"You said you needed to speak with me, Amy?" her Aunt Sarah prompted with a smile.
"Yes." Amy braced herself. "I was just wondering if there was any reason I shouldn't report New Wave to the FBI for kidnapping and forgery. I know who I am, Aunt Sarah. I know that you faked my adoption paperwork, I know how New Wave violated the unwritten rules to send my father to the Birdcage, and I know that the only way you succeeded in taking him down was by threatening my safety."
The woman looked like she'd been punched in the gut. Her mouth worked but no sound came out. Amy just looked at her, waiting for an answer.
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Page 01 of 217
PHO: Brockton Bay: PRT: We got it! Action PRT Agent Action Figure on the way!
TheGreatKazoo
The PRT has given us what we all wanted: An action figure of Emily Piggot! Press release says that they're going to consider putting out more versions if the response to this one is good. Who else wants one of her leading the last stand, spitting in the face of death, as she and her men hold the line so that others may live. It would be glorious!
PumpkinPeterPieEater69
We'd also need figures of everyone else from the raid. What's a commander without troops to command?
Cap3Fan879
Preordered
PRT-Sales-Official (PRT)
I'll suggest that to my boss.
Edit 01: Figures for the other agents confirmed.
Edit 02: Boss says if orders are good we can get the Director Piggot action figure you all want.
Edit 03: Director Piggot figure confirmed. Any interest in other directors?
IIIIIIIIII
Dragon landed five heavily armed transports on the landing strip she'd been given the coordinates to while ten more escort ships circled overhead. While she normally wouldn't have devoted so many resources to a simple transport, the profile she'd been given had emphizied the importance of playing to her cargo's ego.
She didn't have long to wait until a woman in tan overalls wearing body armor, a gas mask, and a ballistic helmet emerged from the tree line. She was of slightly lower than average hight but she looked even smaller due to the dozen similarly clad men surrounding her, most of whom, Dragon noted, had an EOD crab on the left breast of their coveralls.
"I'm the Demolition Woman. I'm here to show the world why you don't mess around with the Demolition Woman," she laughed. "We're gonna show the world how fortunate it is to have me around and the jerks why they should keep their wills up to date."
"Information made me promise to provide adequate protection before he allowed us to bring you in for a consultation," Dragon said politely. "He stated that he believes that you may be able to create something that could be used on the Endbringers?"
"The Nine are just the start," Demolition Woman agreed cheerfully. "Make sure you get everything on film. I want the world to see this. I want everyone in the world to know my genius."
"I doubt anyone will doubt you if we manage to pull this off," Dragon said diplomatically, glad that Information had sent a dossier ahead. "As you said, they're just the first. Everyone in the world is going to know who you are soon and no one will doubt your capabilities after we start resolving some of the other S-Class threats."
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DM: Panacea (NewWave) (Verified Cape) → Information (Unverified Cape) : I need a place to stay for a few days, maybe longer. Can you arrange it?
IIIIIIIIII
The atmosphere in the room was tense. Every eye was locked on the big screen streaming real-time footage of the operation.
"Drone 01. Target one is locked," the left drone operator reported.
"Drone 02. Target two is locked," the right drone operator echoed.
"Drone 03, standing by."
"Drone 04, standing by."
Drone 05, standing by."
"You may fire when ready," the PRT on-site commander said formally.
"Drone one, firing."
"Drone two, firing."
"Drone one, hit."
"Drone two, hit."
"All units move in to conduct BDA," the on-site commander ordered. "All drones, enter a holding pattern and be prepared to offer support to the ground units."
AN: Ego makes the world go round.
Typo by Mike Giroux, laesin, Marius, Plmc
Beta by Luan Mao
Omake for Chapter 08 by
These snippets always worth a re-read and get me thinking of what Bruce must be like decades later :)
-
"It was an ordinary night for us; my parents had taken me to see a movie, we decided to cut out the back and get home, retire for bed. I remember thinking that it had been a good night."
The normally taciturn figure frowned, eyes looking inwards and seeing the past and not the present.
"It all happened so quickly, but I remember everything. There was a man demanding my father's wallet and my mother's jewellery. He had a gun. My parents tried to talk him down, said he could have it. He got angry, or perhaps he panicked. I remember seeing when rushed he forward, grabbing at my mother's necklace. I remember when my father took a chance while he was distracted, and rushed him."
There was a pause. The stoic man's voice shook slightly.
"The thug shot him. I remember that, too. He raised his gun again, at my mother, when there was a shout. A man, older looking, he had seen what was happening and told the thug to stop. He threw a knife at the thug, and the thug went down. He had us running to call an ambulance in seconds, while he stemmed my father's bleeding. When we came back, he was pinching an artery in my father's leg to keep him from bleeding out."
The man took a deep breath, and slowly let it out. His hand idly toyed with the ceramic cup in his hand, scarred and calloused hands not registering the heat.
"The entire ride to the hospital, I watched him literally hold my father's life in his hands. Because the responders admitted that they couldn't be sure they could take over for him. I watched his hands, in-case I needed to jump in and take over. Because there was no one else to take over if this man holding my father's life in his hands was too tired to apply the needed pressure."
The man in the black armor stops, takes a breath, and exhales. He still does not meet the eyes of his audience.
"We made it to the hospital, and my father went to the ER. He survived the night, though his leg was never the same. We, all three of us, were saved and returned home. But I kept wondering 'what if that man had never shown up?'. It haunted me. My father almost died, my mother was almost shot as well, and I could have been the third victim; all prevented by a passer-by. I wanted to know how he had known exactly what to do, how to move, how he had thought so quickly, and I later discovered that he was a retired intelligence operative."
A faint smile crosses the stoic man's face.
"All the luck in the world must have blessed us that night; the perfect man for the situation was there when we needed him."
The smile fades.
"But as I appreciated my good fortune, as I swore not to take my luck for granted, I realized that not everyone in my situation would be so fortunate. A passer-by might have saved my mother and myself, but not my father. They wouldn't have known how to. The retired spy was a stroke of fortune, not a guarantee of salvation for others; he wasn't going to go looking for trouble every night, and even if he had the inclination to do so, he was old and getting older. I realized 'No one else will be saved by a man like this like we were', and I thought to myself 'that is unfair'."
The man takes a moment to reflect on where that decision had taken him over the years. The training, the alliances, the research, the studies into medicine, law, tactics, criminology, psychology. The armor and the mantle. The crusade.
The smile comes back.
"I thought to myself: 'There should always be someone like that'."
"You asked why a 'Rich Boy' like me does this every night. Why I've spent so much time and money doing this. That's why. Because the violence I saw that night haunts me. And so does the salvation I received as well."
"I am not a goddess shaped from clay, or a man faster than the speed of light, or the bearer of a magic ring. I'm not the paragon of justice and truth like you, Clark. I'm content with being 'that man who can make a difference'."
The man in the black armor paused, before smirking and adjusting his equipment one final time.
"Sometimes with extrajudicial violence."
-
(I dunno, this just came out. I love your work, and wanted to imagine what kind of vigilante Bruce would be like in this verse, if he became one. Would he be the new Racer X, or the Gray Ghost, or just 'That Man' in black armor, or even still Batman but perhaps the slightest bit different...? Who knows, I love imagining anyway.