Chapter Eight
The streets were clearly shown under the many street lamps. Not to mention the lighted windows. No wonder it was called the 'city that never sleeps'.
I was following Cherie's current lead down what looked like a residential area. The apartment buildings were ridiculous in height compared to the last city. Then again, it was New York.
The few people out were giving us odd looks. Under most circumstances, I would've gone to great lengths to avoid this, but it was unlikely that this would bring much attention.
Covering my face was the same book from Buffalo, while I had purchased a basic red domino mask for Cherie. If we were going to find a group of villains, it was best to exercise some caution.
"To be sure, the group has a noticeably hopeless and hungry member?" Snow crunched beneath my boots with each step.
My partner squinted as she focused on our current path. "Yep. There's a lot of tension too. A real cacophony of strained emotions."
That was excellent. We were getting closer to a very rare opportunity. Simurgh bombs, Eden shards, pseudo Case-53, and other worlders in a seven person package. Christmas came eleven months early.
Against all expectations, no sudden encounter with a local cape occurred. Police or PRT didn't decide to materialize in front of us. Citizens glanced at us with only mild curiosity before losing interest.
That last one was mostly in part by Cherie dialing down people's interest in our appearances, but nothing more.
It would be a lot simpler if we approached out of 'costume', but I came to realize something. Noelle would definitely notice me once I got too close. And if not me, then the amount of Agents I had on my person.
As though the world entertained my very thoughts, a group of costumed individuals burst out of an ordinary apartment. I almost didn't recognize the four parahumans (and one projection). Their outfits were uncoordinated, as though each member was their own solo act.
Trickster was in a gray blazer, white dress shirt, and a crimson opera mask. Sundancer wore a warm leather jacket and a motorcycle helmet with a tinted visor. Ballistic had mismatch white and yellow hockey gear; darkened cloth beneath the face mask. Perdition, on the other hand, was still in civilian clothes with only a hood and bandana to cover his identity. Genesis' projection had the body of a bodybuilder and the head of a T-rex. Its muscular arms carried a massive polearm.
"There's three others still inside, and I'm not hearing anything from the monster. Bet you knew that already," Cherie informed me, but mumbled the last part to herself.
The Travelers were also speaking among themselves, unsure how to proceed. If my power was detected how I thought, then they might've assumed I would be far more intimidating.
Grabbing an exotic cube from my pocket, I handed it to Cherie. She couldn't ask me what I was doing due to Trickster taking initiative.
"Don't make any moves! You better start explaining fast, or who knows what'll happen next." Trickster crossed his arms and pulled his shoulders back. His confidence was not shared by his companions, but their body language differed too much for me to guess the specific emotions.
Lowering my hand—now empty—back to my side, I stuck my hands in my pockets in a similarly confident manner. "Very well then. To put it bluntly; I want your group to work for me."
"Like hell we'd bow over and work for you. What do you take us for?" Perdition was knocked forward by a solidly placed whack to the head, courtesy of Trickster.
Ballistic shook his head in exasperation and Sundancer shuffled her feet ever so slightly. Genesis was unreadable.
Clearing his throat, the leader continued. "An interesting proposal. I hope you understand that this is a bit of a surprise. We we aren't often approached with offers, much less from unknowns like yourself."
Perdition looked ready to cut in again, but Ballistic placed his hand on his shoulder. The rest of the Travelers were mildly bewildered when he actually stood down.
"If it's a name you want, then you may refer to me as Stranger than Fiction. Or just Fiction, if that's too much of a mouthful."
There was a minute shift in Genesis' posture, but the group had little reaction towards my name.
"What exactly do you want from us? We can't discuss this without some information to work off of." Trickster continued to play the role of diplomat.
I tilted my head as though I were thinking. "My power is an oddity. I believe that researching your specific circumstances could help me improve my ability."
Something in my sentence had put off Trickster, as he narrowed his eyes. His drastic change in emotion was likely too much for Cherie to covertly regulate.
His stance changed and his fellow villains caught on quickly. Sundancer stepped ahead of Trickster and Perdition moved to his left. The other two remained where they stood.
"I can't say I like the sound of that. Our circumstances are none of your business."
I glanced at Cherie, who shrugged her shoulders. "You need me to…?"
She trailed off, waiting for my input. "No. Their resistance will be futile."
Trickster braced himself as he put his power to use. The Travelers were ready to strike.
…
Then nothing happened.
"You will find that your powers won't work on me." My statement did not deter Ballistic, who grabbed a projectile from within his costume.
"Wait! He isn't teleporting because his mass is-" The leader was unable to finish his warning as the ball bearing launched from Ballistic's gloved hand.
Before the ball could make contact, it froze in the air, suspended by nothing. It then fell to the sidewalk, cracking open like an egg. Shredded metal dust spilled from the bearing.
Sundancer pointed at the ground beneath my feet. "His shadow! It moved to catch the ball!"
True to her words, my 'shadow' moved independently of my body and crushed the bearing's shadow.
"Shit- I can't move the girl either. I can't get a proper feel for their weight at all." Trickster took a step back in shock.
"Sundancer, I need you to create a sun. Perdition and Genesis can't fight whatever that is."
The aforementioned parahuman stood like a deer caught in headlights. "Kr- Trickster, I can't jus-"
Perdition tried to advance, only for Ballistic to pull him back. "Get off! If Mars isn't going to fight, then I fucking will!"
"Don't be an idiot Perdition. We don't know what either of their powers are!" Ballistic struggled to keep his fellow Traveler from recklessly charging.
Realizing this, Sundancer clenched her fists. Waving her arms in front of her, a miniscule yet bright orb manifested.
Heat burst into the area around the Travelers. Snow sublimated into water vapor, but even that was atomized.
Cherie flinched at the heat and scooted behind me for cover. Regardless, she was more amused by their erratic behavior than the actual danger they presented. I sighed at her reaction. "This is ridiculous."
Snapping my fingers, the sun died. It instantly shrunk and shriveled, sparkling like a white dwarf, before winking out of existence.
The Travelers stared in awe as I easily disarmed their second most powerful member. Sundancer was the most stunned of them all.
"That's…"
"Impossible? Hardly. I have thousands of counters to each and every one of you. If I wanted you all dead, then I wouldn't have allowed you to prepare in the first place."
I turned my gaze over the Travelers one by one. "I can see you aren't convinced yet. Allow me to… demonstrate."
My hand raised to the sky and the villains followed it. Slowly, the appendage reached its zenith and once it did-
The Travelers looked at the sky and saw the [Universe].
A/N:
TheCyanNinja: You can find the story up-to-date over on Spacebattles. I use the same username over there.
