Chapter 1

23 April 2011

-Rooftop in the vicinity of Somer's Rock-

I chose to honour my dimensional counterpart, Elizabeth Bray of Earth Sol, and take her name for the false identity I crafted for my current civilian life. I honour her by taking her title for a cape name. I was now 'Elizabeth Bray'. I was now the The Exo Stranger.

When the Darkness interfered with my trigger two years ago and transferred the memories of Elizabeth Bray into my mind, I had lived these memories in their entirety.

The good and the bad. From every success to every failure. Every joy and despair. Every betrayal. By the end of it, having subsumed centuries worth of memories from countless alternate timelines and realities, the paranoia left in the wake of my unusual trigger aided in spotting the clues that I would not have seen without the experience gained through these memories.

The subtle manipulations that took place within the PRT and Protectorate for example. From the unreasonable hands off approach they took in dealing with Brockton Bay to the worldwide disregard of how the Case 53s came to be. The disregard of the fates of the Thinkers, the lucky ones that disappeared into the depths of WEDGDG, never to be heard from again.

The unlucky ones who were the ones that died or got sentenced In Absentia into the Birdcage with what I determined to be fabricated, or flimsy justifications at best. The commonality between these Thinkers being their plausible theories regarding the once normal humans who went through memory wipes similar to what the EXOs went through. Almost all of them, along with the buried online threads arriving at a similar name. Cauldron.

The entire existence of the Case 53s reminded me of Clovis Bray the First's EXO army. The creation of the Case 53s seemed like whoever these Cauldron were amassing an army in preparation of some great war. And who could say that they did not have access to a power or means of some sort that would install a dormant control function that would allow them to enslave the poor bastards when it was required.

Hell… the rapid acceptance of Scion, a being I could now identify as something that is clearly not human, as the first hero with capes being integrated into the world and North America specifically without the country going through major struggle was in no way, shape, or form a natural process. The sudden and hasty creation of the PRT and the Protectorate doesn't seem natural when taking all these factors into consideration. It was discovering a fraction of these truths that made me trigger. It was…

It doesn't matter now.

What mattered now was the change my beloved Brockton Bay was about to go through. it was the first step I would take to bring peace to my city. It took me the full two years to get myself ready with the last three months being the most intensive after I managed to drop off the grid when it came to my original civilian identity. My previous occupation with the PRT would have made the disappearing act extremely difficult to pull off without Renick's. But it was a necessary sacrifice to make. My role within the organization allowed me to obtain the materials to build what I would need. My base took the most resources and time to construct as it was located underground deep within the forest just west of Brockton Bay.

But even with the material I managed to appropriate within the PRT, selecting what I wanted to build was as frustrating now as it was the first day I got her powers. I wanted a loadout that would synergize well with my Stasis and general combat style. It wasn't the lack of blueprints but simply that the sheer number of equipment I wanted to build outnumbered my available resources by a huge margin generally speaking.

But in some cases, like my No Time to Explain pulse rifle, building the damned thing was outright impossible considering that the materials needed to build it did not even exist on Earth Bet. What was ironic however was the half-finished prototype of the Eon Trespass jumpship that should make access to the time and realities with what I need to build the majority of my arsenal.

But what makes this a prototype is that at completion it can operate for a maximum of one temporal/dimensional jump, meaning that I'll get stranded if I fuck up the temporal and dimension focus during the jump. But that would be an issue for future me to deal with, considering that completing the prototype will need tinkertech expensive enough to bankrupt a country when bought off the black market.

However, the first operational piece of tech I built from the blueprints that existed within my mind was glimmer transmuter, which cannibalised resources to produce glimmer with the higher quality and purity of the resource producing more glimmer. The glimmer was used to run my second piece of tech, the glimmer run fabricator that helped me build the device that granted me access to my inventory.

Only after I made sure that the pocket dimension my Inventory granted me access to was stable and wouldn't collapse onto itself when holding my things did I start building the transmat and Engram compression systems that allows me to store and bring forth my equipment in an effective way that would have Armsmaster eating his helmet. The size difference also granted me more space, allowing me to store a total of 16 items concurrently.

It was only after building these that I started building my armour. It was built in the shape of my dimensional counterpart's EXO with the helmet being built in the shape of her head with her face being carved over the front. It was thin enough to act as second skin, but as resilient as any post collapse combat oriented helmet.

Elizabeth Bray being my dimensional counterpart ensured the measurements for the armour set she wore to be identical to my own body. After the armour was fully built over the course of a full year with the jumpship being worked on as a secondary project did I start building my weapons.

For a main weapon, I built the first of sister hand cannons. Within the world of the original Elizabeth Bray, people tend to forget about the other cannon. The first. They remember its twin The Last Word, because it's an easier story to tell. But it's not the whole story. Truth is there was two of them back in the lawless days before the Last City was anything more than a rumour.

There were countless tales on the fate of The First Curse. But what mattered was that the first of the twin cannons was lost, and the techniques used to forge it lost with it. But luckily Elizabeth Bray of Earth Sol managed to recover the steps needed to forge the weapon in one of the botched timelines. And what I agree with her on is that when this anti-brute hand cannon gained its name, it was because The First Curse "-is when death becomes an afterthought."

It was the only exotic weapon I built over the past two years. The other weapons, however, were part of a set of weapons that the original Elizabeth Bray built with her grandfather pre-collapse within the Deep Stone Crypt. Out of that set, I built a precision frame shotgun that shot slugs strong enough to punch through the toughest of brutes. This shotgun was named Heritage. I built an aggressive frame sniper rifle called the Succession. This sniper is strong enough to kill the toughest creatures. The last weapon I create is the sword Bequest. Sharp enough to slice through almost anything. These weapons I created with enough ammo for each to last me a lifetime.

The sparrow I built on the other hand was the Any Other Sky. This is best sparrow out of the blueprints I had within my head. And I thank past me every time I ride that beauty.

I checked my watch once more… almost midnight. It was almost time for the meeting between the villains of Brockton Bay at Somer's Rock it was considerably easy to find the location when the meeting wasn't exactly a secret within the cape community.

And what other way did I even have to present myself to cape community of my beloved shithole hometown, but to surprise the very villains my co-workers faced on the field on a daily basis. At the very least I was no longer hindered by all the red tape and the Unwritten Rules were simply a suggestion at best considering the bullshit Coil pulled last week. Not to mention the ABB forcefully inducting civilians into their gang by kidnaping them from their homes while they sleep, and implanting bombs into their heads.

I sigh. There's a lot of work to do and so little time. But for now I need to complete a bunch goals tonight starting with organising the operation to take down Bakuda with the rest of the villains and prevent as much casualties as possible. The second goal on the list is to expose Coil breaking the unwritten rules. The third goal was to find out if my old friend Thomas Calvert is in fact Coil.

The centuries of combat against the Vex made it child's play to differentiate between simulations when there wasn't an infinitude of concurrent simulations of alternate timelines and realities. The Vex were annoying like that.

Calvert being Coil or another villain entirely was irrelevant. All I need is to find out who Calvert was is to find the core of the simulation. And once I do, I can deliver The First Curse treatment as soon as possible.

It only took asking Panacea for a favour and my crippled body was as strong and healthy as ever for Calvert to make his move. But what he didn't count on was the passive regeneration and overall upgrade the Darkness brought to my body, elevating it to the levels of a brute on the lower end of the spectrum.

So when Clavert drugged, raped, then tried to murder me when the drug got burned out of my system by the time he penetrated me and I had my hands on his neck in a simulation he created during one of our meeting, I sure as hell held a grudge against the bastard. He was a shifty fucker ever since Ellisburg. So knowing that he stopped considering the fact that actions have consequences was not unexpected with a power like his. But killing the bastard without using my power so that I wouldn't out myself to that Vex-lite sociopath was an exercise in patience I never had before my eyes were open to the truth of the world.

I did not use any of my active powers, but the inhuman abilities I must have shown during the struggles in simulations following the original must have taught Calvert not to underestimate me. Killing him after being shot in the gut before my regen could activate was a bit of a challenge, but at the very least I never allowed him the chance to interrogate me and fully ascertain if I had powers or not.

The Calvert I know would suspect just in case. And his paranoia benefited him since he never spoke of his cape identity in any of the simulations as I did not. And the only reason that I didn't accidentally out myself is because I sensed the simulations taking hold over reality before reality asserted itself when one of the simulations collapsed.

I blinked my eyes focusing on the current situation I felt the split as two simulations asserted themselves over reality. The core of one of these simulations was underground, somewhere in the direction of downtown and the other was on the move in the direction of Somer's Rock.

The rain is pouring intensely now and I activate the mechanism to fully close my mask. I feel the segments of my mask, my second face, flow and snap over the front of my head covering my face, angled and shaped in a way to hide the entirety of my nose without hampering my breathing.

I focused on the core of my being, diving into the Deep in both simulations and the sclera of my eyes turned black and my normally blue eyes turned pupilless and glowed whitish blue as power flooded my body. My armour was in top condition and both blades emerged from white forearm protectors. The First Curse was holstered on my right side, occupying the majority of my right thigh.

There was no need to have other weapons on my back as they were a thought away in my inventory. But the knives hidden within my boots and poncho were a welcomed weight with the largest knife, one that had a single-edged curved blade almost the size of my forearm sheathed on my left hip.

I pull up the hood of my poncho in both simulations and widen my senses. In the first simulation I lock on the source of the simulation hiding underground and stealthily move in the direction of the villain's base and keep a check on the other core now almost at Somer's Rock in the second simulation. I stand on a rooftop far enough not to be seen, but the magnification of the lenses of my mask allow me clear vision at a distance. My radar remains clear showing no enemies in the immediate vicinity.

In the first simulation I stop at a position that would allow me to seamlessly blink behind Calvert.

In the second simulation I see the entirety of the 'Master of Escape' the Undersiders entering the pub. Their newest member Skitter, started making waves when she took out Lung and was instrumental in the takedown of the Wards during the bank robbery. What Carlos and Dennis were thinking switching costumes like that besides asking for the Dennis to get mauled to death is beyond me. And Chris firing what would easily be classified as an anti A class level threat in that bank may have given me a heart attack if I wasn't in top condition.

Hmmmm… doesn't matter now though. I entrusted everything to Renick before leaving and he knows how handle the situation even if he doesn't enjoy being the Director. I feel a sudden spike of vindictive glee at his suffering. Should teach the bastard that mocking me over the years for sitting at the desk when I was made for the field would only get him bad karma. Now he gets to deal with the real shitshow that makes his previous position look like a walk in the park. Oh how time flies. Can't even believe I allowed my hatred and frustration to blind me to such an extent.

Following the Undersiders Kaiser and his twin playthings enter followed by Purity, Krieg, Night, Fog, and Hookwolf. The divide between the Empire members in intriguing, but Purity standing with the Empire does not match her behaviour over the course of the past two years. Seems that no matter how hard she tried, she could not get the Nazism out of her system. But she seems tense. Was she forced back in? questions for another day.

Calvert arrives in Coil's costume on his own, but the outer ring of my radar glows a faint red and I see some of his men taking position on the roofs of the buildings close to Somer's Rock with a few snipers in the buildings next to mine. They don't see me but it's clear to me that these men have to go before I make my entrance. Calvert being Coil paints a bleaker picture than I imagined. How far the mighty have fallen. For my old friend to become the derived individual he was now is a pity, and I will put him down even if it's to preserve the memory of my old friend.

A few minutes after that Faultline arrives with her entire crew: Newter, Gregor, Labyrinth, and Spitfire accompanying her.

I feel for the men surrounding the establishment with my radar and senses. I Blink behind the sniper located 10 meters west of my position, two buildings down. I place my right hand round the left of his chin and me left round the right side of his head and with sudden shift I snap his neck. I release a pulse of stasis freezing him to the bone and clench my hand around the ice breaking it before it disintegrates leaving no body behind. I blink 30 meters North East of my position and kill the second sniper. This covers the high ground in front of the Somer's Rock.

This leaves 10 mercenaries on the ground positioned to face the front exit of the establishment with 4 covering the front and 4 more the back with two more snipers covering the back exit.

I jump down to the side-walk and cross the street. I see the two mercenaries in the car starting to notice me before covering 10 more meters with a Blink into the mid-backseat of a non-descript car with two mercenaries sitting in the front and driver seat. I activate the mechanism of my arm guards while having my elbows facing the heads of the mercenaries allowing the blades to erupt piercing through their skulls.

My 50 meters Blink limitation is met.

While I wait the 5 seconds for my cooldown to complete I release a marginally greater pulse that freezes the car and everything inside it. As my cooldown is complete I Blink a meter outside the car as I will it to be still. I Blink 35 meters back close to where the first sniper was located and 10 meter more behind another car with 2 more mercenaries. An even stronger pulse of stasis and the car freezes alongside the men inside freezing to the bone.

The Stasis of both vehicles shatters, the noise covered by the rain and sound of thunder.

6 more mercenaries left. I cover the remaining 5 meters with a Blink to consume the distance. And sprint to the opposite side of the pub. By the time the cooldown is done I Blink the 40 meters behind one of the snipers snapping his neck. I Blink 10 meters in the direction of the second sniper on this side and start sprinting hoping the rain would cover the sound of my footsteps.

By the time my cooldown is complete once more he notices me and moves his hand to his radio. I Blink in front and the side of him swinging my elbow. I manage to chop his head off before he notifies his allies. I dispose of the remains and the already spilt blood is taken care of by the rain.

The last 4 mercenaries are taken care of as easily as the rest with the last one discovering me and suffocating to death after I crushed his throat with a well placed punch.

The thing with Blink is that normally, it functions as a short range teleport technique that allows the average Guardian to move 3 meters in any direction, but not through objects. I on the other hand, the experience of traversing space and time in my Exo body, even if simply through memories, allowed my human body not to traverse through timelines and realities due to the body's fragility, but to perceive and interact with time and space in a different manner allowing me to differentiate between the simulations; and allowing me to blink through objects for a maximum of a combined 50 meters that can be divided into multiple Blinks with risk of injury coming at distances further than that.

By the time I get to the roof of the building right opposite the Somer's Rock I find an unknown group composed of a man in a red mask and a tophat accompanied by 3 other members of what looks to be his team. All dressed in matching costumes of red and black differing by design. A woman with a sun motif, a man with bulky armour and a square mask, and a creature so large it had to crawl on its hands and knees to get through the door. It looked like a four armed hairless gorilla with six-inch claws toping each of its fingers and claws, wearing a vest, mask, and leggings in the same red and black as its teammates. I keep staring at them as they enter and suddenly it clicks and I can't hold back a sigh. What the hell are the Travellers doing here? Last I heard they were supposed to be in Boston.

As I contemplate the situation I sense 3 more presences inside the building who may potentially be the Merchants' Skidmark, Squealer and Mush. I ignore the Travellers introducing themselves and through my HUD, send a quick text to the waiting Director Renick on the encrypted phone I built him.

EB: Calvert is Coil. Undersiders, Empire, Faultline, maybe the Merchants, and the Travellers are here. Get the Protectorate and PRT notified of on the new guys in town. Be careful to avoid those loyal to Calvert.

DR: Shit Bray. Will let the trustworthy of new guys in town. This means that Calvert potentially kidnapped the Alcott girl doesn't it?

EB: There's no potentialities here Renick. You saw the body cam vid I got off his Captain. Calvert's gone off the deep end. Will try to get the girl tonight. Off Calvert or place him in the worst position within the BB cape community tonight.

DR: Do what you must. Stay safe. Let me know of any new developments.

EB: You know that it depends on the nature of the info.

DR: I know.

DR: Stay safe.

To the outside observer, my body appears to be collapsing in a cloud of white static as I Blink one last time to the entrance of the Somer's Rock. My arm blades were rinsed by the rain and are tucked back inside the guards. The Darkness within me is lively, talking, yelling, whispering, singing in my head and the Stasis wants to make the world be still. I feel my heart pounding with excitement I haven't felt in so long. This would be my first time on the field since Nilbog.

I can't help but think that when I'm on the field surrounded by danger... surrounded by all these villains… with the fight right around the corner… that I feel most at home.

I hear Calvert say "That should be everyone."

I smirk underneath my mask. I always loved fucking with that snake's head.

I open the door and enter the pub.