Louise versus Brockton Bay

by capt. h

Louise is a power nullifier in Brockton Bay. Not that she knows it.

Louise found herself surrounded by the smoke of her own miscast. While this was not unusual, she found it strange that everything was so dark this time. Just a moment ago she was on the sunny fields surrounding the Academy of Magic, but now it was dark as night.

"Hello, cape," a man called out to her, his voice low and heavily accented, though she could not place the region. As the smoke cleared and her eyes adjusted, she made out a large, shirtless, masked man surrounded by shorter men wielding blunt objects, all huddled beneath the magelights of this city. "You are a fool to challenge me."

Challenge? "You are mistaken, commoner. I have no interest in challenging you to anything. Could you please tell me where I am?"

"You blow up half the street to announce yourself and you expect to talk this out?" The shirtless man said, cracking his knuckles and approaching the young mage. He ordered his men, "Watch what happens when you challenge Lung."

Louise didn't have time for posturing idiots; she whipped out her wand, yelling "Fireball!" Another explosion rung out through the street, laying the man flat on his ass as she explained, "This is the difference between a noble and a commoner," much like a mother would chastize a toddler.

Instead of being intimidated, the man got up and simply laughed. "Is that the best you can do, girl? You hope to challenge the dragon with that little? Do not insult me." The man continued his slow approach, somehow trying to prove himself by displaying blatant indifference to explosions to his own face.

"Fireball! Fireball! Fireball!" Louise chanted three more times, ringing out 3 explosions in quick succession, only the third knocking the man down once again.

The man, obviously injured, sat up and proclaimed, "You hope to keep a dragon down with this?" He then laughed, "Girl, do you know who you're messing with?" as he coughed up blood.

"Honestly, no, I don't know, nor do I care. Would you please stay down and just tell me where I am, or do I need to continue with my practical demonstration of what separates nobles from commoners?" Louise asked. The man was a brute, but she didn't want to kill him. She never had to kill a man before, and didn't want tonight to be the first.

"Girl, you truly are a fool," the man said, trying to get up, but failing. The man blinked at that, the furrowing of his brow so great Louise could see it in spite of the mask. Then he snarled, "Girl, what did you do?" as he rose himself into a pathetic limp.

"I hit you with fireball?" the girl said. What was there to be confused about? Fireballs are painful, but the man acted like that was a foreign concept. He lunged at her a third time, as though he could injure her via pure rage, but Louise simply took two steps back and the man collapsed in front of her.

The other men this Lung was leading started shouting to each other in languages Louise did not know, before they were beset by bugs on all sides. Thousands and thousands of bugs, at that. With that, the others all ran for it, leaving Louise alone and panicking with the half dead shirtless man. Was this the power of the first ones? Is there an elf in the area? Is this spirit magic?

The bugs coalesced to her right, surrounding a black, demonic looking creature with bug eyes. "Stay back!" Louise said, pointing her wand at the interloper.

"It's okay," the creature said, raising its hands. "I'm on your side. I helped take out the other gang-bangers."

"Are you a demon? A first one? An elf? Is that what elves truly look like?" Louise said, panicking.

"What, no! I'm just a cape! Er, human." Talking down to Louise like she was the crazy one here, the demon said, "I'm just wearing a mask, okay? It's to hide my identity."

"But you wield the magic of spirits!" Louise said, never moving her wand off the girl-bug thing.

Against everything Louise wanted, the demon and her bugs walked towards her, still explaining, "You're obviously confused, I can help with that! I-"

"Fireball!" Louise cast, an explosion appearing before her and knocking the girl down. The bugs surrounding the girl exploded in every direction, into Louise's face, her clothes, her shoes, as they dispersed.

The mask-wearing demon thing was breathing hard, no longer controlling the bugs at all, before declaring, "You just... Stopped... My powers."

"So you need to concentrate to maintain that spell," Louise replied, eyes narrowing, her wand pointed at the demon girl's throat. "Tell me, is it your fault that I'm in this city? Was it your meddling that ruined my familiar summoning spell?"

Rather then respond, the girl made to bolt for it.

"Hey!" Louise called to the demon girl thing, casting fireballs in her general direction. "I'm not going to let you get away that easily!"

But the girl was much faster then Louise. In minutes Louise found herself out of breath as the girl disappeared around a corner blocks ahead.

VVVVVV

When Louise stopped to catch her breath, her mind finally caught up to her surroundings. For one, the city was full of magelights, and the architecture was strange. There were buildings made of metal everywhere, which struck her as a complete waste of material. There were a couple of what appeared to be abandoned steel carriages. And the road she stood on was made of a type of rock she did not recognize, expertly crafted but clearly worn down.

Everything around her implied more wealth then Tristain's capital, run down to the point of uselessness. Was this some failing empire? She was confident no city in Tristain had both so much wealth and fallen so far from it, Perhaps this was Germania? That would suck, but she should have the ecus to hire a Germanian coach. Assuming she could even find one at this time of night, in this abandoned part of the city. Still, there was a certain melancholy to seeing it under the silvery light of the moons.

Wait. Silvery light?

The moons were green and red.

Louise looked up and saw not the two familiar moons of her home country, but a single, silver moon casting it's light upon the city.

That's not right.

That's not right, that's not good, that's not something Louise knew how to deal with, surely there's a good reason the moon is wrong, oh founder the moon is wrong, she is doomed, she is royally doomed, she- she-

She slapped herself across the face.

Rule of steel. She will not lose her composure. Not while she is lost and alone. Her mother taught her better then that.

She thought it over. The demon girl and the shirtless man she met spoke Tristainian. So she shouldn't be too far from home. So there's no need to panic. She just needed to find the local stables and rent a carriage.

And maybe the coachman can tell her what happened to the moons while she's there.

VVVVVV

And thus began Louise's quest for an inn or a tavern or any place which would welcome weary travelers at whatever founder-forsaken time of night it might be. As she wandered the city streets marveling at the combination of opulence infrastructure both decayed and abandoned (who would waste this much raw metal was beyond Louise), a bearded man in an excessively blue outfit zoomed by her in some bizarre, two wheeled contraption.

She had no idea what that was about, but she realized if she went wherever the man came from, she would probably find something other then abandoned buildings.

As she continued walking, she passed two, no make that three, horseless carriages flashing blue and red lights and being obnoxiously loud. Going towards the source of these carriages proved fruitful after only 20 minutes, when she stumbled upon a shop both garish and extravagant by the standards of her home country with numerous of these horseless carriages parked out front, some place called a 7 Eleven.

Entering the bizarre shop and making a beeline for the man behind the counter, she declared, "Good shopkeeper, do you know where I can find the local inn and stables? I'm looking to commission a carriage.

The tall, acne-ridden man blinked at her. Glancing at the tag the man had on his shirt, it would appear his name was Steve. Steve was rather slow to respond, starting with "Are you a cape?"

A cape? Like the article of clothing? Louise glanced at the cape she wore as part of her uniform, uncertain if it held some other significance in this city. "I do not know of the Capes. Are they the local merchant guild?"

The man blinked at her again. Louise was beginning to doubt the man's intelligence, as the man continued, "Look little girl, I don't really want to fight a cape okay? You can have what's in the register, just please don't cause too much damage."

These Capes must be a fearsome guild indeed if the man was this quick to let himself be extorted. "I am above that," Louise said, as if explaining things to a toddler. She felt the toddler would probably be quicker on the uptake then this man. "I simply need a carriage to take me home."

The man blinked again. "Uh, there's a payphone in the back if you need a taxi," the man said as he rummaged under the counter.

"Taxi?" Louise asked. "Payphone?"

"You know, like a telephone, that you put quarters in?" the man said in response.

Louise wasn't sure how to respond to that. On the one hand, she did not know what the shopkeeper was talking about. On the other hand, her pride as a Valliere meant that she could not afford to look stupid in front of the shopkeeper.

Fortunately, the shopkeeper made the decision for her. "Look, why don't you just wait in here, I'll call someone to pick you up."

"Acceptable," Louise replied, taking in the hundreds, no, thousands of knickknacks in the store.

VVVVVV

Armsmaster wasn't entirely sure what to expect when he entered the shop, still high on his capture of the infamous Lung. He wished he could be with the other PRT officers to see the man to the Rig, but he was the closest parahuman able to respond to the local disturbance.

He wasn't entirely happy about leaving the Lung-grade tranquilizers with rank-and-file PRT, but better they have it with Lung then he with some unknown minor parahuman.

As he entered the 7-Eleven where the call was made, the civilian met him at the door, whispering, "It's an honor to meet you sir, the parahuman is in the second isle."

"Hostile?" Armsmaster asked.

"No, just very confused," the acme-plagued teenager responded. In many ways that was worse. A hostile parahuman was predictable, a confused one was not.

He walked towards the pink-haired girl who was currently examining a Twinkie as though the concept of individually packaged snack cakes had never before occurred to her. The Hero chose that moment to let himself be known. "Hello little girl, I am Armsmaster, do you need help finding your parents?"

The girl glared at him, replying "I'm 16." Huh, his scanners indicated that her probable age was 12, he would need to get them re-calibrated. "Are you the coachman Mr. Steve called for?" The girl looked up and down his form before saying, "That two-wheeled monstrosity you were riding won't fit the both of us."

"TRUTH" his helmet helpfully stated. Armsmaster took a closer look at the girl. Pink hair could be explained with dye, but pink eyes? Perhaps an aspect of her power? She hadn't used any power that he could tell, which in many ways made her much more dangerous then if she was blasting lasers all of the place. In the latter case at least he would know what he was up against.

"Another van is coming to pick you up. I'm here to-" he was going to say 'assess the threat you represent' but even he knew that would not end well -"Find out your name, where you come from, and what your powers are."

"Powers?" the girl asked. "Do you mean my magic?"

"Yes," Armsmaster said.

The girl puffed herself up with pride. "I am Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere of the Valliere estate," TRUTH Armsmaster's detector pinged as Louise continued, "Dot level fire mage."

LIE. "Are you truly a fire mage?" Armsmaster asked skeptically.

The girl looked embarrassed. "Well, I can't cast any spells other then fireball." TRUTH. The girl cleared her throat, "Now your turn. What is the name of this city, and how many days journey is Tristain?"

VVVVVV

"0 RESULTS" Armsmaster's visor helpfully pinged. There was no place called Tristain. Well this discussion was about to get awkward. "You are currently in the city of Brockton Bay," he said, buying time.

The girl waited for him to continue, but when he didn't she began filling in her own blanks. "It sounds Albish. Are we in Albion?"

"No," Armsmaster replied, "No, it is not."

"Oh, well at least I won't have to commission an airship," the girl pondered. "So how far is Tristain?"

Airship? Did the girl mean airplane? Wait, there's a non-zero probability that she was some kind of dimension traveler, like those case 53s were rumored to be.

Or just delusional.

Come to think of it, the protocols for dealing with delusional capes were probably applicable even if this girl were a dimension traveler. He pulled up those protocols on his helmet as the girl lost patience and started talking again.

"Well, can you at least tell me what happened to the moons? Why is one missing and the other silver?" She asked with a huff.

"The Moon has always looked like that," Armsmaster said dumbly before catching his mistake. He still had time to correct it, he hadn't deviated too far from the book so far.

The girl glared at him. Crap. Time to engage in maximum protocol. "Do you have a place to stay for the night? We can arrange bedding at Protectorate HQ for potential Wards such as yourself, where we can discuss your options and come into contact with your guardians as necessary-"

"Stop," the girl said, pink eyes boring into his, as Armsmaster realized his mistake; too much protocol. What good was a book when it said things like "be flexible" and "empathize"? The point of having protocols was so they could do that for him! "Shopkeeper Steve," the girl said, "Does this man speak the truth? Has your moon always been silver and alone?"

Armsmaster looked to the cashier, who was shying away from the combined attention of two capes. "Uh-huh," the teen said with a timid nod.

A flash of something crossed the girl's eyes, Armsmaster wasn't sure what, before the girl regained her composure. "It has been a long day, Sir Armsmaster. I, Louise de la Valliere, graciously accept your hospitality."

Armsmaster let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Score one more for the Arms Protocols! And Miss Militia complained his adherence to protocols were too rigid.

"So is this Protectorate the name of your estate?" Louise asked. "Would your title be Armsmaster de la Protectorate?" Right, she wanted to know what the protectorate was, the protocols had an answer for that as well.

"The Protectorate is the government-sponsored superhero peacekeeping organization of the United States of America, where powered individuals work together to battle common threats," Armsmaster had read off his visor. There. That ought to satisfy the potential new recruit.

Or not, Armsmaster thought as Louise frowned at him. He felt like he was being scolded with silence, somehow. He heard the PRT van pull in outside, and found himself very thankful that someone who's paid to talk to teenagers would be handling the girl instead.

VVVVVV

It's funny how a warm meal and a good night's sleep can put things into perspective, Louise thought, as she sat across from the woman with the overly-concealing red, white, and blue bandana. She looked like a cross between a highway robber and a clown, Louise didn't say. She called herself Miss Militia.

Sure, Louise was very lost, so lost that whatever continent this was had different moons then Halkegenia, but at least they appreciated the value of a good mage, so she should be able to find some mercenary work clearing out dire rats or something. Everyone needs a dire rat exterminator.

To her right sat the man who would be "representing" her, Bob Smallvich or something. She knew better then to trust any representative a rival duchy provided for her benefit to have her best interest, but it appeared this "Protectorate" put a great deal of tradition on the appearance of fair negotiations.

Finally, the door of the room opened, and judging by the looks the clown-bandit-woman was making, the Duchess of the estate had arrived. Or at least the Duke's representative. She was a rotund, stern looking woman, who in many ways reminded Louise of her mother.

"Hello Louise, my name is Miss Piggot. And in spite of the formality of the occasion, you are not in trouble," the severe Duchess began. "Mr. Smallvich will be representing your best interests through these proceedings. Do you have any questions at this time?"

"We both know you want something from me," Louise replied. "Why else would you provide food and bedding? Well, ask it then. What is your request?"

The two women opposite her looked at each other, the clown-bandana woman deferring first to the Duchess, before the Duchess motioned for her to go ahead.

"I understand where you come from this might sound strange, but we really do want what's best for you," the bandanna woman explained. Louise restrained her eye roll at that. They would not go through this much effort unless they wanted something, and both she and the Duchess knew that. But nobles always had to play their games. The woman continued, "Have you ever heard of alternate worlds? As in, a world much like your own, except for one small difference."

"It's not a concept I'm familiar with," Louise stated plainly.

"Well, we once had a man who proved that there were several worlds. He even built a bridge between them," Miss Militia continued. "We call the other world 'Aleph' and this one 'Bet'."

"That sounds a little far-fetched, but go on," Louise stated plainly.

"We think you come from a third world," Miss Militia said. "One outside of Aleph or Bet."

Louise had heard many stupid stories in her life, but that one was close to the top. It was almost as bad as Guiche's explanantions for his late night trysts. With a huff, Louise called her out on it, "Well alright then. Lets go to the bridge for my world."

"That," Miss Militia hesitated, "The man who built the bridge died a long time ago. And even if he hadn't, we have no idea which world you came from."

"You mean to tell me a man created a gateway between realms, and his notes were so poor no one has been able to do so since?" Louise asked, the skepticism running deep in her voice.

With a wince, Miss Militia replied, "Yes."

It was only years of training which stopped Louise from visibly showing her disappointment in their attempts to manipulate her. Although why they went with such an absurd story was beyond her ability to reason at the moment, they clearly wanted to establish her unfavorable position in whatever bargain they were planning.

Louise could call them out on their obvious, poorly constructed lies, but then the Lady Piggot would probably tell lies upon lies to try to justify this farce instead of getting to the point. "So where do we go from here," Louise replied bluntly while silently begging them to state their requests and/or demands.

Miss Militia blinked at that. What, was she expecting more push back? Louise didn't care if the bandanna lady was expecting a little girl breaking down into tears or whatever it was she was expecting.

"Well, now, we would like to make you a ward of the state-"

"Unacceptable," Louise replied immediately, shocking Miss Militia into silence.

"I think we should listen to what she has to say," her so-called representative began, before Louise cut him off.

"I am Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere, and I will not have the Valliere name be indebted to a political rival," Louise explained.

"What do you plan on doing?" Lady Piggot asked with a frown. "You don't know how the world out there works, you would be snatched up by the gangs in minutes."

"No mere street thugs would ever challenge a noble," Louise replied, her will unbending. "And there is always a need for mercenary work."

"I cannot in good faith-" Lady Piggot began, until Miss Militia placed a hand on her shoulder.

"What if we hired you into law enforcement," the bandanna lady explained in an attempt to defuse the situation. "It's a steady job, and it would leave us even."

Louise looked over the two women for signs of deception, regretting that doing so was not her forte, especially when one of the women was hiding half her face. "...That is acceptable." Even if she was being manipulated, working as a guard would keep her out of the Duchess' debt and keep food on her plate a lot more consistently then any mercenary work would. Louise saw no reason to refuse.

Even if it was a good deal, Louise did hate how she felt like she was scammed. The other three were smiling way too much for such a simple concession.

VVVVVV

"The Wards are designed to train young heroes how to use their powers defend the people," Miss Militia explained. "Think of it as a job warding off potential criminals. Being present at politically important events so as to discourage crime, and learning how to do professional heroing."

"So it is an apprenticeship for becoming a city guard?" Louise asked.

"We call them the Protectorate, but yes," the bandanna woman continued explaining. "One for people with powers."

"Ah, so seperate from the commoner force to account for the necessary magical training," Louise replied. That made a certain amount of sense, the magical training a noble would receive would hardly be necessary for their commoner guards.

Duchess Piggot's frown deepened at that, but Miss Militia continued with, "You're not... wrong. We provide a place for people like you to learn how to use your abilities to protect the city from danger."

"And what of the wardwork required for such a position? I assume an organization which calls itself the 'Wards' would put a great deal of emphasis on the creation and maintenance of them," Louise commented. Her wardwork was as troublesome as the rest of her spells.

"No, no," Miss Militia said, "The name is symbolic. It's to express how members ward off threats to the city."

"I see," Louise replied. And she did. Calling a city's magical guard force the "Wards" made a certain amount of sense.

"We're getting ahead of ourselves," Lady Piggot said. "We still haven't confirmed that you have any powers." Miss Militia looked sheepish at that.

Louise glanced at Lady Piggot, "Your man, Sir Armsmaster, should have told you of my limited magical aptitude. I can cast fireball, and little else."

"Yes," Lady Piggot said. "We'll need a demonstration of that spell before we can discuss the Wards program any further."

"Alright then," Louise said whipping out her wand.

"Wait, sto-" Miss Militia began, eyes widening, but Louise was already halfway through the incantation.

"Fireball!" Louise shouted.

With a bang the room filled with smoke, as her 'representative', Smallvich, coughed up a lung.

"Was that acceptable?" Louise asked as the smoke cleared.

Lady Piggot glared at her. Yes, she was glaring for the entire discussion, but this time it felt like a personal disapproval rather then a general disdain for life. "I didn't mean for you to smoke bomb the conference room," Piggot growled out.

Before Louise could reply Sir Armsmaster had charged in, pointing his halberd at her and followed by a dozen men wearing helmets and backpacks. "Hands above your head!" Sir Armsmaster shouted. "You're under arrest for assault with a parahuman power!"

Louise slowly raised her hands, dropping her wand. Smallvich was scuttling his chair away from Louise. Miss Militia was attempting to placate the man, asking Armsmaster to "Please stand down, it was an honest mistake." And Lady Piggot had her head in her hands, muttering something about 'parahumans.'

VVVVVV

After Sir Armsmaster was satisfied that Louise was not attempting to murder his duchess and it was agreed that she would join this 'Wards' apprenticeship, and a couple hours of paperwork confirming the decision, Miss Militia decided that Louise should meet with her fellow 'Wards'. What was not agreed upon was the identity Louise should use. Or more precisely, Miss Militia disagreed with Louise's decision and tried to convince Louise to use a pseudonym, even as the pair were riding the magical achievement that Brockton Bay called an 'elevator'.

"Although you'll be working with them for most your hero career, you should consider getting a hero identity that's separate from your personal identity," Miss Militia explained. "You need it to separate your life as a hero from your civilian identity."

"Vallieres do not have a civilian identity, as you put it," Louise retorted. "A noble is expected to act as a noble at all times, they do not hide themselves away so that they can go unrecognized at the local brothels."

"It's not like that," Miss Militia continued trying to explain, as the elevator descended its way to the Wards common room. "Having a civilian identity protects the people close to you from attacks and keeps you safe during your day to day life. When you are a hero, you always have a target on your back."

"I am a Valliere. My family always has a target on its back," Louise replied plainly. "We do not hide our nobility because it is convenient or safe. We wear it proudly upon our chests, leading the masses with our heads held high. We are an example for the people." She then looked the bandanna lady straight in the eye and channeling her inner mother, added, "How can the public trust a noble who hides her name and face from them? How can they trust a noble they know nothing about?"

"You're too young to-" Miss Militia began, earning a glare from Louise. Catching her mistake, she started again, "You have plenty of time to decide whether you want to go public. You don't have to decide immediately, and you shouldn't, because being public is not something that can be taken back."

The elevator binged, indicating the pair had arrived, cutting off any response Louise could have prepared. The door took a moment to open, Miss Militia explained it was so the Wards could "cover their faces" from people out-of-the-know, before allowing the pair into the Wards common room.

The room was well furnished with couches, a table, some devices Louise had no experience with, an exceedingly complicated projection system displaying images of animals and people riding tiny wagons.

In front of that distracting and confusing display were two more masked people, a short, blond girl in a green visor and a boy in a full white mask.

"This is the new Ward, who will be starting today," Miss Militia explained.

"Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere," Louise stated. "Third daughter of the Valliere estate."

"Your hair is really pink," the boy said dumbly, earning an elbow from the girl.

"It runs in the family," Louise said plainly. Her mother and sister both shared her hair. The boy rose his finger to contest her claim, before thinking better of it, which gave the other girl a chance to speak.

"So you're the new girl!" the blond squealed, near shaking Louise's arm off, "I'm Vista, longest serving member of the Wards."

"And team baby," the other said, earning a pout from Vista. The boy reached out his hand. "Clockblocker, prankster, superhero, and lady's man."

Louise looked to the boy's hand, stating with barely hidden disgust, "Lady's man, I have no interest in the number of ladies you have manned."

Clockblocker lowered his hand, replying dumbly, "What?"

Louise retorted in kind, "You're type of man who would use your status to bed three women in as many days, then brag about your successes at the local pub. Am I wrong?"

Clockblocker simply let his arms fall to his sides as Vista failed to contain her laughter. "Louise," Miss Militia chastised her.

"Nah," Vista added, "If Clockblocker ever found a woman, he wouldn't know what to do with her!"

"Vista!" Miss Militia said, scandalized.

"There are two types of people who brag about their skills with a lady," Louise said, realization dawning on her. "those who have no fidelity, and those who have no experience. I assume, and prefer, you be the latter."

Clockblocker used the opening to rebound, saying, "Well then I'm your man!" Then realizing his mistake, double backed. "I mean, I have tons of experience with the ladies, just not, uh, dating them."

"Ah, so brothels then," Louise said, her lips pursed.

"No!" Clockblocker replied. "I mean, I, ah..."

"Nope! He's a total virgin," Vista giggled, scandalizing both Miss Militia and Clockblocker.

Louise stopped holding in her smile at the poor boy's expense, "I suppose that's better then being a two-timer."

VVVVVV

"This 'Mario' is remarkably bad at staying on the road," Louise complained.

"You're the one controlling him," Clockblocker snarked back.

"You're oversteering!" Vista helpfully added. "You need to ease up on the joystick, no, now you're understeering!"

"Well which is it?" Louise grumbled back.

"Both" Clockblocker and Vista said in unison, right as Louise was shoved off the road by a giant turtle.

"...I will have that turtle in my soup," Louise declared.

"Maybe we should take a break from the game, you seem a little stressed," Clockblocker said.

"I. Am. Fine." Louise grumbled out. "I am having fun!" She shouted as her cart was hit by a shell. "See! Fun!"

Crossing the finish line in 12th place, she put the controller down with a sigh, before asking, "Want to do it again?"

"Maybe later," Clockblocker grinned, setting aside the controller. "So, tell me how they roped you into this."

Louise visibly untensed as she replied, "It's more stable then mercenary work. And really, I needed the work. It can be hard for a mage to find themselves into an apprenticeship."

"Ah, so the fresh blood is one of those kinds of capes," a girl in all black said, making herself known. Louise wasn't sure when the girl had entered, nor how long she had been stalking their game.

"Pardon?" Louise said.

"One of those crazies who believes in magic," the girl added.

"Wait, what?" Louise replied, visibly furrowing her brow. "Aren't you all mages? What do you mages call your magic, if you're not calling it magic?"

"Hah!" the girl in black laughed, looking to Vista "Where did Miss Piggy dig up the LARPer from?"

Louise's eyes narrowed, "Only a fool would mock a Duchess in her own home."

The girl in black had a smug grin plastered on her face as she added, "So the D&D reject wearing a pound of hair dye has a problem with me calling the Piggy a piggy?"

"Vista," Louise said, eyes never leaving Shadow Stalker. "Please tell me the name of the jester in the mourning shawl."

Vista, having sunk herself into the couch to avoid the lines of fire, hesitated to bring attention to herself. Rather, it was the jester girl who answered, "Shadow Stalker. And while you guys are dicking around in here, I'm actually getting shit done." She looked up and down Louise, before stating, "So you're Lewis."

"Louise," Louise corrected. "Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere. Third daughter of the Valliere estate."

"Tell you what Lewis. You, me, the training mats," Shadow Stalker said, with a nod down the hall, "in five minutes." she mockingly added, "Lets see what your powers, I mean your 'magic', is good for."

"Aren't duels against the rules?" Louise asked.

"Well, sparring is encouraged," Vista replied meekly.

"You have our full support to kick her ass!" Clockblocked added, earning a glare from Vista.

"If you can with those smoke bombs of yours," Shadow Stalker said. With a smirk and a twirl, she made her way to the training area, leaving the other three to their thoughts.

It was Clockblocker who broke the silence first. "You're going, right?" Clockblocker asked.

Louise looked to the gym, asking "Are you sure this is encouraged? This feels like the type of behaviors our superiors would frown upon."

Vista huffed, "Our 'superiors' want us to be the best heroes we can be, and sparring is part of that. Besides, she's going to be insufferable if you don't."

Louise paused a moment, wondering how Shadow Stalker knew of her display with Piggot. "Were you two briefed on my magic?"

"Everyone was. Part of being a Ward is knowing what the team can do. You'll be briefed on us too," Vista replied.

Clockblocker had the decency to look sheepish as he added, "I might not have finished skimming it."

Vista sighed, "It was a three line email with her picture that said she can make a smoke bomb effect. Which might be why Shadow Stalker wanted to pick a fight so badly, she has a major rivalry with a supervillain who creates smoke."

"That is..." dangerously inaccurate, Louise thought. "An understatement of my magic."

"Well, this will be a good chance to show us what you can really do, right?" Clockblocker said.

"I suppose," Louise answered. "Anyway, what kind of magic does she have?"

"If you mean her power, she can turn into smoke," Clockblocker replied.

"So she's a wind mage?" Louise asked. "Dot, line, or triangle?"

"I have no idea what that means," Clockblocker shrugged. "When you're done fighting her, you've really got to tell us your deal."

Vista hurriedly hid her mouth from Louise as she whispered to the boy, "If you read your email you'd know she was from another universe."

"Okay that answers a lot of questions, and adds a lot more," Clockblocker whispered back. "We should ask her what it's like in her universe, I want to know why she thinks we're all mages."

"Dammit Clock we aren't supposed to ask her that until she decides to tell us," Vista continued whispering. "It was 3 lines you lazy bum."

"First, I can hear you," Louise interrupted. "Second, multiple universes, really? And third, I'll tell you as much as you want to know about my home country after Shadow Stalker's finished her hazing or whatever this is."

VVVVVV

"Duchess Piggot approves of this," Louise asked with a note of skepticism.

"Miss Piggy can go fuck herself," Shadow Stalker answered, not doing much to assure Louise.

"Standard rules. A body-tap is a point, a knock-down is a point, and a little bruising is fine but don't injure each other," Clockwork explained. "Are you both able to do that?" Clockblocker asked, eyeing Louise.

"Yeah, yeah, no maiming the new blood," Shadow Stalker said.

"I am perfectly capable of keeping Shadow Stalker in one piece," Louise added.

"Alright then, first to five wins," Clockblocker said. "Ready, Go!"

Louise and Shadow Stalker both raised their weapons, but Shadow Stalker with movements that spoke of years of practice. Louise gave the girl points for speed, she had already fired her crossbow before Louise could even point her wand at the girl, striking with a practice arrow. And with that, Clockblocker had given Shadow Stalker the first point in under 5 seconds.

"Ready, Go!" Clockblocker repeated for the second round. This time Louise was able to get out her "Fireball!" spell, but she aimed high as the girl simply sank through the floor. A wind spell with no wand motions? No time to contemplate that, the girl would be coming from underneath, but even as Louise checked her feet she felt an elbow jab against the small of her back.

"Second point, Shadow Stalker!" Clockblocker announced.

Shadow Stalker was smirking at her.

It was time to wipe that smirk away.

"Ready, Go!" Clockblocker began the third round. This time Louise aimed her fireball at Shadow Stalker's feet, but she dodged right. So Louise just cast a second one, and a third one, all misses as the girl in black weaved left and right. Finally, in a show of pure arrogance Shadow Stalker telegrapher a punch directly to Louise's front, which Louise backed a step from to cast the 4th fireball directly in Shadow Stalker's gut.

"Point, Louise!" Clockblocker declared, giving Louise a thumbs up alongside Vista.

"So you're not totally useless," Shadow Stalker half bragged, as she got up from the hit and returned to position.

"Ready, Go!" Clockblocker began the 4th round, as Shadow Stalker jumped for the ceiling, fell short, and was immediately hit by another fireball.

"Second point, Louise." Clockblocker said, as Shadow Stalker glared at Louise from the ground.

"What did you do?" The girl in black growled.

"I hit you with a fireball," Louise said matter-of-factly.

Shadow Stalker stared at her own hand, as if she was expecting something. When nothing happened, she switched her glare between it and Louise, and lunged at the latter.

"Fireball! Fireball! Fireball!" Louise cast, missing as the girl weaved back and forth again.

"Wait, I didn't start the round!" Clockblocker said.

Shadow Stalker ignored him, knocking Louise to the ground. She then straddled Louise and threw a punch to the jaw, screaming "What did you do!" as Louise raised her wand in response.

Louise made to cast, "Fireball," as Shadow Stalker grabbed her by the wrist and forced her aim high. Louise then blocked a punch to the face and took a second to the gut as the frenzied Stalker was promptly jumped by the other two Wards in the room. The two dragged the girl off of Louise, upon which Shadow Stalker suddenly frozen in place, stiff as stone.

"What-" Louise began, interrupting herself to breathe as Clockblocker helped her to her feet. "What in Brimir's name was that," Louise asked.

"My power lets me stop people in time. Temporarily," Clockblocker explained. "As for why she went crazy, I dunno." He stared at the frozen Stalker, her face stuck in a hideous snarl. "Damn, we're gonna to need the PRT for whatever that was. I always knew she was cray cray, but that was... Did your spell do something to her?"

Louise blinked. "All it did was knock her off balance. Nothing that would explain, well, this!" Louise said, gesturing to the statue of rage that was Shadow Stalker.

"PRT will be down with the special handcuffs in 3," Vista said, finger to ear, as she stared at Shadow Stalker in all her wrath.

"Well, looks like you get your first lesson on incident reports!" Clockblocker attempted to joke. The glares he received forced him to add, "Just trying to lighten the mood."

VVVVVV

For the second time that day, Louise found herself sitting in front of Lady Piggot. Although this time rather then Miss Militia, it was Sir Armsmaster that stood by her side.

"Do you know why you're here?" Lady Piggot began.

"Is it because you need my account on Shadow Stalker's assault?" Louise asked.

"No," Piggot replied simply. "I've already seen the tapes. No, what I need to know, is whether or not you were aware of what you did."

"I don't follow," Louise answered. "Shadow Stalker clearly assaulted me in violation of the spar. I see no issue with how I responded to her challenge and her assault that followed."

Replacing her usual scowl with her death glare, Piggot asked, "Did you intentionally steal Shadow Stalker's powers?"

"What?" Louise replied. "That's not even possible if I wanted to."

Lady Piggot turned to Sir Armsmaster, who gave her a small nod. She then continued, "So you're saying not only did you do nothing to her powers, but that you couldn't if you wanted to?"

Louise was admittedly confused, for the simple reason that "You can't delete magic by adding more magic. Such a spell would violate basic magic theory. And I've never even heard of someone losing their magic entirely."

Piggot looked back to Armsmaster a second time, who nodded again. Somehow, Lady Piggot's expression managed to darken even more then before as she turned back to Louise.

"How many other people have you cast spells on since arriving in Brockton Bay?" Piggot asked.

"There was a bug demon thing and a shirtless bandit," Louise said. "And that's it."

"Lung," Armsmaster breathed out.

Louise thought for a second, "Yes, the bandit did call himself that."

"And the... 'bug demon'?" Piggot asked.

"She was..." Louise searched for the correct words. "Horrifying. She controlled thousands of bugs, and wore all black, with huge, bug eyes. Or was that just a mask," Louise pondered. "She fled when my fireball interrupted her bug controlling spell."

Piggot and Armsmaster shared a look, the former already taking notes. Then Lady Piggot said, "Listen very carefully Louise. Your magic disables powers. You disabled Shadow Stalker's power. We don't know if it's permanent or not, so do not use your magic on anyone."

"But that's not possible-" Louise waved dismissively.

"Forget what's possible where you come from," Piggot interrupted. "I know you haven't fully accepted everything we tell you, but get it through your think skull that your spells block 'magic'. You are not to use them on anyone until further notice. Do you understand?"

Louise looked over to Piggot, saying, "Your serious, aren't you."

Piggot gave the girl a small nod, earning a haunted haunted look from Louise, as she started muttering, "Of course your serious. You wouldn't be talking to me if you weren't serious." Holding herself, Louise added, "I would never steal someone's magic. Never."

Piggot leaned forward and demanded, "Do you understand?"

After a pause, Louise sunk into herself as she replied, "Yes. No more magic."

Relazing back into her chair with a groan, Piggot continued, "Tomorrow, the Wards are being gathered for a presentation on what went wrong, and how it could have been avoided if anyone in the room had shown even the slightest restraint in fighting parahumans with unknown abilities." She pointed at Louise, "You, being the parahuman in question, will then head to the range to do any power test Armsmaster feels necessary. After which he will decide when and how to field you."

"And you," Lady Piggot said, swiveling her chair to face Armsmaster, "Will make sure nothing like this happens a second time, by spending the next week helping Louise transition into the Wards."

"Ma'am," Armsmaster protested, "This will cause me to fall unacceptably far behind on my Endbringer prediction software and my nanothorn project, not to mention working out the kinks in my lie detector algorithm-"

"Armsmaster!" Lady Piggot growled in response, "You chose to lead the Protectorate ENE, and that includes the Wards. Lead them."

VVVVVV

Armsmaster's guide to engaging unknown parahumans (Wards ENE)

1. Do not spar against new Wards prior to power testing

Don't assume that the memos we send out for your convenience are complete. We test each and every one of your powers before handing out field work for the safety of yourself and others. A power which appears to have a minor effect can have catastrophic secondary effects.

2. Do not engage parahumans with unknown powers.

The Wards are intended as a place for young parahumans to learn how to become heroes safely. Attacking parahumans with unknown powers is much like attacking muggers holding guns. Don't. You are not bulletproof, and you do not know what they can do.

3. Do not engage parahumans.

Brockton Bay has multiple gangs with incredibly dangerous, violent parahumans who will not hesitate to kill you because of your age. Do not engage them.

4. Do not engage the gangs.

Once again, they are all backed by dangerous parahumans, several of which will not hesitate to kill you.

5. Your job is not fight crime.

Your job is to learn the norms of Protectorate duty while demonstrating to the parents of parahumans that the Wards are a safe place for powered youths to come into their powers. You will learn how to fight crime with minimal risk to yourself for your future careers, but you will not actually engage criminals.

If you have any questions please refer to the Ward Handbook.

- Armsmaster, Protectorate ENE

VVVVVV

Clockblocker was the first to ask, "Okay, what the hell happened to Shadow Stalker? Because the first rule might as well be called the Shadow Stalker rule."

"You will each be briefed on the Shadow Stalker situation this afternoon," Armsmaster answered. "In a secure setting. Rest assured, Shadow Stalker is unharmed."

"Then this all seems kind of excessive, don't you think?" Clockblocker asked again. "I mean, if she's unharmed, then why all the hush hush?"

"You will be briefed this afternoon in a secure setting," Armsmaster repeated in dismissal. "Next question."

And now everyone was staring at Louise. Louise, being Louise, applied the rule of steel and ignored the gaggle of Wards.

No answers forthcoming from either Armsmaster or Louise, Vista raised her hand next, "The pamphlet doesn't say what we should do if we're forced to fight a parahuman."

"Disengage, call for back up, and direct crowd control," Armsmaster replied.

Vista replied back, "We can't just watch ladies in the street get robbed and do nothing."

Armsmaster answered, "If someone is dumb enough to snatch a purse in front of you, they're dumb enough to shoot a Ward. Don't engage them." Vista crossed her arms, aparently unsatisfied.

It was Louise who asked the next question, "It's strange that you want us to be apprentices but ask us not to handle the grunt work. Don't apprentices usually break up tavern brawls, arrest the drunken, and other menial tasks? Your pamphlet would tell us otherwise."

Armsmaster considered Louise before answering, "Brockton Bay leaves those tasks to the mundane police force. Wards are brought in primarily for ceremonial roles until they reach age of majority, to avoid putting children in danger. Until then, we train Wards so that once they're in the Protectorate, they will not be killed by a villain."

"The age of majority being 18 here," Louise replied, satisfied with Armsmaster's answer.

No one else was satisfied with Armsmaster's answer.

Vista was complaining about how she had more then enough training or something, while Clockblocker didn't like being told his job was ceremonial. A third, shield-themed ward Louise had only met at the start of the seminar didn't like the implication that he was still a child; altogether it was a mess of teenagers talking over each other.

Rather then answer their questions individually, Sir Armsmaster simply plopped down a half dozen Ward handbooks and said, "Please read chapter 12 of the Wards handbook and use the protocol described on chapter 16 to submit any complaints." He then got up, walked to the doorway, and said, "Louise, Clockblocker, Vista, power testing at the gun range in five," and with that, shut the door behind himself.

No one else had moved from their seats. It was Louise who spoke next, "Seminars are very odd here."

"No, that's just Armsmaster," Clockblocker said, staring after the man's retreat. "Any idea why he wanted me and Vista?" Louise shrugged, so Clockblocker continued, "I guess we'll find out when we get there."

VVVVVV

Armsmaster's power test started with little more then target practice, which Louise dutifully participated in for a quarter hour as the man typed the results into a device Louise had been told is called a laptop.

"That concludes the tests," Armsmaster said, pressing a button on his visor and visibly untensing. "At least the recorded portion." He opened the door to the range and called "Camera's off, you can come in now."

"Jeeze, pretty rude leaving me alone with Vista," Clockblocker said, grabbing his chest. "Think of the rumors! The tabloids! A forbidden love between two Wards!"

"Anyway," Vista said, cutting Clockblocker off with a jab to the rib. "What was that all about? What's with all the secrecy?"

"It helps me flush out potential moles," Armsmaster explained, taking out pad and paper. "There's always a thinker who's powers let them guess passwords, but pen and paper can't be hacked. As for the secrecy, well... Shadow Stalker lost her powers."

"Wait, what?" Vista asked. "How?"

"We believe Louise is power nullifier," Armsmaster explained.

"Holy shit!" Clockblocker said. "Really?"

"Yes, really," Armsmaster added. "We don't know if it's permanent or not, but under no circumstances is she to use her powers on or near a Ward."

"Holy shit," Clockblocker repeated, "Is it safe to be in the room with her? Am I going to lose my powers via proximity?"

Vista added, "Wait, did you intentionally take away Shadow Stalker's powers?"

"Oh shit, I hadn't thought of that." Clockblocker added. "You don't have a compulsion to de-power capes do you?"

"Of course not!" Louise defended, with a scowl. "I was as surprised as you when I found out. I'd never take away someone's magic, nevermind that it's supposed to be impossible."

"We're working on the assumption it's temporary," Armsmaster continued "She hit Lung two nights ago, and we think he's starting to show accelerated healing again. But we don't know much about her explosions. They might permanently cripple your powers."

"Damn, don't take it personally, but that's kind of terrifying," Clockblocker replied.

"Clockblocker," Armsmaster reprimanded.

"Tell me that isn't scary," Clockblocker rebuked, to which Armsmaster had no real answer.

Louise looked down at her wand, lips trembling. Then she caught herself, it was not the Valliere way to show weakness. Channeling the Rule of Steel, she puffed herself up, held her head high, and declared, "It is natural for a Valliere to be feared, by both their enemies and their allies." She then added for the benefit of all three, "Your fear is unneeded. On my honor as a Valliere, I swear to never aim my wand at you. Any of you."

Vista and Clockblocker both had the decency to look sheepish as the latter said, "Shit, sorry, now I feel like an ass."

With a nod, Louise said, "Apology accepted."

Vista looked ready to turn the moment into a group hug, right up until Armsmaster interrupted the moment. "As touching as this is, I called the three of you here for another reason."

"Clockblocker, you're power stops objects in time. Vista, your power twists space," Armsmaster said, mostly for Louise's benefit.

"We will be testing Louise's power against both your shaker effects."

VVVVVV

Power Test, Louise de la Valliere, page 7

Summary

Louise's 'spells' remove spherical chunks of matter while generating smoke and an audible bang. They require a catalyst and a vocalization to be used; Louise is unable to use her 'spells' without both her wand and an incantation. Her power negates both temporal effects created by Clockblocker and spacial warping effects created by Vista. The matter removal is not Manton limited (see page 3 test: cabbages). Power nullification effect radius is variable, tests show it can nullify shaker effects as much as 7 feet from impact point. The minimum size of her effects are equivalent to a balloon popping, with little to no matter removal. The maximum size could not be safely tested at the range, but is greater then 3 cubic meters of matter removal.

Recommendations: Information about Louise's test results to be limited to Directors only. Internal threat assessment to place her at Blaster 3, while the Director's dossier will indicate she is a Trump 3. Louise is a potential candidate for the Gray Boy Program.

- Armsmaster

Give her the Blaster 3 rating. I will inform the other directors of her Trump 3 status. Expect her 'official' status to be updated. Even with the tight lid we've kept, her pre-Wards exploits may have rendered current information control moot. Under no circumstance is she to be fielded against parahumans.

Her Gray Boy candidacy is approved. Prepare a trip to Boston. I want her status in the program determined by the end of the week.

Director Emily Piggot, PRT ENE

VVVVVV

The room had a single guard, with a long table being the only thing separating the Shadow Stalker and Louise. The former was tensing and untensing her fists and looking anywhere but where Louise sat. The latter had the decency to look guilty.

Louise was the first to speak. "Shadow Stalker, I have wronged you. As both Louise and as the third daughter of the Valliere estate, I apologi-"

"Shut it," the girl in black replied, the two lapsing into silence.

When it was apparent that no amount of waiting would get Shadow Stalker to open up, Louise tried again, "It is my duty as a noble to address this injury-"

"Dammit pinkie, stop with all this noble crap. You won. You're stronger. You should be proud of it, not walking in like some sick puppy begging for forgiveness," Shadow Stalker spat out, arms crossed.

Louise replied, "I could never be proud of injuring-"

"Stop," Shadow Stalker interrupted, her glare deepening as her muscles fully tensed. "Do not apologize, got it?" the girl demanded, daring Louise to counter. Louise thought better of it, Stalker had every right to vent at her, so Louise allowed it.

And Stalker did not disappoint, taking Louise's silence as an invitation to continue, "You fought. You won. You're better. Next time, I'll be better."

"There will be no next time," Louise said. "Because we will not be sparring again."

Shadow Stalker stood at that as she started ranting, "No, fuck you, you don't get to win and quit on me. Next time we'll fight, I'll be the stronger one, and I'll win. Understand? No being saved by the heroes, no letting myself get hit with your powers, because I'm the strong one! And you're just another loser, and we'll prove it!"

Louise found herself wide-eyed at this point, needing to recompose herself before speaking. She steeled her voice and replied, "If it will help you regain your honor, then we can fight. But no magic."

"No, you don't get it!" Shadow Stalker yelled, jumping up from her chair. "That won't prove I'm stronger, that won't prove you're weak, that won't-"

"Miss Stalker," the guard behind her said, placing his hand on the girl's shoulder.

His interference may have stopped the girl's shouting, but the glare Shadow Stalker gave the guard screamed of her desire to murder him.

The guard continued, "Miss Stalker's visiting hours are over," in a tone that allowed no argument.

As Louise made to leave, she wondered if Shadow Stalker was the bastard of a nobleman. It was the bastards who always tried to convince everyone that the measure of a noble was in the strength of their magic. Telling themselves that the stronger the magic, the more important the noble, and demanding respect their position did not deserve.

VVVVVV

"The Gray Boy Program is an initiative to remove the shaker effects of former Slaughterhouse Nine member Gray Boy, who locked his victims in bubbles of looped time where they would experience their death over and over. The program has since expanded to finding tinkers and shakers to remove all permanent parahuman environmental effects, but it's initial goal of removing Gray Boy's shaker effect and saving his victims remains unfulfilled," Armsmaster had explained during the drive.

"While the initiative is public knowledge, the parahumans involved are not," Armsmaster had explained, handing her a while full face mask. "Tie up your hair, and hide it, you're code name is Fixer. And do not reveal your identity," he insisted. Louise understood secrecy well enough to comply, even if she didn't agree with the need.

Intellectually, she understood what she was getting into. Armsmaster had warned her that the people she was saving had been repeating their own painful deaths over and over and remembering every minute of it. Then Armsmaster had her use her spell on an empty time bubble, proving she could stop the Gray Boy effect. He had her practice the timing for breaking the bubbles at the beginning of the loop, explained how this might let them save more lives, as Grey Boy's power left his victims to be cut over and over. He explained how awful Louise could expect the scenes to be, that veteran PRT officers lose their nerves in front of Gray Boy victims, and that her aid would save thousands of people who wished they could die.

Louise still wasn't ready when she entered the Boston Mausoleum, as Armsmaster explained, "When Gray Boy was in Boston, he trapped dozens of people in this former park. These chambers were built to house his victims for however long they would be trapped."

Armsmaster walked up to a door with a picture of a young girl next to it, "Maribel Thyme, 12 when she was first caught in the effect. Uninjured. She was deemed the most suitable for your first live test," Armsmaster explained, opening the door.

"Hello Fixer!" A cheerful girl said, her expression twitching back to a moment of terror. The terror was gone in a flash, replaced with a too wide grin. "They told me you were coming to fail to do anything."

"I will not fail," Louise said simply.

The girl's horror flashed on her face, just like Louise was told it would, as it had every 12 seconds, for the past 2 decades now, but just as quickly she switched to being chipper. "There's nothing to be done. There's nothing anyone can do," the girl said. "There is nothing outside but lies, lies, lies. How can you take me outside, when there is no outside?" the girl asked.

"Maribel has been stuck here, largely alone, for a very long time," Armsmaster explained "Like most Gray Boy victims, she has developed her own coping mechanisms to deal with her situation."

"So come on then," Maribel said, flashing to horror, then putting on her grin. "If there is an outside, prove it. Or are you going to be just another in a long line of failures."

Louise wasn't sure what to feel about the girl. So she steeled her expression and uttered her "Fireball," filling the room with smoke.

The girl was grinning.

12 seconds had past.

The girl continued grinning.

"It didn't repeat," The girl said, her smile fading. Then she took a step forward. And another.

"It's not repeating," The girl said, confused.

Armsmaster held his hand to his ear, "Human test successful. Good work Fixer."

"It's not repeating," the girl said again, frowning. "It's not repeating. It's not repeating it's not repeating it's not repeating!" The girl then snarled, "Put me back! There is no outside, put me back," as she made to tackle Louise.

Louise didn't know how to react, as Maribel pushed her to the ground and shook her collar. "Put me back now!" She said as Louise laid frozen, stunned into inaction.

Armsmaster pulled Maribel off as two men rushed into the room, dragging the girl away. As she was carried off she screamed through the halls, "Put me back! I don't want to go outside, there is no outside, put me back, Fixer! Put me back!"

"She seemed," Louise started, looking for the correct words as she got up off on the ground, the screams of the girl echoing through the Mausoleum halls, "Disturbed."

"Most Gray Boy victims are," Armsmaster said, a tinge of regret in his voice. He then explained, "Of all of Gray Boys victims, she was one of the best off. Which is why she was chosen for your first attempt. They've all been stuck in time for decades."

He then guided Louise out of the room, down the hall to the main chamber of the Mausoleum, a door with a dozen pictures on either side and two dozen doctors, or 'paramedics' as he called them, waiting. He handed Louise a pair of ear muffs, explaining, "Many of the people in this room are beyond saving. Some of them will be maimed during the loop itself. You can back out, and no one will blame you."

"I am-" Louise began, before realizing that declaring herself 'Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere' would ruin all the secrecy Armsmaster had insisted upon. "I am not a woman who can turn her back on reality."

Armsmaster nodded in approval. "Try to break the loop at the beginning, like we practiced, and remember that no matter what happens, this will be a mercy."

Louise nodded in return as she placed the ear muffs over her mask, and the door was opened.

She was hit with the screams of two dozen people. She saw organs spill onto the bloody floor as women were torn limb from limb. She heard the dying rants of 20 different madmen. And then she saw it happen again. And again. She turned away, lifted her mask just enough to empty her stomach, then turned back to the scene with head held high. She was a Valliere, and she would see this through.

VVVVVV

Louise had curled herself up in her seat during the drive back, her face stone grey. She had heard of the nature of war, her mother was a veteran. She knew of the tortures spies went through in the dungeons. She did not think herself naive in the ugliness of the world.

Nothing, no story she had ever been told, was half as bad as the scenes this Gray Boy had left behind. It was not a matter of the people being kinder; such cruelties were simply not possible in Tristain. There was simply no magic which would allow a man to be gored over and over into perpetuity.

Armsmaster must have picked up on Louise's discomfort, as he said, "I'm sorry."

Armsmaster continued, "I can see you weren't ready for that. I've been heroing for decades, I've seen hundreds of my fellow heroes die. I thought I had seen the worst this job has to offer, and I still wasn't ready for that. It's one thing to know how cruel the world can be, but seeing it, up close, is another thing entirely. No one will blame you if you can't handle it."

Louise looked to Armsmaster, wondering if the man said that to convince her, or to convince himself. She then steeled her resolve, "I am a Valliere. My family has fought for the people for generations. I would be a terrible noble if I abandoned them because I could not handle seeing them."

Armsmaster paused in thought. He then gave the girl a smile "You did a good thing today. Thank you."

Then his helmet chirped. Putting a finger to his ear, he said, "Armsmaster reporting."

"They did WHAT?"

VVVVVV

Armsmaster had prepared another seminar for the Wards, this one titled, 'Your job is not to stop parahuman bank robberies.' He began by handing out his pamphlets from the previous seminar. He then said, "Aegis, can you please tell me which rules you violated?"

The shield theme cape from the previous seminar sheepishly replied, "All of them."

Clockblocker jumped in to defend, "Hey, we were just backing up Glory Girl, Panacea was in trouble and there was no one else there to save her."

"And according to reports, the Undersiders only took her hostage after you all blocked their escape," Armsmaster explained. "Your actions endangered the life of the greatest healer on the East Coast, no, the greatest healer in the world. What would you have done if she was injured? If she had died?"

"So what, we should have just let them get away?" Vista asked.

"Yes!" Armsmaster said. He then looked at a boy in red and yellow "Kid Win, not only did you go along with them, you decided to fire untested anti-endbringer technology at them. What were you thinking!"

The boy in red and yellow shrank into his chair as Armsmaster continued ranting, "No, none of you were thinking. You all saw an opportunity to play hero with New Wave and you took it, in total disregard to the risks for yourselves and others."

"And you don't even know the worst part," Armsmaster lamented. "We were in the middle of recruiting another new Ward. It was going well, the parents were all for it. Then they heard about your attempts to stop the bank robbery, and they aren't sure it's safe. And I can't tell them they're wrong when my Wards are fighting superpowered bank robbers on the 6 o'clock news!"

Aegis had the decency to look guilty about that, as Armsmaster sighed. "Let's just handle the debriefing, your punishments will be decided later," he said, writing the names Grue, Hellhound, Tattletale, and Regent on the board. He then explained for Louise's sake, "After each parahuman encounter, you will review what happened, what went wrong, and what the team learned about each parahuman involved, in this case, the four member gang known as the Undersiders." He then wrote under Grue's name 'creates darkness' and under Hellhound's name 'leads monster dogs'. "So, what have we learned?"

Kid Win talked first "Regent kept making my arms spasm when I tried to aim. Made it impossible to get a bead on them."

Armsmaster added 'muscle spasms' under Regent's name as Vista spoke up next. "I think Tattletale is some kind of thinker. She really messed with Glory Girl and Panacea's heads by implying she had guessed Panacea's biological father. She also keeps a pistol on her, she threatened Panacea with it."

Nodding, Armsmaster put 'Thinker' down for Tattletale. Then he added 'armed' underneath that.

"Wait, is that noteworthy? Aren't robbers usually armed?" Louise asked.

"Not parahuman ones, no," Armsmaster explained. "Most of them use their powers instead."

"And she keeps a pistol on her but not a sword?" Louise asked.

"Is that unusual where you come from?" Armsmaster asked back.

"Yes!" Louise answered. "Pistols are bulky, they take a long time to reload, and they can only fire a single shot at a time. They're useless to any mage with a sword wand."

Armsmaster looked back to her, mouth in a straight line. "Aegis, you will review modern firearms with Louise after the debriefing. And any other aspects of modern life she requests."

VVVVVV

A number of things happened in the following months. Shadow Stalker's powers came back. The Asian Bad Boys set bombs all over the city, and were put down. The Nazi gang had all their capes outed. The Bug girl joined the Undersiders to take out Nazi dog fighting rings. Louise was given a token cape name of "Smokescreen", and was told to at least wear a domino mask for public functions. The problem is, her work in Gray Boy kept her out of the affairs of the city, and it made the Public Relations aspect of the job seem unimportant.

She wouldn't describe the work as pleasant. Maybe 'nightmare inducing'. The occasional letters of thanks from the survivors helped her get through the day, especially the letter Maribel sent 'Fixer', reminding her that she was doing a good thing. But there was a certain monotony to the horror, a sort of uncomfortable normalcy to it. At least, there was, until she was called to remove the scene at Dover Junior High.

VVVVVV

"Hey Riley, good work on the streamers!" the man known as Jack Slash, longtime Slaughterhouse Nine member said. "Really makes it feel like a party."

"Of course Uncle Jack!" Bonesaw, the Nine's biotinker, replied. "Did you get her a present?"

"Of course, of course," he said, lifting the lid from the box he held. "It's too bad we aren't in Brockton or I'd find a head she knew."

"I wanna play with the new girl first!" the man known as Hatchet Face, power nullifier of the nine, added.

"No, she's my nominee, I get dibs," Crawler, regenerator of the Slaughterhouse Nine, said.

"Now, Now, Ned gets first dibs, you know the rules." Jack asked.

"Aw, try not to break her too quickly," Hatchet Face said.

"Quiet, she's coming, she's coming," Riley said, turning off the lights.

It was dark. The only noise was the giggles of Riley, until they were interrupted by their target opening the door to the school. She asked, "Why is it so dark in here?" as she looked for a light switch.

Riley flipped the switch, and the four of them yelled "Surprise!"

Jack added, "Welcome to Dover Junior High!" as he pushed her in.

The target blinked. She then asked, "Who are you people? What's with the monster? Wait, is that thing alive?"

"We're the Slaughterhouse Nine!" Riley bragged. "And you're gonna be our newest member."

VVVVVV

Louise blinked again, taking in the school entrance way. She had been called here to help the Gray Boy victims of a school play from twenty years ago. Instead she saw cake, streamers, a little girl, a giant monster, two men, and a banner that said "Welcome Louise!"

One of the men, the hansom one of the two, slid up next to Louise and explained, "When I saw you taking down my old friend Nicolas's art, well, I was very disappointed."

"Nicolas? You mean Gray Boy?-" Louise started, before the man interrupted her.

"See, my friend left a very special piece here. It would be a shame if someone were to, well, take down his masterpiece. What kind of friend would ol' Jack Slash be if I let you ruin all his work. I thought to myself, let's take the boys down here, meet up and teach the vandal a lesson. Make an art piece out of you. But Crawler here had a different idea."

"If you can break Grey Boy's art, I bet you can hurt me," the monster explained.

"And if you were with us, you could be making art instead of breaking it," the girl added cheerily.

"And I thought that would be a wonderful idea, so Riley here," Jack said, pointing her knife at the little girl, "set up this nice welcoming party for you," Jack continued. "We even got you presents," Jack said, handing Louise the box. When Louise made no move to open it, he lifted the lid himself, showing Louise the head inside, and still not getting any reaction out of the girl, shrugged.

"Now, before we make it official," Jack continued, leaning on Louise's shoulder "We have a little, let's call it a hazing ritual, for you. We each value something different in the Slaughterhouse Nine, a test, one for each member of the Nine. Crawler here as your nominator gets first crack, and his test is, well, tell her Crawler."

The monster walked up to Louise and demanded, "Hit me with your best shot. Make me hurt."

Louise looked at the monster. Then she lifted her wand up.

"Now wait a moment Louise," Jack began. "The party just began, and besides, you aren't going to be doing anything with Hatchetface here clogging up your powers," he explained, gesturing at the ugly man with his knife. "Why don't you sit down and enjoy a slice?"

"Fireball!" Louise called out, exploding the monster's head. She then threw out another Fireball, and third, until the monster was blown to chunks.

Jack let out a whistle, saying "Well that looks like a pass to me, right Crawler?"

Crawler's broken body didn't move.

"Crawler?" Jack asked again.

Louise turned to Jack, who was still leaning on her shoulder, and still holding the box with the dismembered head. She looked at the head. Then she looked at Jack.

"Louise?" Jack asked.

"Fireball!" Louise shouted.

Jack's chest exploded.

"Jack!" Hatchetface screamed, charging Louise.

"Fireball!" Louise shouted again.

Hatchetface fell to the ground.

Then, Jack's body stirred. "That was rude," Jack said even though he had no lungs. Louise had no idea how he managed that it should not be possible it should not exist. "Riley, I think our newest recruit needs a lesson."

"Sure thing Uncle Jack," the girl said as rummaged through her satchel. Then she blinked. Riley said, "Uncle Jack, my tinkering is broken. I don't know which vial is which." Riley then looked to Louise, frowning, "Are you a Trump? Is that how you broke Gray Boy's art?"

Jack's shredded body sighed. "That's not good. Don't worry Riley, Uncle Jack can handle this," the man said, sitting up and turning to Louise. "Now that was hardly cordial, killing Ned when he was just trying to make friends. Hardly befitting of a lady if you ask me. What would your mother think?"

Louise looked at the dead monster. She looked at the head Jack had tried to gift her. Louise frowned; knowing exactly what her mother would think, she turned to Jack and shouted "Fireball!" Jack's head disappeared as his blood splattered on Louise, body falling to the ground once more.

"Uncle Jack?" Riley called out. "You can't be dead Uncle Jack, I need you! Stop being dead! Tell me what to do, Uncle Jack!" Her attention then turned to Louise. "You've been a very naughty girl," she said, taking out a vial. Then she stopped herself, taking out a different vial. Then she thought better of it, putting down both vials and accused Louise, "You screwed up everything, you meanie!"

Louise was covered in blood and still had no idea what was going on, but having crept back to the school's front door, she wisely threw herself out of it. Having abandoned the insane girl to her breakdown she fled right into 2 more capes, holding her driver hostage. One was black and white and naked, and the other one wore a costume of stained glass and hovered a glass blade up to her driver's neck.

"Well now, leaving the party already?" The woman in glass said. "That's not very festive of-"

"Fireball!" Louise shouted.

The black and white woman popped like a balloon, and the woman wearing glass found herself in her underwear as Louise leaped into the van.

"Did you just kill Siberian? Why is Shatterbird half naked? What the hell-" the panicked driver started shouting.

"Drive, drive, drive!" Louise shouted back at her driver, who took the opportunity to slam on the gas.

The pair didn't stop until they hit the next state.

VVVVVV

"And then me and Miss Jefferson drove off," Louise explained to the phone. She then added, "Are still driving off."

There was no response from the other end. After 30 seconds of silence, Louise added, "Sir Armsmaster?"

"I heard you," Armsmaster replied. "I heard you. Head over to the Philadelphia PRT headquarters and wait for further instructions."

"Y-yes sir!" Miss Jefferson replied.

"Wait, how did they know I would be in Dover?" Louise asked. "Will they know I'm going to Philadelphia? Will it be safe?"

"They probably suborned a Gray Boy administrator," Armsmaster said hurridly. "Don't worry about Philly. Even if they guess you're there, they won't attack everyone at once." He then muttered "Not with half their team disabled and their leader dead."

"Armsmaster?" Louise asked.

"Can't talk right now," Armsmaster clipped. "Head to Philly, they'll tell you what to do when you arrive," he said, hanging up.

VVVVVV

Cleaned up and no longer covered in the blood of lunatics, Louise was directed to the largest meeting hall in Philadelphia's PRT headquarters, filled to the brim with Protectorate capes. Too many capes. Famous capes, leaders from all over the protectorate, Chevalier, and Alexadria, and Armsmaster. Even as she thought that, a teleporter brought in three more.

Armsmaster waved at her. "Louise! I see you're unharmed." the man said.

"What's all this?" Louise asked "I thought the Protectorate didn't volunteer outsiders for Nine attacks?"

Armsmaster replied, "Normally you'd be right, but every precognitive thinker in the country is freaking out. We believe Bonesaw is about to unleash a plague. And with half the Nine's roster out of commission, well, the directors decided to bring everyone in."

A cheer rose from the front of the room, as someone shouted "Shatterbird down! I repeat, Shatterbird is down!"

There was cheering throughout the hall at that, even the normally stoic Armsmaster cracking a smile.

Then, the Triumvirate's one and only Alexandria approach Louise.

"So you're the girl who kicked the hornets nest," she said with a smile. Then she commanded, "Follow."

"Alexandria?" Armsmaster asked.

"I only need a moment," Alexandria said, allowing no argument. She led the girl out of the main hall and ushered her into a small conference room. She then flipped a switch on the wall, and said, "Cameras are off. Now tell me, what happened when you encountered the Siberian?"

"She, well she popped, ma'am," Louise replied. "She was there, then I hit her, then she wasn't."

Louise felt like the woman was staring right through her. Then Alexandria nodded. "You are not to discuss what is about to happen to anyone, not even to Armsmaster or Director Piggot, do you understand?"

"Yes ma'am," Louise answered, simply enough. Then she added, "What is this all about?"

Alexandria nodded simply. "You and I are going to solve the Bonesaw problem. But first you need to use your spell on the Siberian, again."

"But she's dead, isn't she?" Louise asked.

"No, she is not," Alexandria answered simply. "Door to above Bonesaw," she commanded.

A rectangle of light appeared before Louise, a portal to a forest somewhere. Below her Bonesaw was piggy-backing on the naked lady Louise had, well, popped earlier, the pair walking away.

"What is this-" Louise began, as Alexandria interrupted.

"The details are need to know. Just hit Siberian a second time," Alexandria commanded.

Louise looked between the nudist and Alexandria. Shrugging, she raised her wand, and cast fireball at the Siberian.

The Siberian popped, Bonesaw yelping as she fell. The portal flashed, before fizzling out entirely. And Alexandria started bleeding from the head. She screamed, "Door to Contessa!" as she collapsed to the ground.

VVVVVV

A portal opened, and a woman in a nice suit with a nice hat in a nice, clean room stood before Louise.

"Help?" Louise asked the woman.

Not bothering to glance at Louise, the woman said, "Door to Panacea," grabbed a very confused girl, and briskly lead her to the downed Alexandria as the girl complained, "What the hell! Let go of me! Is that Alexandria? Is she bleeding? Why's the new Ward here, what's going on!"

"Pick up Bonesaw," Alexandria told the woman weakly. Rather then explain anything, the lady in the suit nodded to the injured cape and waved goodbye. The portal shut behind her, leaving Louise alone with the civilian-clothed Panacea, who immediately tended to the bleeding Alexandria.

"What happened to you?" Panacea asked the downed cape, "Wait, first, do I have permission to heal you?"

"Yes," the woman said, removing a glove for the healer. Panacea took her hand immediately.

"I can't do anything about the concussion," Panacea said, "But your eye is good as new." She then gave an accusing glare to Louise, "You. Explain."

"It was my fault," Alexandria answered weakly from the ground. "I've fought the Siberian before. Been injured by her. My power saved me, freezing the injury instead of healing it." She weakly smiled to Louise, "We don't understand your power, so we modeled it. Obviously, we modeled it wrong, seeing as you blocked me." She then chuckled, "It's always some stupid mistake or another."

Louise blinked. "I'll get-" Armsmaster? the Philidelphia PRT director? A medic? "Help," Louise said dumbly, making for the door.

Another portal opened in the room, and the suit lady walked out again. "Door to Dallon household," she said, opening a second portal.

"Wait, who are you, and what are you doing here," Panacea started shouting at the woman. The woman responded by shoving her through the second, 'doorway' Louise supposed it was called.

With a gesture, the second door closed. She then looked at Louise, put a finger to her lips, and lifted Alexandria away. "Tell... no one..." Alexandria muttered as the first doorway closed itself.

Louise sat in the room in silence. She blinked twice. Then she got up, left the room, walked back to Armsmaster, and sat herself down.

"So what did she want?" Armsmaster asked.

Louise dumbly looked at the man, eyes still wide, expression still blank. She then said, "Cape stuff."

"Cape stuff?" Armsmaster asked, fishing for info.

Louise broke eye contact, staring blankly ahead. "Cape stuff."

VVVVVV

By the time Louise collapsed into her bed in Brockton, four of the Nine were left unaccounted for. Well, three if she included Bonesaw. She understood intellectually why the Triumvirate might keep a parahuman who can make portals from anywhere to anywhere secret, but it didn't change how much it sucked to be ordered not to tell anyone that Alexandria and some lady in a suit had handled the Bonesaw situation while everyone else was panicking about Bonesaw. That just left Burnscar, a pyrokinetic that could teleport via flames, the Siberian, who she confirmed had the power to smash anything and anyone, and Mannequin, who the reports indicated was an infiltration specialist that tinkered himself into looking like a mannequin. Something about being a closed systems tinker, whatever that meant.

She was sure they'd be rounded up by tomorrow, or at least the two that aren't invincible. Louise couldn't help but wonder where they could be hiding as she drifted off to sleep.

VVVVVV

"Have fun you too!" Burnscar said as Mannequin and the Siberian left their van, reaching their destination after eight straight hours of driving. Mannequin didn't care about having fun. For that matter, he didn't care what his other two compatriots did. He was half convinced the Siberian was as stupid as she was excessively violent, and he had Burnscar pegged as a dead woman walking. If she wanted to annoy the local mercenary group, it was no polymer off his shell.

Neither of them were interesting. Not like Jack. Not like Bonesaw.

Maybe this was petty of him, but he knew who his next target had to be. The girl who apparently killed Jack. "Smokescreen", or "Louise" as she's better known in cape circles.

There must be penalties for killing the one man he considered a friend. The one man who understood him. And here, at the Brockton Bay PRT, those penalties would be extracted.

Mannequin skittered into the underground parking lot, weaving just outside of site of the cameras and using the remaining vehicles for cover, only hacking into the feeds for the one watching the elevators. He then used his tinker genius to manipulate the elevators themselves, opening the door directly into the shaft. He proceeded to crawl his way up, searching for the Wards common room and thus their living quarters.

As he reached the appropriate level and began his work on the door to his shaft, he heard the second worst noise he ever suffered, the Endbringer Siren going off.

There were few things he hated more then The Bitch. The others may call her the Simurgh, or Ziz, but to Mannequin her name would always be The Bitch Who Stole His Family.

If The Bitch was here, he'd have to run. As deep as his hate for her was, he couldn't allow her to ruin His Work.

His thermals showed his target jolt awake. She was close. But the elevator was already coming to this floor, most likely her liaison here to pick her up. He dropped to the bottom of the shaft, intent on exfiltrating before the officers inside had time to react.

If it turns out to be anyone other then The Bitch, maybe he would stick around. Find a nice bunker to hole up in, prepare an adequate punishment.

He quickly trawled the internet, finding an abandoned Endbringer shelter that ought to suit his needs.

And give him time to prepare something... fitting for the girl who killed Jack. What good is revenge if she doesn't suffer?

VVVVVV

In one timeline, a villain named Coil sat in his "abandoned" Endbringer shelter with his pet precognitive thinker, waiting out the Endbringer Leviathan. He may have been the upstart supervillain who thought himself the king of the city, but he deserved the title. He had driven out the ABB, revealed the Nazi gang's membership to the world, and should the heroes drive out Leviathan before Brockton Bay sunk, he would be the only power left standing in the bay. Besides the drugged out Merchants, but they hardly counted.

In another timeline, a man named Thomas Calvert had safely evacuated to a different Endbringer Shelter to wait out Leviathan. One which did not stand directly on top of Noelle's bunker, so that should the worse happen he wouldn't be immediately consumed by his other pet's power.

He absently noted the new Ward directing stragglers into the bunker. He hadn't seen much of Louise, or "Smokescreen" as she was officially called when she bothered to put on a domino mask. Really, the pink hair was a dead giveaway.

Naturally pink hair! According to her, it's not even power related. One day he'd like to see this alternate earth full of people with cartoonishly colored hair.

That said, Tom didn't particularly like being close to her, not knowing how her power would interact with his. His insider knowledge told him she could put any cape out of commission for days.

As she worked to direct everyone in the shelter and oversaw the sealing of the giant vault door that marked the entrance to the shelter, he figured she'd have little need to use her power here, so he would be fine.

In his first timeline, he pondered what questions to ask his pet. Not that she could be of much help. Precognitive thinkers like Dinah were useless against Endbringers.

"63.4% chance we both die in the next 6 hours," his drugged up pet said. Well, that was disturbing. And probably low. It was more then likely that was the odds of them dying to the consequences of the Endbringer rather then the Endbringer itself. Well, that just made it all the more important that he was safely tucked away in another Endbringer shelter in his second timeline.

The other Endbringer shelter was leaking.

The vault of the other Endbringer shelter was being ripped open with an ear-shattering screech.

Currently the only thing standing between him and Leviathan was a petite power nullifier, one who could certainly take his powers down for days and equally certainly do bupkis to an Endbringer. The Endbringer's 4 eyes stared directly at him. Like a god judging mere mortals, the Endbringer slowly raised it's claw.

The girl shouted "Fireba-"

Tom closed that timeline.

Sitting in his office with his pet, he split the timeline.

In one, he sat in silence.

In the other, he asked his pet, "Probability we both survive the next 6 hours if we leave now."

"50.7% chance we survive the next 6 hours."

Evacuating an Endbringer shelter during a Leviathan attack. Not his idea of a good time.

VVVVVV

Louise knew she wouldn't be all that helpful at an Endbringer fight. They told her repeatedly that Endbringers are the highest Trumps, that master powers that would work on anything else, or trump powers that worked on anyone else, would fail against an Endbringer.

And she knew that hitting an Endbringer wasn't worth it if it meant turning off the powers of everyone around it for days. That her power could get a lot of people killed.

She thought Armsmaster could have been more polite about it. "Your power is useless and dangerous, go work on evac" is kind of disheartening. Even knowing how direct the man always is, and that he meant no offense.

And thus, she found herself the de-facto leader of the evacuation efforts at Endbringer Shelter 4.

She wasn't the actual leader, no, that would be one Jessica Swanson. But she was the people everyone looked to, everyone depended on. She was the hero. She felt herself a poor hero, considering she was hiding away in a shelter rather then facing the beast. But she was the hero for the people huddled away with her.

And then the great vault door thudded.

Everyone turned towards the door. It thudded again. Then, slowly but with an ear-piercing screech of metal, the vault was bent open.

The beast looked down upon her. It was looking directly at her.

She wouldn't die that easily.

"Fireball!" she cast upon the beasts face, knocking it backwards. It's head was completely removed from it's body as it fell to the ground. And then it screamed.

Screaming wasn't the right word. Screaming implied something was natural about the noise it made. It sounded more like a chalkboard scratching upon the inside of her mind.

The beast's flesh melted off of the creature, its arms and legs falling to its side. Not to imply it was shrinking, if anything it was growing. From its back giant tendrils of flesh violently erupted. A great stomach forcing water up and out through its throat. Lungs which spewed forth water with every breath. Its many gaping orifices pointing directly at her as the monstrosity crawled away.

"Fireball!" Louise cast again, even as the creature nearly beheaded her with a spray of water. The creature grew further, but she would not stop. "Fireball! Fireball! Fireball!" The creature grew and grew, giant pumping stations of flesh and bone, pouring forth water in every direction where there should be blood. And at its center a gigantic heart of obsidian flesh. This broke too before one last "Fireball!"

Upon its death scream, which rattled Louise and the city itself to their very bones, the beast imploded into water. Great geysers spewed forth, the creature violently melting and drowning everyone near it; it was all Louise could do to remain upright as the people she defended held her and each other up, lest they all be swept away by the tide. She was standing in a river, waiting for the storm to end even as those she defended clung to herself and each other.

And then the sun pierced the sky.

Even as behind her, people rushed to save the drowning, a single cheer rose. Then another. Then three more. Soon everyone was cheering the death of the titan.

VVVVVV

"Leviathan is dead," Louise spoke into her Endbringer armband, even as she was being cheered.

"Are you sure," was the Tinker Dragon's simple response.

"Yes," Louise said, "Send some heroes to evacuate Shelter 4, it's currently flooded."

The woman at the other end paused. Louise half expected to be contradicted, but the woman said "help incoming" instead, even as a flying cape crested a nearby building. Glory Girl, Panacea's sister, if Louise's memory served

Glory Girl immediately got to work, entering the shelter and lifting an elderly man with a twister ankle, as she shouted over the cheers, "What happened? How did he die? Are you sure he's dead?"

"I... I think so?" Louise said. "It was strange. He became this abomination that kind of just... collapsed upon itself."

"And you killed him." Eidolon commanded next to Louise rather then asked, nearly giving the girl a heart attack. Eidolon, the most powerful cape in the protectorate, who was now channeling some water dranage power to drain the Endbringer shelter.

"I guess?" Louise said.

"What? No way." Glory girl said, carrying another man out. "That's Smokescreen. Her power is to make smokescreens. There's no way she killed Leviathan with smokescreens."

The man took upon himself a defensive posture as he looked up. Louise followed his gaze, seeing the Golden Man, Scion, looking down from on high.

Eidolon stared at Scion, Scion stared at Louise, and Louise kept glancing between the two of them while she continued helping people out of the shelter. Finally Glory asked Scion and Eidolon, "Are you two gonna, uh, help?"

Eidolon eventually replied, "Not here, there are other places that need to be drained," as he rapidly retreated. But Scion made no move to budge. He stood above them in silent vigil.

And Scion remained, hovering above, as Louise worked. Making no move to help or hinder. Simply observing.

After a couple hours Louise was commanded to speak at an emergency press conference at the still-standing PRT headquarters, one of the few places in the city that had a working generator. Scion followed. Armsmaster, Miss Militia, and all the Wards attended, and even Legend and Eidolon. Alexandria's lack was notable, but almost assuredly her fault since she had accidentally depowered the hero just yesterday. They all met, so Piggot could announced to the world that "Through the combined efforts of every hero living and dead today, we proved that the Endbringers are not immortal. That they can be killed. And it is with great pride and great sacrifice that we have killed Leviathan today, here in Brockton Bay."

"Our heroes proved that no matter what the odds are, we can-" Piggot said, before stopping herself as Scion came down from on high. She watched. Armsmaster watched. Eidolon and Legend and everyone watched as Scion hovered down, in front of Louise. And the greatest hero did the unthinkable.

He poked Louise on the forehead.

The poke was full of meaning it should not have. It communicated "NORMAL" directly into Louise's brain with a disappointment that should be impossible. A judgement that such a simple action should not have, as if she was judged and found wanting, and that was confusing to the greatest hero.

How the greatest hero conveyed so much by a light touch, Louise did not know.

And then the Endbringer alarm went off for the second time that day.

VVVVVV

Having turned the entire base into a closed system by locking everyone in, Mannequin beelined for the two capes that were holed up where his power told him was probably the executive office.

"20.4% chance we die in next 6 hours if you do not call in Noelle, 98.4% chance if we bring her in," the little girl told the older man. Well, that told Mannequin what one of his hostages powers were. The girl then told Mannequin, "He's a thinker."

"Pet!" the older man said.

Ah, Mannequin saw her game, and she was right. Mannequin would go for the unknown thinker over the known thinker, no sense playing with fire. Although Mannequin wasn't the best wetworks tinker, he did pick up a thing or two from Bonesaw. So he gave them both paralytics, placed the little girl in the corner, and began working with the older man.

He opened up the empty brain case in his head, paralyzed the older man, and began the long process of moving his brain into Mannequin's body, where Mannequin would be able to access the older man's power. Idly, he dedicate one pod to trawling the network for information on this "Noelle" that they mentioned. It looked like she was a monstrous cape under the base, ugly thing to boot.

It took nearly 6 hours to finish the process, the girl quietly retching in the corner. He finally attached his new toy to his body, and saw what the man thought.

The ability to make a choice, and see the results before deciding which to stick with. The older man was definitely quite a catch.

Now for the other thinker. Mannequin turned to the girl.

She was holding a radio. He paused. Perhaps he should have given her another. Mannequin shook his finger at the girl. Naughty, naughty.

"Better off dead," the girl said, pressing the button on the radio, "Coil is dead! Mannequin killed him! Mannequin is in the base!"

Mannequin lunged for the girl in one timeline, where she quickly dodged to the side before ramming her fist on some keys at Coil's computer. In the other, Mannequin simply fled past the girl to one of Coils many secret exits as the girl smashed the same keys.

At the same time in both timelines, the base rumbled underneath him as mercenaries began pouring into Coil's office. In one timeline, he was shot dead with a tinkertech rifle. In the other, he had already fled topside.

VVVVVV

Piggot quickly decided that Smokescreen would stay at the PRT building, supposedly to "protect" the command center of this new emergency. More realistically, it was to make sure she doesn't get in the way and to make sure absolutely nothing happened to her before the next Endbringer fight.

Piggot noted Smokescreen receiving a phone call. The cape glanced at her phone, shrugged, and silenced it.

Smokescreen then got a text from the same number, which she stared at.

Smokescreen's phone then vibrated again, and she picked it up. Piggot scowled at that.

Smokescreen stood quietly, before replying to the caller, "You mean the Undersider?" That had Piggot's attention.

Smokescreen blinked. She then told Piggot, "It's Tattletale."

The woman nodded, and Louise put the girl on.

"We need Louise, now!" Tattletale said. "We're fighting Noelle, she's a monstrous cape that clones other capes. Louise is the only person in the city who can kill her without drowning us in clones and casualties!"

"Smokescreen is not being deployed," Piggot said immediately. Smokescreen was a cape nullifier that could kill Endbringers. There was no justification to put her into a fight that would only get her and her allies killed.

"Oh come on, you aren't going to give me the bullshit about her being a blaster 2-"

"Tattletale," Lady Piggot commanded, using her best anti-cape scowl as she took the phone and turned off speaker. "Do you have anything productive to say."

"Noelle clones anything she eats, then spits out evil mutated clones with their powers. Naked, unarmed, evil clones. You should be sending in unpowered, armed people along with one, maybe two capes to actually kill her, not feeding her more and more superpowers to absorb and shove back at us-oh shit, fuck, fuck, fuck-"

"Tattletale!" Piggot said.

"Talk later, rescuing Panacea!" Tattletale finished, hanging up.

Tattletale. Was rescuing. Panacea.

Piggot handed the phone back to Smokescreen and grabbed her aspirin.

Damn her, but what Tattletale said made sense. If she was telling the truth. Which she was, that's what overconfident Thinkers did, tell the truth to make everyone around them feel stupid. The obvious tactical decision would be to send just PRT agents and a power nullifier.

She worked with capes a long time. Louise-no, her cape name's Smokescreen, keep it professional-was one of the rare few capes she worked with who didn't have a psychological need to punch things with super powers.

She looked at Smokescreen, fidgeting. Figures. Not even she was immune from the need to act. "There will be fights where you are needed, where we will ask you to put your life on the line for the greater good. This isn't one of them."

Smokescreen nodded, her resolve strengthen. Hopefully that meant Piggot wouldn't have to worry about her running off and getting herself killed.

Piggot told herself that even if sending Smokescreen in was the wise decision, there was no way in hell she could convince the hundred some-odd capes in the city to avoid fighting what was quickly becoming an S-class threat. And she would not endanger the only person to kill an Endbringer when there were other options on the table.

Besides, right now her job was to make sure all the heroes got the new intel. Let them decide how to handle it.

And then the building started to shake, as the first calls of "Siberian is in the building!" made their ways through the radio chatter.

VVVVVV

The Siberian was here? Again? "She does not die when I... disperse her," Louise told Piggot. "I'm sworn to secrecy on the details, but I've 'popped' her twice already."

"You couldn't even tell your director?" Lady Piggot asked.

"The order came from above," Louise said simply. With only the Triumvirate and PRT Director Costa-Brown weilding that authority, Lady Piggot could connect the dots as she grumbled. Louise continued, "This is probably revenge."

Piggot nodded, and said, "Roads are blocked, helicopter too slow." She pressed a button at her station, "Immediate parahuman evac requested for Smokescreen, PRT headquarters, Siberian sighted-"

It was at that moment the woman of the day, the Siberian herself, decided to walk straight through the wall of the command center, mere feet away from where Louise was standing.

"Fireball!" Louise commanded, popping the woman like a balloon.

The command room was silent for a moment, before an officer called out, "Is she dead?" even as the building rumbled again

"No." Louise replied simply. She did not know what the Siberian was, but it was assuredly still alive.

"Head outside for evac," Dragon replied. Louise nodded, making to grab for Lady Piggot.

"No," Piggot said simply. She then called for 3 officers. "Do whatever it takes to get her outside."

The officers saluted. Louise saluted. The Siberian crashed down from the ceiling above, directly where Louise was standing moments before. Louise cast another fireball at the woman even as the Siberia threw herself at her.

An officer dumbly said "What did you do to piss her off," to which Louise did not reply that she helped Alexandria kidnap her adopted daughter.

"Go!" Piggot commanded, and they were off.

VVVVVV

She was hoping to leave via the front door.

She looked at the offending collapsed ceiling.

"This way!" one of the officers commanded, directing Louise to another route as the building shook again. What was the Siberian doing, trying to take the building... down... oh. That's what she was doing.

They passed a collapsed emergency exit, another collapsed hallway, anything leading away from the center of the building quickly terminated in rubble as Louise made the decision "I can blast us out of the parking garage without threatening to take the rest of the building down with us."

The other officers nodded, as they threw themselves down the central stairwell.

They found the Siberian.

Louise cast "Fireball!" and missed as the woman dived behind a support pillar. Louise would have to be careful not to damage the pillar itself or the whole building could fall down.

And of course, that was the moment the Siberian decided to throw a car straight through the pillar and at Louise.

"Fireball!" Louise commanded, sheering the car into two pieces that fell to either side. The other three officers attempted to build a wall of that containment foam stuff they were so proud of between the Siberian and herself. It wouldn't stop the woman for even a moment, but it would stop her from chucking any more vehicles at them as they fled for the exit.

The Siberian was fast, weaving between cars even as she stopped to throw them in Louise's way. Louise barely had a moment to spare for the Siberian as she cast fireball after fireball to clear the path ahead.

Louise finally broke through to outside, a monstrous dog being ridden by the Thinker Tattletale waiting for her. Louise turned around and blasted the Siberian one more time, popping her, and getting a good look at PRT headquarters from the outside. The building was barely standing, was half collapsed, tilting to the side and threatening to fall at any moment as Tattletale grabbed Louise up onto the dog.

"Why did they send you?" Louise asked.

"I volunteered," Tattletale said, as another Siberian appeared from behind a nearby building.

"She's a projection?" Tattletale nearly screamed, as Louise's guard commanded the pair to "Run!"

"What do you mean she's a projection?" Louise screamed back even as the giant dog bounded away.

"It's how she comes back after you 'kill' her! The real body is somewhere else!" Tattletale explained. She then muttered to herself, "Holy shit, that's why no one could kill her."

Then a car flew over their heads. Tattletale looked back, commanding "Shit, pop her again!"

Louise raised her wand, before her eyes widened. "Not while we're riding the dog, I'd nullify it too!"

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Tattletale swore, before screaming into her armband, "Immediate cover fire requested! Siberian hot on Smokescreen's tail! Siberian is a projection, repeat Siberian is a projection!"

"Acknowledged, ETA 3 minutes" Dragon's always kind voice replied. And then a telephone pole nearly decapitated Louise, before the Siberian used it to pole vault in front of the pair.

"Too slow!" Tattletale replied. She then had the dog veer left, taking out her phone even as the Siberian nearly decapitated her with a mail box "Grue, get us cover!"

The pair rushed right, then left as they barely stayed a step ahead of the woman, before running directly into a cloud bank of near complete darkness.

"Tattletale!" Louise shouted, still holding on for dear life.

"No, this is good!" Tattletale said, quickly zigzagging through the fog.

Louise did not trust the supervillain that everything was okay when they were navigating near pitch-black darkness at breakneck speeds while dodging cars and sinkholes and whatever the Siberian could get her hands on. All sound was muted. The armbands stopped squawking out chatter. They were not only unable to see or hear what was around them, but they couldn't hear any of the sit reps coming out. It was only after two minutes of this that the darkness cleared and Tattletale finally slowed down.

"Got her," Tattletale said, and Louise found herself face to face with the bug girl she met on her first night.

Even as three sets of armbands screamed, "Get Louise away from Noelle," Tattletale smirked like the cat that caught the canary.

The bug girl simply said, "You didn't mention we'd be kidnapping a Ward."

"If I mentioned it, you would have said no," Tattletale replied, earning an anguished sigh from the bug girl.

VVVVVV

"Right, so the thousand foot recap," Tattletale began. "Noelle wants Panacea to heal her. Or if that doesn't work, which it won't, to clone Panacea so that the clone can heal her."

"Alright, then do that, don't drag me into it!" Louise said.

"Well, the problem is that Panacea isn't exactly a healer. She can freely control anything's biology," Tattletale continues. "And if we let Noelle create a clone of her, it'll unleash a deadly plague and destroy the world?"

"So not only is the healer lying to everyone," Louise said, wondering why the villainous thinker thought she'd believe this fantasy, "You mean to tell me that this Noelle is the one person in the world she can't heal?"

"Well, everyone knows Panacea can't heal case 53s either-" Tattletale began.

"Fine, then evacuate Panacea!" Louise replied.

"She's currently being used as bait, you know, to corral Noelle where we want her," Tattletale explained.

"Why are you using the greatest healer in the country as bait!" Louise shouted at Tattletale.

"Look, it's the best plan we could come up with-" Tattletale replied, before being cut off again.

"The best plan you could come up with?" Louise shouted indignantly, wondering if killing Tattletale would be in violation of the Endbringer Truce.

The bug girl-Louise thought she went by Skitter?-put her hand on Louise's shoulder. She then explained very simply, "If you don't hit Noelle, we lose at least Brockton Bay. The best case scenario is the city gets glassed. Worst case? Noelle reaches Panacea, and everyone dies of a superpowered plague."

Well when she put it like that, their actions almost seemed reasonable. As long as nobody stopped to think for 3 founder-damned seconds. These Undersiders were worse then her fellow Wards at thinking things through, which is probably why they started a gang instead of taking easy Ward money.

Louise sighed. "What is your plan?" she asked the bug cape, hoping the answer wouldn't be as stupid as the thinker cape's.

Skitter didn't look at her, and she was deathly still, as she said "Bitch is coming."

Louise faced the direction Skitter was looking, as a block away Panacea and the Undersider's Hellhound rounded a corner. And a giant bloodied monster made of tentacles and animal jaws was galloping right behind them. "What in the Founder's Name is that thing!" Louise shouted, taking out her wand as a dozen naked men and women flew past the creature.

"Noelle," Skitter replied.

"Back up!" Louise commanded, then waited for the cape holding Panacea to pass her because it would be really, really bad to knock the greatest healer out of commission in the aftermath of two Endbringer events. She then shouted "Fireball!" and had the blast intercepted by one of the nudists? What the hell? Are the clones sacrificing themselves for it?

"Fireball!" She cast again, hitting a second nudist as the monster got within feet of her, things that big should not move that fast! "Fire-"

Louise found herself gobbled up by the creature. It was dark, warm, and she was rapidly... going to... sleep...

VVVVVV

Louise jolted awake, covered in slime, vomited out into the broken storefront of a smashed-up convenience store. She reached for her wand-

Her wand was missing.

"Don't move," a girl said behind her. "Turn around slowly." Louise saw herself. But naked. And holding her at wandpoint, as Noelle rampaged behind her.

"Put some clothes on," Louise said.

"You think I like flashing your micro-tits? I can't help being born in my birthday suit. Now move," the clone said, the end of the wand lighting up. A small fire was burning at the tip, a spell Louise could never succeed at but the clone did effortlessly. She marched Louise to the back room even as the sounds of battle rampaged outside. She then sat the girl down.

Louise tossed her clone her cloak. "At least put this on."

The clone considered her. Then she accepted, covering herself with it even as the wand never left Louise's face.

"We're going to talk," the clone said. "And if you're hopeless, I kill you. Maybe I take your place. Maybe I fuck off. Maybe I even join the Undersiders."

"Oh not those idiots," Louise said.

"Yes, you'd hate that, wouldn't you," the clone said, grinning. She then continued, "See, I know you. I know everything about you. Hell, you could even say I am you."

Louise chose wisely not to dispute that as the homicidal clone said, "Let's get the first thing out of the way. You hate yourself."

Louise eyed the wand, unsure if she wanted to respond and risk angering the clone, before the clone made the decision for her, "You want to deny it, right? But it's true. You hate yourself. You're a zero, a failure, only wanted for the fact that her failures happen to be convenient. You worry that no one in Tristain, not your mother, not your sister, not the princess, will mourn your passing because of your endless failures."

"I have held myself with dignity befitting the Valliere name-" Louise began.

"Oh stop clinging to your rule of steel and your Valliere name, we both know those are just shields to protect yourself from your own failures," the clone continued. "Besides, your name has certain expectations, such as even the most basic of magic."

"...While that may be true-" Louise began, before being interrupted.

"It is true. You are a failure, and you hate yourself. Your summoning was your last chance, and even that fucked up. You were wondering if you should end your family's shame, before you came here. Admit it."

Louise looked down. "I cannot pretend the thought never crossed my mind."

The clone continued, "But then you ended up in Brockton Bay, and you thought to yourself that there was no familiar suited to you, that the failure was because you were not worthy of a familiar." When Louise did not reply, the clone continued, "But it was also a blessing, wasn't it? Finally, you had a place where someone had a use for your skills. Nullifying the magic of other mages."

"They're parahumans," Louise said. "They've repeatedly explained that it is not magic."

The clone replied, smirking, "But they can't explain how their powers work. They insist it's not magic while wielding supernatural abilities. You told yourself it was not magic to avoid disagreeing with them, but deep down, you wondered."

"And then they had you fix the messes the Gray Boy left behind," the clone continued. "And you hated it. But you did it. You told yourself it was because there was no one else, but deep down, it was because you hated being useless, that it was the only thing you could do, right?"

Louise frowned at that. "I helped them because it was right."

The clone interrupted, "Don't lie, part of it was because you were afraid. You were already a failure, but you didn't want to be a useless failure."

Louise hesitantly nodded at that.

"And all this time, you wondered, why were you always a failure? Why did all your spells explode? Why did they cancel out the magic of parahumans? And you shoved those heretical thoughts to the back of your mind; that your failures, that your ability to dispel magic, could it be because you're a void mage?"

Louise began, "That would be heresy-"

The clone interrupted, "It would, wouldn't it?" She then added, "I hate Louise, the failure of a mage who couldn't perform a single spell, who's too inept to deserve a familiar. But then I thought, maybe the reason your magic always fails is because you're void element. And maybe the reason you have no wise, powerful, beautiful familiar is that she wasn't born yet. The ritual pulls the best familiar from across time and space, but what if you had yet to create her?"

The clone then stood up, and cruelly mocked, "Behold, your divine, beautiful, wise, powerful servant! Now bind the contract, prove to me that we aren't worthless!"

Louise was taken aback, "That's insane, I'm not going to bind a person-"

The clone held Louise's wand up to her neck murderously. "Seal the contract. You know the words. You only practiced them every night for three months."

Louise trembled. She, well, she hated everything the clone had said. Mostly because of how close it struck to her heart. Defeated, Louise said "P-Pentagon of the Five Elemental Powers, grant your blessings upon this creature and bind it as my familiar."

Louise then leaned in for a chaste kiss, which the clone ruined by shoving her tongue down Louise's throat.

VVVVVV

Louise sputtered, breaking off the gallian kiss her clone imposed upon her. Meanwhile, the clone laughed as runes were burned into its hand. She examined the rune as it formed, declaring proudly, "We aren't worthless!" The clone then frowned. "Damn this magic is strong, I don't even hate you anymore."

"Um, good?" Louise said. She then meekly added, "Can I please have my wand back?"

"You don't get it," the clone said, "I'm an evil clone. I suspected that I'm you without your inhibitions, but that was all built on a core of hating you. Not sure what I'm supposed to do now that I don't hate you. Throw myself at monsters and embarrass you at brothels?" the clone pondered, "That sounds kind of fun."

Louise looked indignant at that, "You are not going to any brothels-"

"Yeah, yeah, rule of steel, blah, blah, blah you realize you hate yourself for that too, right? Take the stick out of your ass," the clone said, Louise's face rapidly reddening as she clutched her fists. Louise had to remind herself that she was still technically being held at wandpoint by her evil clone, that it would not be wise to piss her off or make her twitch suddenly.

The clone began speaking again. "I hadn't really planned this out beyond stealing your first kiss, and then maybe, kind of, killing you?" the clone admitted, rubbing the back of her head. "Right, names, I guess I can't steal yours?"

"I suppose since I bound your contract, it falls to me to come up with a name," Louise said. "How do you feel about Marianne-"

"Lulu," the clone said.

"That is not a proper name," Louise replied.

"Yeah, don't care. We both know you're only complaining because you wish your sister would call you that." The clone said. She then needled her original, "Oh wow, your face is really red, might want to get that checked out."

Louise would not kill this girl. Louise would not kill this girl. Louise would not kill this girl. "Listen 'Lulu', people are dying outside while we are huddled in here discussing pet names. Now give me my wand."

"Aw come on," the clone said. "Noelle's not so bad, she's had a hard life, give her a chance."

The monster roared outside so loudly that the drywall of the room cracked, and plaster fell from the ceiling. Louise looked flatly at the clone.

"She's just having a temper tantrum," the clone justified, even as the building shook under Noelle's demands for Panacea. The clone had the decency to look sheepish.

"I might be on your side," the clone explained, gesturing with Louise's wand, "But that doesn't mean I'm going to just hand you this so you can kill mom. Yes she's an angry monster, but she's still mom."

"She's killing thousands," Louise retorted.

"So did our mother. Karin of the Heavy Wind had a pretty storied battle record herself, but you aren't about to kill her," the clone explained.

"That's obviously different-" Louise said.

"Maybe to you, but I'm one of Noelle's clones," the clone said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Louise sighed. "Give me the wand, and we'll both leave. Together. I'm really not supposed to be fighting Noelle anyway, nor do I relish the idea."

"Better idea," the clone replied, "I keep the wand since I can actually use spells without taking my teammates out of commission, and the two of us explain to this harlot Piggot of yours why we're each other's new best friends."

"Don't call her that!" Louise shouted.

"We both know you've thought it," the clone replied.

"Just..." Louise said, "Just help me get out of here. And put some clothes on, you're indecent."

The clone looked at her borrowed cloak, replying, "Well sorry I didn't have time to go shopping in the last ten minutes."

VVVVVV

It would figure her armband was broken, Louise thought. At least she managed to scrounge Lulu up a sweatsuit.

Louise listened for the sounds of fighting as she pointedly guided the pair in the opposite direction.

"Where to?" Lulu asked.

"Away," Louise clipped back.

"Yeah, but, where? PRT's HQ is smashed, so's the rig."

"The hospital, then," Louise replied.

"Yeah, one problem," Lulu said, pointing to the fighting. "Hospital's back that way." The clone then paused, thinking, "Wanna hide until this is all over?"

Louise groaned, "If we hide, then the PRT can't find us."

Lulu replied with an air of non-chalance, "Yeah, let them think we're dead for a couple hours. You've subjected yourself to enough danger for one day, and I don't want to get immediately blasted by a hero for being a clone."

Louise looked sheepish at that, "The heroes aren't that bad-"

Lulu interrupted, saying "Hah!" in response.

"If you want to hide, just give me my wand and go hide," Louise replied simply.

"Yeah, no," the clone said. "I do that and the heroes will kill me on sight, and you know it. Kind of need you to vouch for me."

"And what makes you so sure I'd do that?" Louise huffed.

"Well, I'm you, and I know I wouldn't just let them kill my familiar," the clone snarked back. "And you know that they kill clones on principle, and you don't think that's right, so..."

"Founder, I hate you," Louise mumbled. The pair continued walking away from the fighting in momentary silence.

Then Lulu decided to speak up again, "Let's ask for a sword wand when we get back. I'm thinking a silver rapier would be cool."

"A pure silver rapier would be too prone to snapping," Louise replied simply.

"I know, I know," the clone waved her off, "But it's a lot cooler then just getting a steel rapier with a silver core, and you know you want it. Besides, they owe us, we killed their Leviathan."

The clone continued, "I mean, considering what they've told us about the thing, we at least deserve land and a title for the job."

"They don't do that here," Louise grumbled at the annoying girl.

"But you know you deserve it," the clone said, navigating Brockton's post-flood sidewalks. "Really, you've killed a lot of monsters these past few days. It would be an insult to the family name to not be properly rewarded for it. Throwing in a couple sword-wands shouldn't be a big deal."

Louise found herself nodding along. "Yeah," Louise chuckled. "Bet they'd mess it up?"

"They'd hand you a wooden rod covered in silver paint if they could get away with it," the clone joked. "No respect for quality, everything's about being cheaper, cheaper cheaper."

Louise didn't have much of a response to that. But the silence was getting kind of awkward, so she asked, "What do you plan to do, anyway? Once we've regrouped."

"Hm, probably nag you to get us back to Halkegenia," the clone said.

"You've never been to Halkegenia," Louise said.

The clone shook her head. "I am you. I have your memories, your feelings, your homesickness. I remember mother, father, our sisters, the princess, hell, I remember everything about Halkegenia that you do, and we both want to head back. If you won't nag yourself to do it, then I will."

Louise replied simply, "You wanting us to go back doesn't make it's any more possible."

"No, you just refuse to do it. Your summoning ritual proved you can go between worlds and you know it. Just do it again," the clone said.

Louise rolled her eyes, giving the same excuses she told herself for not reattempting the summoning. "Best case, it does nothing," Louise replied. "Worst case, we end up on some random world penniless and jobless a second time."

The clone gave Louise a look, "Listen Void Mage, you and I both miss home and we both know there has to be a way. The summoning ritual is proof of trans-dimensional travel or whatever kind of magic those PRT guys called it. Just... try stuff. Smart stuff. Dumb stuff. Experiment! And for Brimir's sake I'm not letting you use the sacrosanctity of the summoning ritual as an excuse, not when you're the only person in this entire universe who gives two shits about the Founder."

"Stop spouting heresy!" Louise protested.

The clone retorted, "Stop denying your heresy! Founder, stop trying to be the perfect noble! Nobody gives a shit about it! Your classmates always found it annoying, your family isn't here to judge you, and nobody here gives a rats ass about Brimir."

Louise made to retort, but stopped herself. Then she said, "If we get home, you have to promise to play nice with the church. I don't want the Inquisition at my door over your mouth."

"When we get home," the clone said simply, as if stating fact. Justifying her unjustified optimism, Lulu added, "We're Vallieres."

The pair reached the end of the block, as a voice to their left shouted "Hey there!"

"Yeah, you guys, with the pink hair!" the voice said, jogging to catch up. It was a girl in a red shirt, with cigarette burns up both cheeks. Burnscar, of the Slaughterhouse 9, Louise noted, even as her clone raised her wand.

Burnscar skipped up to Louise, leaned in, and vigorously shook her hand. "Thank you!" the girl said.

Louise blinked. "For..." she began.

"For killing Jack!" the cape replied cheerfully. "Oh, right, you can call me Mimi, do you go by Louise or Smokescreen? And who's your friend?"

"I am Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La-" she began, puffing herself up with her ingrained introduction, even as her clone cut her off.

"She's Louise, I'm Lulu, and you-" the clone enunciated even as magic gathered at the end of her wand "Can't stay."

Mimi looked empty at that, staring at the clone. It was like a switch flipped from on to off. "Who's Lulu to you," she commanded Louise in monotone. "Can I burn her."

Louise stood between the cape and her clone, "Listen Mimi, Lulu is just worried because I, well, I haven't had the best experience with your friends."

"Oh don't worry about that," Burnscar bounced back. "I mean sure, Manny and Sibby really want to kill you, but once we get you to Elle's place you'll be able to hide from them!"

"Manny? Sibby?" Louise asked.

"My Slaughterhouse friends!" Burnscar answered. "I'm sure you'd have loved them if they weren't so angry about the Jack thing. Good job by the way, he totally had it coming."

"And this Elle...?" Louise asked.

"She's my bff from the Asylum, you'll love her. You know, I was just on my way to see her."

"The Asylum?" Lulu replied, skepticism evident.

Burnscar ignored the implied insult. "Come on!" She said, humming to herself as she led the way.

Louise hesitantly made to follow her.

"This is a terrible idea," her clone whispered.

"Yes," Louise said.

"We should probably kill her. Collect her sweet, sweet reward money and be done with it."

"Yes," Louise said, then corrected herself, "I mean no, I mean killing people is bad, but she does have a kill order on her-"

The clone interrupted to say, "We're gonna follow her anyway."

Louise looked embarrassed, "I am... admittedly a little concerned for this Elle's safety."

Lulu rolled her eyes. "This is way dumber then aimlessly wandering, but fuck it I'm in."

"Hurry up!" Mimi called back to the pair.

VVVVVV

"Elle!" Burnscar called out while banging on the door to the Palanquin nightclub.

"So... is your friend a waiter here?" Louise asked hopefully.

"No, no," Burnscar answered. "She's one of the mercenaries. Elle, come on, open up!"

Right. Faultline's crew. An infamous group of mercenaries who operated out of this club. Because of course the Slaughterhouse Nine member couldn't have normal friends.

And said Faultline opened the door. Holding a shotgun.

"Leave," Faultline commanded.

Burnscar went cold at that. "Not without seeing Elle," she said, the inflection leaving her voice.

Faultline raised her weapon. "No," she said.

Burnscar's fingertips ignited. "Give her back," the woman said without a trace of emotion.

"Stop!" Louise commanded both of them with a placating gesture. "Stop before the two of you burn down the building." Louise started with Faultline, "Slaughterhouse Members used to have Bonesaw. She usually makes their organs bulletproof. The best you'd do with that thing is anger her." Judging by Faultline's expression as she lowered her gun, Louise guessed she didn't know that. Or she got caught up in the heat of the moment. She then turned to Burnscar, "Mimi, if you start a fight here you won't be able to talk to Elle."

"Sorry," Burnscar said, putting out the fire at the tips of her fingers.

"Wait, they used to have Bonesaw?" Faultline said. "What happened?"

Lulu decided this was the time to speak up. "Louise here murdered the fuck out of Jack. And Crawler. And Bonesaw. Well, not murdered, but I'm pretty sure Bonesaw is in like, some super secret government base now." She then looked up, "Hey, I'd love to watch the pissing match, but can we borrow your phone first? Loey here needs to tell the suits not to kill me." The clone ignored the glare she earned for the nickname continuing, "Oh, and also that she's still alive."

Faultline looked between the cape and the clone. "Smokescreen." she said. "Smokescreen killed Crawler."

"She also killed Leviathan," Lulu continued. "That was pretty cool, his organs imploded. Anyway, the PRT is probably a little worried because Tattletale fed her to a giant monster. So yeah, your phone, we need it. Preferably before Mimi burns your house down."

Faultline sighed, facing Louise "Is that a clone of you? How? Why? And why did you take a Slaughterhouse Nine member here?"

Mimi cheered up, saying, "I invited them!"

"Yes, Mimi invited us," Louise explained "And the clone is, well, complicated."

"The evil monster everyone's fighting made me," Lulu explained. "And the two of us came to an understanding. Anyway, call me Lulu," she said, extending her hand.

Faultline looked defeated, to say the least, as a cape who looked like a giant snail walked behind her with a tea tray. He called out, "Maybe invite them in for tea? I find it's always good when you need to calm down and talk things out. Better for tempers then the doorway."

Faultline grumbled something under her breath, before finally acquiescing, "Fine, come in."

VVVVVV

Half an hour and a semi-coherent explanation later, Smokescreen was still talking on Faultline's satellite phone, Burnscar was making pleasant conversation with Labyrinth, this 'Lulu' was currently hitting on the bright orange Newter and earning dirty looks from Smokescreen for it, and Faultline was on her sixth aspirin. And her 4th cup of cold tea because starting a fire to warm it, with Burnscar three feet away, was a really bad idea.

And then someone started knocking on the door. In rapid-fire Morse code.

U - _ - S - U - K - _ - T - T - _ - R - U - L - Z.

Tattletale. Great. Just what she needed.

She opened the door to Tattletale's smug grin, the girl saying "$50,000, bring Labyrinth-"

Tattletale's grin dropped, as everyone in the room glared at her.

Faultline tried to see if she could guess the reasons.

Louise was angry about being thrown in front of a giant monster.

Burnscar didn't want to share Labyrinth.

The new girl, Spitfire probably thought Tattletale was a reckless know-it-all asshole. Because Tattletale is a reckless know-it-all asshole.

And the other mercenaries were afraid she was hiring them to do something stupid and dangerous. Because, undoubtedly, she was.

"Louise!" Tattletale shouted in relief. "And Burnscar?" she said. "And that's Louise's clone?" Tattletale gaped. She then grabbed her head. "Ow, my headache did not need that." She then put her smirk back on, "Hey Louise, you want to go at Noelle again?"

"Gust" Lulu chanted, blowing Tattletale out the door and 3 feet off the ground, where she crashed on her butt. The clone then slammed the door shut with a second "gust".

Louise was failing at hiding her smirk, while her clone didn't bother hiding it.

"Faultline!" Tattletale shouted through the door, apparently still wanting to tempt fate. "How about $100,000? I'll explain on the way." As if doubling the fee made working with her better.

Faultline admitted to herself it did, opening the door. "I'm listening," she said.

"Be careful. She's really bad at planning," Louise said, glaring at the girl.

"It's not my fault you're so bad with your power," she taunted Louise. "I guess I should have expected it, seeing as you have zero experience." Louise's face was getting very red at that, as she got up from her chair, only being held back by a placating gesture from Gregor.

"I've worked with her before," Faultline told Louise, before the teenagers could start fighting like children. "Tattletale, make it 200, up front. Burnscar, if we're not back by 9, it's her fault," Faultline said, pointing at Tattletale, the thinker already returning to her usual cheeky smile. She then gestured towards the snail man, saying "Gregor, keep house."

VVVVVV

Vista had been told to expect Mercenaries, Slaughterhouse Nine members, and Evil Clones. She saw herself valiently rescuing Louise from the clutches of the villains in their lair.

She spied on the Palanquin throught the window. She was very disappointed to see 3 women and a giant snail man playing hearts.

She was told everything was under control, but still. Trained Killers and Evil Clones! It's a promise of danger! Without that, she might as well be fighting the giant monster, that's way cooler then games of hearts.

She knocked on the door. "Come in!" A kindly sounding gentleman answered, even as Smokescreen swore about being stuck with the Queen of spades. Or was that the evil clone? Probably the evil clone, Louise was too uptight to swear. She let herself in.

Okay, while Vista knew for a fact she was standing in front of a member of the Slaughterhouse Nine, she couldn't reconcile the image of the bubbly woman in front of her with that of a serial killer.

"Aw, you're adorable!" Burnscar said. "You're so short!"

"I'm not cute," Vista replied in a certainly not cute way.

"You realize everyone thinks it's cure when you insist you're not cute," the evil clone said.

"No one asked you," Vista replied. The evil clone of evil doesn't get an opinion. Even if the evil clone seemed docile. Vista looked around. Still one evil clone, one mercenary case 53, and one Slaughterhouse Nine member all sitting right next to Louise. "Louise, are you in danger?"

Louise glanced at her cards. "Only of falling behind Gregor."

"Never doubt an old man with a deck of cards," Gregor sagely said in response. He then turned to Vista, "Keep Louise here safe, she has a knack for finding trouble."

"Yes sir!" Vista answered the kindly old Case 53 somewhat stiffly. The evil clone laughed at that.

"Well it appears our time is up," Louise told Gregor, putting her cards down. "You were an excellent host, I will make sure my colleagues know to turn to you in need."

"That's very kind of you, young miss," the snail man replied, even as Burnscar cut in.

"Make sure to come back soon!" Burnscar cheered.

"You don't live here," the evil clone said.

Burnscar tilted her head at the clone. "Elle lives here," she said, as if that explained everything.

Vista wasn't sure what to make of that.

Well, it wasn't Vista's problem, as she left the Palanquin's front door with Louise.

And Louise's evil clone, who followed them out.

"Wait, wait, wait, she can't come," Vista said, pointing at the clone.

"Right, Vista, this is Lulu," Louise explained. She then opened her mouth, stopped herself, then started up again, "She bound herself to my service as a familiar. In my home country, she'd be considered an extension of myself."

"But she's an evil clone!" Vista said.

Lulu spoke up, snarking "So what, you're gonna kill me because I was born wrong?"

"Yes!" Vista replied as if it was obvious. "She's evil and murderous and dangerous. How do you not see this?"

"Hey, I'm not murderous," Lulu said. She then clarified, "Anymore. Besides, I am her. Well, the parts she hides from everyone, including herself. That's why God selected me for her."

Louise sighed, explaining, "The familiar summoning ritual and corresponding binding ritual binds a mage with their ideal companion, who will serve as an extension of themselves for the rest of their life."

"And what better companion for Louise then Louise," the clone explained.

"But... you don't act like her, or sound like her," Vista said.

"Oh, and you don't have a part of yourself you want to hide?" Lulu said. "Maybe an obvious crush with a local Ward who's too old for you, or a love for plushies? I wonder what your inner self looks like, I bet she'd recite cutesy love poetry for-"

"Lulu!" Louise commanded, even as Vista's dignity was crushed into a ball and thrown into an incinerator. Did Louise think that of her, Vista wondered? No, it had to be the evil of the evil clone being evil. "We'll have Armsmaster check her out later. His lie detector is pretty much done, right? Either way, we're not killing her."

A thoroughly embarrassed Vista snarked back, "I'm not saying we should kill her, I'm saying we should leave her here."

"Where she'll get killed by someone else," Louise said.

Red-faced, Vista didn't have a retort to that. Then she noticed something missing from Louise. "Where's your wand?" she asked, even as the clone dangled it overhead. "Why does your evil clone have your wand!" Vista shouted.

"What else would I cast spells with?" the clone said like it was obvious.

"She won't give it back," Louise admitted, herself joining Vista in embarrassment.

"Give Louise back her wand," Vista demanded.

Lulu looked thoughtful for half a second. "No." she replied. "I need it to avoid getting shot by superheroes. You know, those people who keep calling me an evil clone every 30 seconds."

Vista looked at Louise. She then looked at the clone. She then groaned, because she had enough of this shit. She warped the space in front of her even as she started reporting and definitely not ranting into her armband about Louise and the evil clone and how they were playing Hearts with Burnscar.

Just because her spacial warping meant she could evacuate them in about five minutes, didn't mean she couldn't use those five minutes to complain about it.

VVVVVV

Mannequin followed the chatter on Louise. It was somewhat difficult for him to listen in on the Endbringer Armbands, like most Dragon tech it had parahuman levels of security. He may have had to spoof a dead cape's armband into thinking they were still alive.

This was probably the first time he worked on the life support of a single arm. Well, this "Aegis" fellow certainly didn't need it anymore.

So with the knowledge he heard on the armbands, and the ability to split timelines and discard the ones where he lost track of Louise, he was easily able to catch up to the girl. And her clone. And the space warping cape; he heard the name Vista come up; that escorted them.

He was disappointed to see their escort was two full squads of PRT agents. With all the S-class issues in the city, he was surprised and disappointed they could spare so much man-power for one cape. Mannequin tagged Louise on his heat sensors, split the timeline, and chose to hide under a different van in each of the two timelines.

Oh good, Louise was getting into one of the vans he chose. With the clone. And Vista. He collapsed the timeline where he picked the wrong van.

He was hoping for a chance to make an example of Louise, but it looked like the PRT had no intention of letting up security. A pity. Hit and runs were hardly elegant.

It was times like this where he wished the Siberian had a phone. The armband chatter said she was a projection. Very disappointing, her lack of trust in their family. If the woman, or was it man? If the person controlling her had come forward, he could have texted him about this plan. Maybe bought some time to stuff Louise's brain in a brain case. Make her know nothing but pain for a decade or two.

Ah well. Let no one say he could not improvise.

He watched Louise's heat signature carefully through the wall of the van, as the convoy navigated the closest highway. He waited until it hit 60 miles per hour, the speed would make it difficult for them to respond to his attack. His echolocation, while less effective on the highway due to the sounds of cars, allowed him a sense of whether the driver was checking their side mirror. Good, he was looking away. Mannequin split the timeline. In one he stayed under the fast-moving van. In the other, he climbed up the side of the van, and prepared his strike.

Now.

His claw pierced the metal siding of the van, slipping between the girl's ribs.

The reaction inside the van was immediate, Vista shouting at the top her her lungs as the clone waved a wand around. But it didn't matter how prepared the capes were to respond, The driver swerved hard, startled by the attack. Mannequin used the momentum to fling himself off the van and across the highway. He quickly hitched a ride underneath a truck heading the opposite direction.

Mannequin had a choice at this point. In one timeline, he was still waiting for his chance under the van. In the other, he had already struck the girl's lung, and while the kill wasn't confirmed, she had little chance of surviving when she was drowning in her own blood. He should know. He's watched it happen enough times, Jack so did like his games.

He collapsed the timeline where he hadn't yet struck, keeping the one where he was escaping. Before he had come across Coil, he was a master of exfiltration. Now, he thought as he split the timeline into two different escape routes, he was unstoppable.

VVVVVV

One moment Louise was being driven to safety, idly watching the oncoming traffic.

The next minute, she was stabbed by a murder doll.

"Mannequin!" Vista screamed, as the driver veered off the road, skidding to a stop. Louise was barely aware of Mannequin's retreating form. She was more concerned with how much it hurt to breath.

She tried to inhale, but ended up hacking up blood instead. She heard the driver call for "Immediate medical attention". Something about being 15 minutes from the hospital.

She nearly laughed. Instead she spat out more blood. After surviving the Slaughterhouse Nine, Leviathan, the Siberian, and all the other bullshit that day.

A PRT officer unbuttoned her shirt. Louise was in too much pain to care. The officer covered the wound with gauze, while making demands of the others. He asked Louise to breath. Louise tried. She tried as hard as she could. She could never get enough air, there was always too much blood.

She saw two great spinning lights. Two gods rotating around each other, singing whale song that radiated meaning.

VVVVVV

Golden Man, Scion. He had many names, but his role was always The Warrior. The Warrior looked down from on high, seeing his investment mature.

Destination. Tragectory. Failure. Null. Void. Null. Void. Null. Vooooooooiiiiiiiid.

VOID.

Success.

The Warrior radiated happiness without twitching a muscle. The seed he planted paid off. And in under a planetary rotation, unusually expeditious even with his probabilistic influence.

Curiosity. Observation.

The Warrior wished to understand VOID.

VVVVVV

The two great lights faded. And at some instinctual level, she felt like she had been blessed with understanding. Understand of The Void.

The PRT officers would not be able to save her. She would die if she did nothing. "Wand," Louise weakly demanded of Lulu. The clone hesitated for only a moment, before passing it to Louise.

It was a spell she would have needed years to come up with on her own, but with the understanding she had been granted, she knew it instinctually. She raised her wand. "World... Door..." she hacked up. She crafted a great gateway in reality, a tear in the fabric of space, based on the "door" Alexandria showed her just yesterday. She made this door such that Brockton Bay General lay on the other side.

If it were any other day, Louise would be ecstatic to learn her element. That she was a void mage. For today, she just wanted to stay conscious for the next thirty seconds, as the spell drained her remaining energy.

Credit to the PRT agents, they only gaped for a moment, before helping doctors rush her into the hospital.

She couldn't think any more. She just wanted to breath. She wanted to stop choking on blood. She was fading out as the doctors started sticking needles in her and tending to her wounds.

The medics poked her with something, and the pain went away, even as she drifted into unconsciousness.

VVVVVV

Panacea was annoyed.

This was the third time in two days she would need to meet with Smokescreen.

First she was pulled from her home via some freaky mover power to heal Alexandria of all people for something Smokescreen had apparently done?

Then she was the bait for a Noelle trap that depended entirely on Smokescreen, and had failed completely. That was on Tattletale, why Tattletale thought Smokescreen of all people would be a good counter against Noelle is something beyond Panacea.

And now Smokescreen was supposedly the number one priority cape in Brockton for reasons no one will explain.

Smokescreen. The girl who's power is supposed to be making smokescreens.

What made this girl so important that the PRT shelled out for a mover Panacea had never heard of, if the window ripped into reality in front of the hospital was anything to go by?

Panacea roused the cape with a simple question, "Do I have permission to heal you?"

Smokescreen made to respond, but like most patients filled with enough painkillers to knock out a horse, the girl was barely able to slur an audible "yesth."

Panacea put her hand on Louise, and started speaking, "Punctured lung, internal bleeding..." As she spoke, she repaired the damage. "All right, I sped up your metabolism to make up for the biomass I used, so make sure to get plenty of food," Panacea continued, taking a look at Louise's biology. As she did, her annoyance was replaced with curiosity. Naturally pink hair from a non-case 53? Naturally pink eyes? She was filled with biological peculiarities beyond the obvious Corona Pollentia and Gemma in her brain which were always a sure sign of a cape. Was she some biotinker's pet project? If she was, whoever created her didn't hide any traps, so probably not a Bonesaw creation.

"Thank you Miss Panacea," Smokescreen said, gaining a regal air. "You truly are the best healer I have ever met. It appears I owe you a debt of gratitude."

"Don't mention it," Panacea replied simply, if with slightly more bite then normal. She volunteered at the hospital because she was a good cape, she didn't need to be repaid.

"None of that," Smokescreen said. "I'm aware that you refuse payment for your services, but it would reflect poorly on the Valliere name to leave our debts unpaid."

"No, really, I'm a volunteer, you don't need to do anything special-" Panacea began.

"Miss Panacea," Smokescreen said, brokering no disagreement. "I am not a beggar in need of alms. It would shame my family to not repay you. If not money, then a boon from the Valliere estate."

"No!" Panacea shouted. "No money, and no boons!" What the hell was wrong with this girl? "Just... just stop."

Smokescreen furrowed her brow and looked hard at Panacea, not saying anything for a moment. She then said, "I understand," to Panacea's relief. At least until Smokescreen added, "New Wave shall receive a donation in your stead, if that is acceptable?"

Panacea wanted to object, but the truth was, there was nothing to object. Many of her patients went on to donate to New Wave, it was how they financed their operations. "Yes," Panacea said to Smokescreen. Panacea went on, "About yesterday, with Alexandria," because why the hell was she thrown into a portal to heal Alexandria, and what the hell was Smokescreen doing there.

Smokescreen looked away at that, "I am sworn to secrecy by Lady Alexandria herself."

Panacea glared, "Okay what the hell is your deal. You're way too involved in PRT and Protectorate stuff for a cape who's power is to make smokescreens."

"I suppose if the cat is not yet out of the bag, it will be soon," Smokescreen said. "The truth is my magic nullifies powers. I used it to kill Jack Slash, Crawler, and Leviathan."

"Bullshit," Panacea said.

"It's not a secret," Smokescreen replied. "Lady Piggot would have announced it already had Noelle not interfered-"

"Stop," Panacea said, frowning. "First off, it's your power, not magic. Second, it's just Panacea. Not 'Miss Panacea'."

"That's much too informal for an acquaintance," Smokescreen began, but Panacea cut her off.

"Third, if the entire Protectorate couldn't kill Leviathan after 20 years, your smoke bombs aren't gonna do it," Panacea ranted. "You've never fought anyone, never caught any criminals. You're the crazy 'magic' cape with a noblesse oblige fetish who sits at home while the real heroes like Glory Girl fight for this city!"

"Are you okay-" Smokescreen began, but Panacea wasn't done.

"Of course I'm not okay! Do you know how many people I healed today? Real heroes, heroes who actually fight for what they believe in?" Panacea's face turned bright red as she worked herself into a righteous fury. "Do you know how many of them died before I could reach them? But it's all worth it because Leviathan is dead by their sacrifice, and I'm supposed to be happy about it! And you, you don't get to take that from them! Not from Eric, or Uncle Neal, or any of them! They were the ones who sacrificed themselves while you hid in some Endbringer Shelter!"

Panacea was breathing heavily now. Smokescreen didn't respond, she did not need to, as a doctor was already waiting by the door. The doctor hesitantly interrupted the uneasy silence, asking, "Panacea, we have some patients ready in room 204."

"I'm coming," Panacea said, regaining her breath. She needed to calm down anyway, and she couldn't do that with Smokescreen around.

VVVVVV

The debriefing took nearly four hours to organize after Noelle's defeat, since both Protectorate and PRT headquarters were destroyed and Lady Piggot was recovering from a broken leg in the hospital, forcing her duties upon Deputy Director Renick. Louise still didn't understand what the heck happened with Noelle. Just that the fighting was intense and everyone was talking about some new "door" in the center of town, separate from the one she made and removed at the hospital. And that they shoved Noelle into it? Or they wanted to mine it for resources, or that it connected to earth Aleph, really the stories were a mess.

Louise and her fellow Wards filed into a classroom at the local high school the PRT commandeered. She allowed herself to rest for once; Winslow was considered easy enough to secure and evacuate in the event that Mannequin or the Siberian wanted to go another round, and she was surrounded by capes.

Two capes Louise would not yet have considered close friends, but at least comrades in arms were gone. Nobody wanted to talk about how Gallant and Aegis died in the two consecutive S-class emergencies. It was just her, Shadow Stalker, Vista, Clockblocker, and Kid Win left for this debriefing.

And a certain pink-haired elephant in the room named Lulu, sitting by Louise's side with a confident smirk.

If it wasn't for her, Louise was sure Armsmaster would be doing search and rescue, and Miss Militia would have handled the debriefing. As it was, Louise needed Armsmaster to verify some things.

Armsmaster faced the Wards and said, "Before we being this briefing, a number of legitimate concerns have been brought up about this Lulu." He then turned to the clone and asked, "Are you Louise's clone?"

Lulu scoffed at that. "Obviously."

Armsmater continued, "Do you plan to hurt Louise?"

"Nah," the clone said casually.

"What about the Protectorate and the PRT as a whole?"

"Nope," the clone replied. "Look, I just want to get the two of us home, I don't give a shit about any of that other stuff."

Armsmaster's stare bored into the clone. Finally he said, "And are you evil?"

The clone considered that. "I dunno, I'm probably like Louise's Antichrist or something, telling her she's a void mage and that she should practice void spells and she should tell Brimir to fuck himself." Louise frowned at that, but kept quiet, as the clone continued, "But that's all Halkegenia religion, not yours. Oh and also I kind of want to get pass-out drunk at the local brothel, but I'm pretty sure that's not evil. That's just fun."

"No brothels," Louise said.

"No promises," Lulu replied back.

Louise rolled her eyes as she explained, "Once she bound herself to my service, she became an extension of myself under the laws of my country. Her actions are my actions, and vice versa. If she becomes a problem, it will be my duty to handle it."

"Wait a second," Clockblocker interrupted, "That sounds an awful lot like slavery."

Louise nodded. "Nearly all familiars are animals. However, there is precedence for human familiars, as the Founder Brimir had four of them, each an extension of his will. Furthermore, the ritual selects the ideal familiar for the mage."

"Which means," Lulu explained with an easygoing smile, "That my continued partnership with Louise here is mandated by god himself, as I am her ideal lifelong partner."

Louise grumbled, "You did not need to phrase it like that."

Lulu replied with a cattish grin, "But I wanted to." Clockblocker looked like he had something to say to that, but thought better of it.

"Kinky," Clockblocker mumbled, earning a glare from Louise.

The clone said, "You can join-"

"All truth," Armsmaster interrupted before the teenagers could start planning things he would be expected to stop. "But that's not how things work in Brockton."

"I am aware," Louise said.

"Most clones would be classified as tinkertech creations and be slated for destruction," Armsmaster explained. Louise immediately stood up and moved herself between him and the clone.

Before Louise could argue, Armsmaster continued, "However, Renick has agreed to utilized the parahuman law concerning citizenship for clones." With a small smile, Armsmaster said, "You are not the only person in PRT ENE who is concerned about the ethics of killing clones." Louise nodded, satisfied with Armsmaster's answer as she returned to her seat. Armsmaster continued, "But to be clear, she is not your slave, and you cannot treat her as such. She would have the same rights as anyone else."

"Of course," Louise said. "I'm not a barbarian."

Vista spoke next, "I think we're all ignoring the fact that the evil clone is evil. Sure, she might look pleasant enough, but once our backs are turned how do we know she won't stab us?"

Armsmaster replied, "That is precisely why I'm here. To make sure she's honest about her intentions, which she has been." His lie detector at work, Louise noted.

"I promise I won't back stab or betray any of you," the clone said. Lulu then smirked, "I think the real question is what should we do about Vista? She obviously has some deep seated bigotry against clones, who knows how many of my clone bretherin she helped kill already."

Vista gaped, "They don't count! They were trying to kill all of us."

The clone said, "See? Clear bigotry-"

Louise elbowed her clone in the ribs, hard. She then told her clone, "I know that we don't consider the other clones people. I'm not sure you even consider yourself a person, at least not one separate from me."

Lulu replied, "Well, I'm really not my own person. I'm you. Part of you, at least."

"Stop that," Louise commanded. "You're your own person, and I expect you to live up to that."

"Louise," Lulu said, "I'm not going to let you go pretending we aren't the same. You know I won't let you run from yourself."

"But it's not normal to define yourself around me. You should be your own person too, not just my other half."

"Girls," Armsmaster interrupted. He then looked at the rest of the Wards. "Will any of you have issues working with Lulu? Any concerns?"

Vista grumbled something about not trusting her, but it was Shadow Stalker who spoke next, "Yeah, is she gonna be as useless on the patrols as Louise?"

"You mean will I volunteer to punch people and get paid for it?" Lulu said immediately "Sounds fun."

Armsmaster sighed, "You aren't supposed to be looking for fights on patrol. Patrols are about community outreach, not punching muggers. Which Shadow Stalker knows."

Shadow Stalker and surprisingly Vista crossed their arms with near matching frowns, even as Lulu complained, "But I was looking forward to punching muggers..."

Louise rolled her eyes. It seemed like anyone and everyone with a power harbored a deep seated desire to punch things. She had hoped her own clone would at least be an exception, but apparently that was too much to ask for.

VVVVVV

"Starting things off chronologically, we conducted a major strike against the Nine yesterday," Armsmaster began.

"Meaning Louise, and by extention me," Lulu interrupted, pointing to herself, "killed Jack Slash and Crawler, nullified Hatchetface, Bonesaw, and Shatterbird's powers, and left the Protectorate to pick up the pieces."

"Bullshit," Shadow Stalker said.

Armsmaster's mouth took a thin line as he said, "No, that's true. Louise was called in to clean up a Gray Boy site in Dover, and the Nine were waiting for her."

Louise asked, "Sir, is it alright to speak about the Gray Boy project?

"We're about to announce all your achievements," Armsmaster said. "The guys over at PR and even the Watchdog thinkers want to prop you up, they believe your story will inspire the masses."

Louise blushed at that, even as Lulu said, "Hah, we're finally getting the recognition we deserve." She then looked Armsmaster in the eye, "That said, no more Gray Boy bullshit. You want her cleaning up those hellscapes, you better protect her from it. At least give her a blindfold and a spotter so she doesn't have to be the one watching that shit."

Louise began, "Lulu-"

"No," the clone said. "We shouldn't have to shoulder that shit alone. You don't get to pretend that everything's okay, that shit has been in our nightmares for months and you know it."

Armsmaster looked sheepish, as he said, "Lulu is right. I'll make sure something is prepared for future clean ups."

"Future clean ups?" Lulu asked.

"Obviously." Armsmaster and Louise both said. Armsmaster continued, "They're good for PR and will help her image."

Lulu replied, "Okay, but she killed Leviathan, she doesn't need-"

"I want to." Louise interrupted. "If I can barely stomach looking at it, I can't in good faith leave the victims to live it."

The clone grumbled, but didn't object even as Clockblocker spoke up, "Shit, you're behind that? You never said anything to us."

"I was sworn to secrecy," Louise answered simply, earning a nod from Armsmaster. "Gray Boy work is classified to protect the capes doing it."

"That's not the important thing here," Shadow Stalker said looking to Louise appraisingly. "You faced the Nine, and you survived?"

"Their plan was to have Hatchet Face nullify my powers. It did not work." Louise said. "They asked me to hit Crawler with my best shot. I did. Then I did the same for the rest of their members and took my leave."

Lulu chuckled, "Meaning she panicked, fireballed everything in sight, ran like a spooked horse, then spent the next three hours hyperventilating on the drive to Philly."

"And your blasts killed Crawler?" Shadow Stalker asked, ignoring Lulu as she received a nod from Louise. "Holy shit. So you can step up your game."

"Hatchetface and Shatterbird were killed by Legend soon after," Armsmaster said, putting a stop to Sophia's posturing, "But their remaining members came to Brockton bay."

"Bonesaw won't be a problem," Lulu said. "Louise and I are sworn to secrecy on the details."

"She wasn't supposed to even tell you that much, but it's true," Louise added. "Bonesaw has been handled."

"Okay, there is definitely a story there," Clockblocker said.

Armsmaster cut in, "And you cannot even tell me, your Protectorate leader?"

"Yes," Louise said simply.

Armsmaster's mouth was a thin line. "What happened when you spoke to Alexandria in Philadelphia?"

Lulu cut in, "She just told you to drop it. You wouldn't want to get one of you Wards in trouble with your precious Protectorate, would you?"

Armsmaster was not happy about it, but he knew he was outranked. "That just leaves Mannequin and the Siberian."

"And Burnscar, but I think she left the Nine," Louise said.

"Yes, about her," Armsmaster said. "Faultline's crew actually got her to come in peacefully. She's going to receive a trial."

"I thought they all had kill orders?" Shadow Stalker said.

"Yes, but she has a lawyer who's arguing that her kill order is unconstitutional," Armsmaster explained. "It's all in legal limbo right now, the important thing is she's off the streets."

"So back to the important part," Lulu said, cutting off discussion. "Mannequin and Siberian. Those two are still gunning for my little Louise here."

Armsmaster nodded, "We have unobstructed vision around the school in a hundred yard radius, and multiple escape routes. If they come back here, we'll know, and we'll get you out."

"But they're still out there?" Lulu asked. "I know that she knows that she's not gonna be able to sleep with those two creeps around.

"Not for long," Armsmaster said. "As you've probably heard the rumors, the Siberian has been confirmed to be a projection. That means she can likely be killed. And without Jack to lead them, we hope the Slaughterhouse Nine will be done for by week's end."

VVVVVV

A lady in a nice suit stood in front of a van. Behind her was a break in reality, leading to a pristine, white hallway. To her left was the Siberian. And at her feet were the smashed up remains of the Mannequin. She looked the Siberian in the eye, and said simply, "You've had your fun, Doctor Manton. It is time to get back to work."

Without a word, the man in the van got out, and followed the lady in the suit.

Later that day, it would be reported that Mannequin was run over by a truck, and Eidolon had at last killed the Siberian in the backwoods of Kentucky. And with that, the Nine were finally no more.

VVVVVV

The briefing continued on like that for nearly two hours. Louise leaned that Triumph and Dauntless of the Protectorate were dead; while she felt for Armsmaster having lost two members of his team, she herself had very little interaction with them. The deaths of Aegis and Gallant both hit closer to home.

Leet of the local group Uber and Leet had died during the Noelle attack, the local Nazi gang pretty much only had Hookwolf after Leviathan gutted their leadership, and Coil was supposedly dead and his base discovered. Noelle was shoved into an alternate dimension or something, the Travelers left for their native world, Earth Aleph. The Undersiders got off Scott free, to Louise's irritation. And the other capes explained to Louise that she had a "trigger" event, and that's why she had the power to create world doors.

And most pressingly, Louise learned the President of the United States wanted to give her commendations. Tomorrow.

VVVVVV

"Both the United States and the world owe you a debt of gratitude, and it is my honor to present you with the Presidential Medal of Freedom," the President said, handing Louise the medal. "Would you like to say a few words?"

"I would, Mister President." Louise said, remembering not to call the president "sir President". Louise was given a lot of rules for this speech, one of the reasons it wasn't being broadcast live. "I have seen the worst the world has to offer. I have seen the cruelty of the Gray Boy. I have come face to face with the Nine, and survived. I looked Leviathan in the eye, and stood my ground. And what they all had in common, what they all wanted to kill, was hope."

"There are many monsters in this world, and most of them wear human skin. They want you to believe there can be no bright tomorrow. That the world would forever be a place of terror, fear, and pain." Louise stopped herself from invoking her family name in this speech, she was strictly ordered to frame her accomplishments as Louise, and not as a Valliere, against her better judgement. "But I will not back down," she said, preparing to emphasize that they're all in this together, "We will not back down. We will look these monsters in the eye, and make them know there is hope, make them know that we will build a brighter tomorrow."

And it was time for Louise to finish, "It is long past time to put an end to the Endbringers. Like the Gray Boy, like the Nine, and like Leviathan itself, we will face each of them on the fields of battle. We will all fight the nightmare, to reach the bright, beautiful dawn on the other side, and we will win!"

VVVVVV

"Nice speech," Lulu said, as the pair watched the speech from their hotel room. She pulled a bottle of champagne from the minibar.

"Where did you get that?" Louise accused.

"Stole it," Lulu said casually.

Louise glared.

"I left cash," Lulu said with a role of her eyes. She then poured two drinks out, handing one to Louise. "Now come on, I know you need this more then me."

Louise eyed the glass suspiciously, then downed it in one go. With a laugh, Lulu followed suite. Lulu then appraised the champagne, "Not as good as Tarbes, but not bad."

Louise's phone rang. She picked it up, "Louise speaking."

"Congratulations," the stern voice of Lady Piggot said. "I see you're a fair speechwriter."

"I had a good tutor," Louise replied, thinking of father's lessons even as her clone poured her a second glass.

"I'm aware that we are putting an unusual amount of pressure on you, in light of recent events," Piggot said. "I heard that you triggered. I'm sorry. Listen, if you need some time off-"

"Is that the director?" Lulu asked "Put her on speaker."

"...Lulu wants to talk to you," Louise said, hesitantly.

Piggot made the long suffering grunt of a woman who had too much crap to deal with in one day, before saying, "Go ahead."

"Sup Piggot, listen, me and Louise wanna try heading back home in a few days," the clone said.

Louise added, "We don't even know if we can do that."

Lulu said, "But you want to try. You want to World Door us home soon, right?"

"I do," Louise said. "Maybe not immediate-"

"So yeah," the clone cut Louise off, "Giving you a heads up, so you can get all your paperwork done and shit."

Piggot replied, "Hold on, Smokescreen, there are a lot of laws regarding inter-dimensional travel-"

"I've been told," Lulu said. "But you know how it is. We can't leave mother and father thinking we're dead. So yeah, pick a spot where you don't mind us throwing around fucktons of magic when we try making the portal."

Piggot voice grew stern as she said, "That's not something I can just authorize. Who knows how many laws that would run afoul of-"

"Yeah," Lulu said, downing a second glass. "If you want your pausible deniability, we could practice without your approval, just find some field somewhere or something. This is more of a courtesy call then anything."

"Smokescreen, do not listen to your clone right now, you can't just go about making portals-"

"But you aren't going to say no, are you?" Lulu said. "Louise here really misses her parents and if you tell her no, well-"

"Smokescreen!" Lady Piggot commanded. "Please take your clone off the phone."

Louise considered that. Hesitantly, she said, "She is not wrong. I have an obligation to try to return home, and while I would rather not run afoul of your laws, my first loyalties are to Tristain. I apologize, Lady Piggot."

Piggot didn't speak right away. Eventually, she sighed at the other end. "I understand. Give me a month to arrange something."

"I can't let my family worry for another month if I can return now," Louise faltered, "If this works, I won't be gone forever. I'll still be able to come back if you need me. I just, won't be a Ward anymore."

Piggot again took a moment to compose her thoughts, before grumbling out, "At least give me a week to make arrangements."

Louise considered that, "That is acceptable. Thank you, Lady Piggot."

"One week," Lulu taunted, hanging up the phone.

Louise glared at her clone. "That was incredibly rude of you."

"It's better to rip off the bandage now then let the wound fester," Lulu said, even as she poured Louise more champagne. "That conversation was going to happen eventually."

Louise whined, "I know, but you didn't have to be so rude about it."

VVVVVV

Lulu awoke to the sounds of scribbling.

She saw Louise writing notes of some kind. Dozens of pages of notes. Magical formulas, equations, explanations for the underlying theory. The desk was covered in manically written notes.

"Louise?" Lulu asked. The girl didn't respond.

"Louise!" Lulu shouted, grabbing Louise's shoulder.

"What?" Louise growled.

Lulu looked over the girl. "What are you doing?" she asked.

Louise began smiling manically, "I just had this brilliant idea, and I had to write it down." She returned to her notes. "Now I just need a silver blade to test it."

"Test what?" Lulu asked, confused.

"My theory!" Louise explained "On enchanting weapons with void!" She then got up from the desk, and started rummaging around the room. "Hey could you find me a silver knife? Thanks."

Lulu knew Louise. So when Louise was acting like a mad academic on their twentieth cup of coffee, Lulu knew something was very wrong with Louise. "Uh, sure thing," she said, putting on a sweatsuit. She noticed Louise's wand on the desk, and snatched it. "I'll, uh, be right back."

Thirty seconds later Louise was wrestled to the ground by two PRT officers.

Twenty minutes after that she was stuck in a cell in DC's PRT headquarters.

VVVVVV

Louise didn't have time for these Master Stranger protocols, she needed her wand and a silver knife.

"What's your name?" she was asked by the PRT psychiatrist across from her.

"Louise," Louise grunted, even as she continued designing her circle. They would have taken her pen and paper too except she started scratching the formulas directly into the table.

"What is your full name," the woman asked.

"Would you stop bothering me and get me my wand?" Louise asked. Couldn't the woman see she was not wanted?

"Louise, the sooner you answer my questions, the sooner I can leave you alone," the woman said.

"Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere!" Louise practically shouted.

She had hoped that would be the end of it, but the woman insisted on questioning her for nearly three hours while she designed different iterations of her binding circle. Then, finally, 4 other men entered the room with her wand and a piece of silverware.

"Good, good, put the knife on the circle," she said.

The men hesitated, before one of them came forward and finally followed her instructions.

She then snatched her wand. The men flinched, but did not stop her.

"Pentagon of the five elements," she said with a series of rapid wand movements, "I bind this blade with Void, may it cut through all magics."

There! One small poof and it was done!

Louise felt the pent up energy leave her body as she relaxed back into her chair.

Wait a second.

What the hell was all that?

Why had she just spent nearly 6 hours looking for a silver knife to enchant with a spell she never knew before?

"Oh Founder, I don't know what came over me," she apologized to the psychiatrist.

"Could you tell me in your own words what happened?" the woman asked.

"I, well I had an insight into the Void, and I had to try it out. See if it worked. And I don't know why." She looked to the woman. "Was someone controlling me? Is this one of those master effects?"

The woman looked down from Louise to glance to her file. "It says you triggered two days ago. You describe it as a Thinker ability?"

"I suddenly understood the Void," Louise said.

"Sometimes Tinkers and even Thinkers enter a manic state when they have an idea they want to try," the woman said, "Then once they finish their project, they return to normal."

"Wait, so you think I gained a power that makes me go crazy?" Louise asked, trying not to panic.

The woman rubbed the back of her head, "Not crazy." Seeing Louise's expression she added, "Usually building things in a tinker's specialty will help with that." The woman looked for an excuse to change the subject. "So tell me about the knife."

"It's a wand that nullifies magics it comes into contact with."

The woman nodded, "Have you've been thinking about making one ever since you got your power?"

"No," Louise said, clearly shaken. "I hadn't even conceived of it when I went to bed. Then I woke up last night full of insight. Once I finished the knife, it all went away."

The woman pondered that, asking "So you couldn't make another one?"

"I could," Louise said. "I understand the steps. It's just, everything doesn't immediately come to me, you know? I don't feel like I know everything, I just feel normal."

The psychiatrist nodded. "Most parahumans feel compelled to use their powers. With tinkers, it sometimes manifests in the manic state you experienced today. Using their power regularly helps most parahumans center themselves."

Louise thought about that, "My power is punishing me for not using it?" she asked.

"A lot of parahumans think of it as a slowly filling damn," the psychiatrist said. "At some point, you have to let it all out. Tell me, have you used your powers since you triggered?"

"No," Louise said, considering the woman's words, "You make it sound like if I use my magic regularly, I should be fine."

"If not fine, then it may at least help with the symptoms," the psychiatrist said.

Louise nodded to the woman, "Thank you for the insight. Miss-"

"Yamada," the psychiatrist filled in for Louise.

VVVVVV

Lady Piggot had found a pretty decent place for her to practice, all things considered. She called it the "Boat Graveyard". How the boat graveyard came to be wasn't important, the important thing is that nobody had any reason to be there besides Louise, and it had relatively good sightlines for her security detail.

Louise prepared herself. She made sure to use a spell daily, and while that meant she hadn't gone manic since the one night in D.C., it also meant she could not expect god-given insight in how to create a portal home.

Of course, Lulu argued that any god who would drive his followers insane was not a god worth worshiping. She also kept the enchanted dinner knife Louise made to use as a wand, Louise wasn't sure if it was to annoy her, or if Lulu genuinely liked the ridiculous thing. Probably a little of both.

Right. This would be the same as any world door, she just needed more power so she could go further. Hopefully.

"Pentagon of the five Elements, under my guidance I beseech thee." Louise chanted. The chant wasn't strictly necessary, but it helped focus the spell, which was important with the distances involved. "Through the void between worlds create my path, and return me from whence I came." Then with one final thought, Louise finished the incantation, "World Door!"

First there was a bright light cast down upon a mere sliver of torn reality, so Louise poured more power into it. With each passing second, the sliver widened, and as it did so, the pillar of light emanating from it grew brighter. Louise was forced to shield her eyes as the magic grew brighter then the sun, brighter with each ounce of magic she poured, blinding everything in white-

VVVVVV

Karin Desiree de la Valliere nee Maillart was a woman of action.

So when a giant pillar of light exploded into existence in front of the manor, she acted.

She commanded the help to, "Evacuate to the basement," even as she headed to a vantage point on the roof of the manor.

She watched reality tear itself open in a display of unparalleled power, light stretching so bright and so high into the night the entire country must know something was wrong. The light cut into the air itself like scissors into paper, forming a window in space while blinding her to what was on the other side.

And then the light stopped. But the window remained.

She descended herself to the ground and approached it cautiously. Light was streaming in from the other side. And then she saw a girl with pink hair. One she recognized immediately.

"Hello mother," the girl called out.

Karin de la Valliere was one of the most stoic women in the country of Tristain.

Karin de la Valliere blasted herself in a surge of magic through the window in reality, grabbing her little Louise and refusing to let go.

"I summoned a familiar," Louise said, returning the hug.

"Never disappear like that again," Karin ordered.

Louise replied with her widest smile, "I promise mother." Some would say they were crying. They were mistaken. Vallieres do not cry.