A/N:

Welcome, one and all, to the Interlude chapter! Yes, yes, it's boring, but I need to get this out of the way to explain a few things that won't make much sense otherwise without a long Author's Note that no one will read. This Interlude will be in first person (except for one specific part), so each scene change will include a name section that tells you which character is being used at the moment. This character change will only happen during Interludes, so you don't have to worry about that outside of this type of chapter.

With that out of the way, let's get on to your favorite part of this story: The Disclaimer!

DISCLAIMER:

[QUERY: HUMAN?] [NEGATIVE]

[QUERY: OWNER?] [NEGATIVE]

{EARTH BET}

{APRIL 8, 2011}

{E88 SAFEHOUSE, BROCKTON BAY}

{GEORGE BARTLEY}

Holy shit, holy shit, holy fucking shit! He just… he just shot them! All of them! And he was gonna shoot me! Holy…

My thoughts were focused what had just happened, even as I waited for my contact to arrive. Absolutely nothing I had seen from Kyle had prepared me for that. I didn't know he had a gun at all, let alone that he was apparently good enough with it to take us all down without a fight! One second, I was focused on the promotion I was gonna get for bringing in a new E88 cape, the next I was running for my life from some crazy asshole who was shooting at me!

"Mister… Bartley, I presume?" the man in front of me wore the colors, with a swastika armband on his arm.

I let out a quick sigh of relief. "Yeah… yeah, that's me. I have news for the boss."

The man raised an eyebrow, "News such as? You should know, that bothering the Kaiser without good cause does not end well."

His tone was dismissive, and I bristled a bit before calming down. "News such as the white Tinker who goes to my school and just killed four of our guys. I figure that'll catch his attention, don't you?"

The man paused for a moment, before gesturing for me to sit down. "Tell me everything."

And I did. For several minutes straight, I told him everything I knew about Kyle Davidson and his brother, everything I had seen at school, how he owed us protection money, and about our failed recruitment attempt. The man just sat there, taking it all in with the same calm expression until I stopped talking.

"You are certain that this 'Kyle' is a parahuman Tinker? There is no doubt?"

I couldn't help laughing a bit, "At first I wasn't sure, but the fucker admitted it when we called him out on it. Said he wanted to join, too, until he shot us in the back when we tried to bring him to the boss. With all the parts he took out of the junkyards, he's gotta be a pretty powerful one. Way too much stuff to just build a shitty computer or something."

The man nodded, clearly deep in thought. "You and I are the only ones who know of this new parahuman, correct?"

Uh… weird question, but okay. "Yeah, I made sure to keep it in the group for, uh, secrecy and all that." Actually, I kept it a secret so that I could claim all the credit for it, but he didn't need to know that.

He nodded again, before saying something that made my blood freeze. "Good, you're the only loose end I need to take care of. Sorry kid, nothing personal."

Wait, is that a pistol in his-

{EARTH BET}

{APRIL 8, 2011}

{SOMEWHERE OVER THE ATLANTIC OCEAN}

{ZION}

The being known as "Scion" was currently experiencing something that most humans would describe as "boredom". This was not the first or the last time the entity would experience this, according to its precognitive shards, but this current experience was almost overpowering in a way. The being had already saved over a million people today, and yet it felt… meaningless. As if it was simply going through the motions, treating the symptoms and not the problem.

But, none of that particularly matters to "Scion". The only thing that had mattered to it had long since been lost to it, the "Thinker" was dead or close to it, and none of its shards could locate its counterpart. It had been following the directives of a human male to "be a hero", but the directive was so open-ended that everything it did seemed to fulfill at least part of that purpose. Even the release of shards seemed to agree with the directive, despite the damage they would inevitably cause. Perhaps one day, it would find its counterpart. Perhaps its counterpart would even spare the human who had given the directive as well.

The entity felt a strange sensation in its core as several of its outer shards made way for an inner one. It was surprised at the feeling, and a small part of it recognized the shard as a crucial one, despite its damage. Before it had decided what action to take, however, the shard had already made its way to the outer edge of the entity and dropped away. The being could have caught it, all it would have taken was burning half a month's worth of energy, but… it still held out hope that it would discover the "Thinker's" location. If it did, it would need all of its energy to repair its counterpart.

And so, it dedicated its processing shards to finding the nearest human that required assistance, ignoring the shard's shock and anger as it fell to the planet below. With a metaphorical shrug, it placed the event out of its mind, not even dedicated a monitoring shard to check in on the lost shard. After all, at the end of the Cycle it would collect it once again, so a few more years or decades wouldn't be much of a factor in the long run.

{EARTH BET}

{APRIL 9, 2011}

{PRT ENE HEADQUARTERS, BROCKTON BAY}

{DIRECTOR EMILY PIGGOT}

"… What am I looking at Armsmaster?"

The Tinker in front of me straightened a bit at being addressed, before speaking up. "This is Kyle Davidson, suspected Tinker and known parahuman, confirmed by Panacea when she healed him earlier today. Arrested for the illegal possession of a firearm and accused of four counts of first-degree murder. The second charge was dropped upon viewing the evidence, and the police officer who made the accusation was put on probation due to all evidence pointing towards this event being self-defense. While Dragon and I were researching Mister Davidson's background, we discovered that yesterday at exactly two o'clock in the evening, he siphoned two-thousand, five-hundred and sixty-nine dollars in total from various businesses, all of which he had been fired from in the past three months.

"When Officer Jenkins attempted to speak with him, Mister Davidson was uncooperative, and even turned hostile upon learning that Child Protective Services had placed his younger brother in foster care. He began to physically assault the officer, ignoring any attempts at pacification until the second PRT Trooper, Officer Jamison, shot him with a tranquilizer dart. None of the damage done or endurance was outside that of a normal human, if sufficiently motivated."

I massaged my temples with one hand, using the other to gesture sarcastically at Armsmaster. "Yes, thank you, Armsmaster. I read the report earlier. What I am asking, is your professional opinion on the possibility of inducting this boy into the Wards program, and what we need to do for it to happen."

The infuriating man just nodded, before changing the presentation slide to one showing a young boy. Brian Davidson, my mind provided me. "This boy is Brian Davidson, brother to the aforementioned Kyle Davidson. He is twelve years old and has been under the care of his brother ever since their father died almost half a year ago at the hands of Oni Lee. All things considered, the older Davidson has been an acceptable caretaker, managing to keep his brother safe and healthy despite living in the heart of Empire territory. Judging by his reaction to his brother being taken into foster care, Kyle Davidson could easily be persuaded into the Wards program using a combination of carrot and stick. The carrot being his brother's release back into his care, and the stick being the threat of jail time due to his criminal record and being unable to see his brother again due to said record."

Hmm… an open-and-shut case if I had ever seen one before. Hell, the boy was already more polite than Hess was, despite his open hostility so far. "If we assume that he used a parahuman ability to steal the money, could we threaten him with the Birdcage?"

Armsmaster's lips twisted into a slight frown, but he answered nonetheless, "Yes, Director. According to American law, the use of a parahuman ability for economic purposes is punishable with the Birdcage, and hefty fines and jail time for any non-parahumans involved. The law is meant for parahumans who use their powers to play the stock market, however."

I waved his concern away. Oh, I didn't like doing it, but the last thing I needed was yet another Tinker making a mess in my city. I already had two fucking around, and good reason to believe a third had joined the ABB lately. If I could keep a fourth off the streets, whether he was in jail or in the Wards didn't particularly matter. "Good. When he wakes, you and Panacea will check up on him as planned, but you will also push for Wards membership. Make sure he knows this is his only way to both get his brother and stay out of the Birdcage. Understood?"

"… Is that an order, ma'am?" he had the gall to ask.

"You're damn right it's an order. I want that kid on my side, and I want it yesterday. You're dismissed," I barked with my best stern expression.

The Tinker just nodded slightly, before grabbing his gear and leaving the room. After he was gone, I slumped back in my chair and stared at the ceiling.

Fuck.

Sometimes, I really hate my job.

{EARTH BET}

{APRIL 10, 2011}

{THE RIG, BROCKTON BAY}

{JONATHAN SHIELDS, DOCTORATE IN THEORETICAL PHYSICS}

Sometimes, I really hate my job.

It had started pretty normally: greet the edgy teenager with incredible powers, lead them to the power testing room, tell them to have fun. Observe through the window as the Tinker created something that would make modern scientists cry themselves to sleep, the usual.

And that was what was happening at first. The frame on the workbench in the middle of the room resembled the shape of a pistol, with a few extra bits and bobs that probably let it transform into a nuclear grenade or something, fucking Tinkers. But then the kid just… stopped.

Not just a pause, like he was looking for something, but a full-on freeze. His arms stopped mid-way through dismantling something, his eyes didn't move, and he just stood in this half-bend that definitely couldn't have been comfortable. He just stood there in the position for a bit, before he jerked back and slumped against the wall.

The moment that happened, I was calling in codes on my earpiece and trying to unlock the door (standard procedure is to lock Tinkers in the room so they couldn't tear apart the Rig for materials). Right as I managed to get the door open, the kid just slumped over and passed out with a massive grin on his face.

Something about it worried me. Oh, sure, passing out was pretty worrying, but this kid was bleeding from his nostrils and just had this smile on his face, like he was the happiest person in the world right now. It was… wrong, I had no words to describe it other than it made my skin crawl. There was something fundamentally wrong with this kid, his powers, or both.

And so, even as I watched the on-base paramedics lead him away, I turned back to what he had been building. The frame was obviously for a handheld weapon, and a weapon Tinker was already worrying, but what caught my eye were the two prongs that made up the barrel. There were a few wires already in place, along with a few metal panels that made up the casing, but what worried me was the magnetic strip along the top prong.

It was obviously incomplete, but somehow, this kid was making a fucking railgun the size of my forearm. If this was what he could make with a pistol frame, what the hell could he do with a rifle? Or, God forbid, a heavy weapon frame?

Thank all that's holy this kid is on our side, because I had no desire to see just how much damage a railgun or plasma rifle could do to a human body.

On the bright side, the gangs were about to get a rude awakening.

I can't wait.

{EARTH BET}

{APRIL 11, 2011}

{PRT ENE HEADQUARTERS, BROCKTON BAY}

{DIRECTOR EMILY PIGGOT}

… What.

"Armsmaster. Are you telling me, that you, with no help, managed to take down Lung?"

The Tinker shifted a bit, before replying. "Yes, Director. The tranquilizer I prepared was able to subdue him as predicted."

"Uh-huh, sure. Then why do I have reports that, due to the vast amounts of venom in his body, his genitals have rotted off?" I gave him an unimpressed look.

I didn't actually give a shit about Lung's injuries; he'd regenerate eventually and if nothing else I'd call it fucking karma for everyone he roasted alive while rampaging. But, I knew for a fact that Armsmaster hadn't run any ideas for Tinker genital-rotting-venom by me, so either he had help, or this conversation was about to be a lot less fun for both of us.

"… There was another parahuman there. An insect controller, who had fought Lung before I arrived. She wished to remain anonymous, in order to protect herself from any retaliation from the ABB. She also felt that joining the Wards was not for her at the moment but reiterated that she was a hero nonetheless."

Ah, so he had help. I noticed that he didn't say how much she had done in the fight, but let it go in favor of asking more pressing questions. "How would you rate her from what you saw? Should we be worried if she turns against us?"

His expression grew even more serious than before. "Judging by the number of insect bites and stings on Lung? Master 3 at least, there must have been dozens or even hundreds of insects that she was controlling. Despite how weak something like bug control sounds, the fact that she was able to hold her own against Lung, and even override his regeneration with venom means that she not only has complete control of said insects, as most insects do not release that much venom in a single bite or sting, but she is also able to do a lot of damage against even Brutes. She expressed her want to be a hero, and my lie detector read it as the truth, but her dark costume sheds some doubt on that. Despite her villainous looks and power, however, she could make a useful ally if we can convince her to work with us."

"You're sure she's Wards age? Maybe we could convince her to join as well; two new Wards would certainly help our PR, not to mention the firepower that they would bring."

"Absolutely ma'am, her voice patterns matched those of a teenaged girl, likely fifteen or sixteen, despite her height and general male silhouette. She seemed to be socially awkward, likely the result of shyness or bullying, however she is apparently confident enough to take on Lung on what seemed to be her first night out, as she hasn't chosen a name yet. Due to the, on the surface, apparent weakness of her power, I feel that this is a result of her own moral compass or personality, not a product of having an overly powerful ability.

"Speaking of future Wards, however, you may be interested to know that Mister Davidson has woken from his unconsciousness and is arguing with the doctors. He claims that the reason he passed out was due to discovering the sheer scope of his power; apparently, he is a Warfare Tinker. I believe you understand the implications of that already, but to add on to the issue, Doctor Jonathan Shields recognized the unfinished weapon Mister Davidson was building as a handheld, pistol-sized railgun. Upon observation, I find myself concurring with his assessment.

"All of that would be a potential headache as is, if it wasn't for how Mister Davidson claims to have received the information on his specialty." Armsmaster looked me directly in the eyes, and I could tell that his next words would only worsen my headache.

"He claims he can speak to whatever is providing him his power."

Damnit, sometimes I wished I could just get shit-faced drunk. "… I'll inform the Chief Director. Either we have a Master/Stranger situation, or this is way above my paygrade."

{EARTH WITCH}

{APRIL 11, 2011}

{CAULDRON HEADQUARTERS}

{ALEXANDRIA}

I stepped through Doormaker's portal, not wasting any time. "There's been a new development."

Eidolon rolled his eyes at my obvious statement, and Doctor Mother made a gesture for me to get on with it. I held back my annoyance and continued, "You remember our Brockton Bay experiment? Well, there's been a new trigger. A Warfare Tinker, who claims he can speak with his agent."

All of their eyes widened as they realized the seriousness of the issue. Doctor Mother turned to Contessa and asked, "Can you Path him?"

"… Path who?" the suited woman asked in confusion.

That was worrying, but I continued on, "His name is Kyle Davidson. Luckily, Director Piggot was able to get him in the Wards, though the way she did it was overly heavy-handed as usual. Communication with his agent apparently causes great strain to his mind, as he passed out with a nosebleed after asking a single question: 'What are you?' Scion has not noticeably changed his actions in any way, nor has there been any interference from the Endbringers, including the Simurgh. Best case scenario, he's a Blindspot to everyone but Contessa. Worst case scenario, he's a Scion or Simurgh plot and is already compromised."

After a few moments, Contessa shrugged. "He's included in the background of any path I make for Brockton Bay, but doesn't appear to cause any issues in the long run. He doesn't seem to be that important in the grand scheme of things."

Legend gave me a look. "A Warfare Tinker? What all is he able to build? With a specialty like that, he could be…"

He trailed off, but I caught the last of his thoughts. The next Hero. "Unknown. So far, he claims to be able to build handheld weaponry ranging from pistols to heavy squad weapons, power armor ranging from heavy juggernauts to light stealth suits, vehicles ranging from one-person motorcycles to spacecraft so long as there is a weapon attached, and nanomachines that are able to break down molecular bonds and convert matter into different elements."

Doctor Mother looked worried this time, "Nanomachines? The others are fairly standard Tinker fare, if a bit more offensive than normal. Nanomachines are incredibly versatile and dangerous, of course, but they're not exactly warlike in the conventional sense. With a specialty as diverse as that, there's almost no way that he wouldn't feature heavily in at least a few of Contessa's paths."

The fedora woman shook her head, however, "There's not a single path where he plays more than a background role. In fact, it almost seems as if he isn't a parahuman at all, with how little he does."

Those of us without precognitive powers exchanged a glance. Either Contessa's power was working perfectly, which would mean that this incredibly powerful Tinker didn't make anything at all despite being in the Wards, or he was a Blindspot in the worst way: giving just enough rope for us to hang ourselves with.

"For now, we'll observe. However, I want our best parahuman psychologist to speak with him and discover just how the agents think and act. If we're lucky, we might even be able to find a weakness to exploit with Scion," I spoke, looking at each of the others in turn. Contessa seemed annoyed, as if she didn't find it necessary, but the rest of them agreed with my decision.

"Very well. On that note, is there anything else that we should discuss in this meeting?"

Legend spoke up, talking about a new development with a local villain, but part of my attention was still dedicated to the powerful Tinker that apparently changed everything we knew about parahumans.

If agents could think and communicate, then what did that mean for the rest of us? How many natural triggers were walking information leaks just waiting to happen?

A/N:

Alright, in this chapter you see a few reactions to Kyle's unique situation, and a bit of a glimpse into the main story plot. Yes, the Lung fight still happened, because there was absolutely no way Kyle could have realistically changed that event while staying in character. This also means that Taylor will join the Undersiders, and her story will continue on with that as a start.

This doesn't mean, however, that she will become Warlord Skitter, or even that her immediate future will remain the same. Next chapter, Kyle meets the Wards, and gets to play Tinker again (with a bit more success this time).

He'll also get a PRT threat rating at the end of next chapter, where you get to see a bit more of the PRT's freakout involving his powers.

That's all for now, though I will say don't expect another chapter this soon again. Anyway, this is AWDTB, signing off. I'll see you all later.