A Waken 15.4.A
Vicky looked back, but she didn't see Lafter anymore.
She hated herself.
Lafter had kicked that boy away—no need to question if she had a crush on him anymore—and told her to hold him back and all she did was hold him back while...while what? While Lafter fought with a bunch of PRT troopers in tinker-tech gear, that's what.
When did they get that and why were they here?
Maybe they weren't the PRT at all. Vicky didn't know any Glint. Ursa Aurora was from New York though.
No time.
Vicky cut into the air and just flew. She'd find Lafter as soon as she got Amy and if she couldn't she'd call Charlotte. She needed to get to Amy and she needed to grab her and fly bac—
"What the FUCK?!"
She whirled about as the fucking missiles rose into the air from the Rig. One exploded over the bay and spun out into the water but the other five kept going.
Okay.
The Protectorate was fucked.
Vicky watched them arc, and followed the path to—"Goddamnit!"
Vicky twisted in the air and shot forward as fast as she could. It almost felt slow, even with the buildings racing past below her. The missiles were too fast, which was agonizingly slow. She never thought those missile launchers were real. Who put real missiles in those things?!
Vicky veered right, reached out with four fingers and a thumb, and grabbed hold of the first missile she could. Her arm jerked, dragging her along behind the damn thing until she flipped herself over and—
Shit, now what? Did her power even protect her from missiles? Would be nice to know that before she grabbed onto one and she didn't even know what to do with it now that she had it!
Vicky raised her head as her hair flailed in the wind.
That might work.
She raised her free hand and tried to use her power to push herself closer. She couldn't throw the missile away. She couldn't drive it into the ground. She didn't want to punch it.
Fighting fire with fire sounded really dumb in her head, but when in a fire…
Vicky's fingertips scraped the side of the next closest missile. Damnit!
She looked ahead at Taylor's factory, surrounded by idiotic Blue Cosmos protesters, ex-Merchants, and a whole bunch of businesses that cropped up because of her and now was not the time to think about that because even if she got rid of two missiles there were three more and someone was firing missiles into the city!
Vicky reached again, straining for the missile.
"Come here damn y—"
She felt her fingertips on the metal and she gripped.
Gasping, Vicky yanked as hard as she could and threw herself around. Metal sheared in both ears, and she felt the casings crumple between her fingers. She swung the two missiles together and closed her eyes. Fire erupted, and she felt the shrapnel blast into her body and throw her toward the ground.
The little 'pop' in the back of her head told her her power could in fact endure missiles. Good to know.
The pop in her ears, and the ring that followed it, told her she'd be seeing Amy soon about broken eardrums.
Vicky managed to right herself just before she hit the ground. She gripped a torn off piece of missile in one hand and puzzled over her other empty hand. She puzzled more over the scraps floating two inches away from her knuckles, just held in the air by nothing.
How did she do tha—Shit, missiles.
Vicky spun about, heart dropping as the other three projectiles continued on their way.
The first two threw her in the wrong direction to even try and stop the other three.
A Waken 15.4.T
"A little more," Trevor said.
Shino grunted, fingers turning white as he pulled at the seam. "Trying."
Trevor slipped his key in a little further. "Just a little more."
The locker groaned. It was a high-pitched sound, the kind given off when the nano-structures of the E-Carbon began to bend. Shino's arms strained above. The larger boy pressed a foot to the wall and arched his back, teeth grinding as he tried to force the locker door open just a bit more.
"Right there!" Trevor slipped the tool in just enough, turned on the plasma torch, and started cutting at the seal.
"Try—"
Trevor flinched as the tool snapped in his hand, flipped into the air, and clattered against the ground behind him. The door snapped back. Shino yelped and fell back onto the floor. The locker refused to open.
"Fuck!" Shino snarled and sat up. He glared at the locker for a moment, then blinked and looked toward Trevor. "You okay?"
Trevor glared at the locker, but it was pointless. "Yeah."
Taylor made these lockers to keep her tech safe. No one was going to get them open in a half-hour. Hero couldn't do it. Armsmaster couldn't do it. Dragon coul—
Trevor raised his head, looking at the nearest camera.
Nothing happened, like everything else.
The phone Taylor gave him didn't work. Yellow and Orange were rolling around with no idea what to do. The lights were off. The machines were quiet. Queen and Kyrios stood silently in their alcoves, GN Drives absent. If the drives were there they could use Kyrios as soon as Lafter got back. Instead, both GN Drives remained in their compartments in the ceiling and if Trevor couldn't get into the weapons lockers, he definitely wasn't getting into those.
He'd never seen Taylor's workshop so still. "What the hell is happening?"
Shino pulled himself up. "Don't know, but what are we going to do about it?"
Tattletale. Taylor told Trevor a lot since he decided he couldn't sit by and not be involved anymore. It had been pleasant to be on the sidelines. Easy. Not even remotely worth it. He wasn't sure though. Working with Tattletale and some shady woman who used to run Cauldron against Teacher?
Trevor didn't know.
Two wrongs didn't make a right, but when all you had were wrongs what else was there?
How long had Taylor been making those choices while he took it easy?
Trevor sighed and rose up. "We're wasting our time here. Taylor wants no one but her and StarGazer to get into these." He looked over the lockers and admitted, "She's a better tinker than me. At least, when it comes to locking things up."
"What's in them?" Aston asked.
"Spare swords. The bazooka. The Gungnirs. Things we could use to stave off an army of Dragon suits." Trevor turned his back and started toward the ramp door. "We'll have to make do without them."
Dragon suits. That's what Tattletale said was coming. Well, Tattletale said Forecast said that's what was coming. Trevor didn't know if he trusted one of those girls, but Forecast wouldn't lie and where was StarGazer? She'd never gone silent before. She'd never have left them to dry like this.
Something was wrong.
That didn't mean Tattletale wasn't behind it...but protecting the factory was his original job. Taylor needed it and he'd do it even if Tattletale didn't tell him. He just wished he had more options.
Trevor stepped out into the sun and looked around the yard. Orga directed the workers out of the factory. Best for them to not be around until things calmed down. Other members of Tekkadan were trying to go down the street and warn the business owners and passing cars.
Some were trying to talk to the Blue Cosmos protesters, but Trevor didn't expect that to work. They'd stand there and keep protesting until something made them leave.
"Orga," Trevor called. "Have you heard anything about Laughter?"
"No," he answered. "I don't like it."
Trevor frowned. "We should have told her not to do it."
"Relations aren't something I know a lot about." Orga looked down the street and pushed his hands into his pockets. "Though, Lung managed to stick around mostly because of rep if you ask me. It matters."
But getting hurt so a video about abuse of power could go online? Surely there was some less severe measure they could resort to. She could do more to help them if she were here in Kyrios. Even if she wasn't in Kyrios—which she wouldn't be with the GN Drive locked up—she'd be a cape they could actually use. Not that Trevor could do anything about it.
He glanced around, wondering aloud. "Now what?"
Orga glanced across the street toward the protestors. "Bakuda is out of the city and Biscuit says they can't get back here for at least fifteen minutes."
"How are we going to do that?" Shino asked.
"I'm working on it, but all we can do is buy time." Orga set his eyes on Trevor. "What can you do?"
His hand twitched at his side, and Trevor grimaced. "I don't know if I can fight multiple Dragon suits alone."
"What about Faultline?" Shino inquired. "She's got a whole team of capes."
"And they won't be much good here," Trevor admitted. "Faultline's power would work but she has to touch things. Newter isn't any good against suits. Neither is Grue. Spitfire and Gregor are limited." He shook his head. "And we'd be throwing away what Lafter's doing by bringing them somewhere everyone will see them helping us."
Chevalier might know about Faultline, but from what Taylor said he was keeping that close to his vest. If he learned anything from Kati, it's that first impressions tended to stick. It's why Lafter getting herself hurt so the video could be spammed online could help, or so the idea went.
People thought of Faultline and her team as villains. An explanation wouldn't erase the first impression. Taylor had enough trouble fighting that battle with just Bakuda and Bakuda could say she got screwed over, forcibly recruited, and then turned on her supervillain boss the first chance she got.
Trevor looked back toward the factory and his small corner workshop.
There was no putting it off any longer. "I need a few—"
Shino pointed. "What's that?"
Trevor turned back around just as two of the approaching objects collided and exploded. His eyes went wide and he stumbled back.
"Get down!"
Orga pushed Shino to the ground, and then shoved Trevor back and covered him. He barely had time to reach for the controls on his wrist and hit the panic button.
Dozens of rods shot up from the ground just behind the fence, and GN particles spilled into the air. The GN Field shimmered into place, forming a green dome covering the grounds of the factory.
A moment later, the sky became fire and smoke. The GN Field shimmered against the blasts, and Trevor sat on his butt. He didn't feel the blast anywhere but in the ground. He saw it though, watched it roll over the field like water over the shore. Glass shattered. Rocks clattered. People screamed.
The protesters.
Trevor shot to his feet and started moving. The blasts ebbed and he shut the defenses down just long enough to pass through them. He skated past the perimeter defense and onto the debris-covered street. The protesters were on the other side of the smoke cloud as he emerged, running.
They were alive.
He spun around on his skates and checked the rest of the road. One car was flipped on its side and he pointed at it. Instantly, Danji and Hush were climbing over the vehicle and helping the person inside. The fence around the factory was gone on the east side, obliterated by the blast.
Missiles.
Someone fired fucking missiles at them. From the east. The Ba—The Rig? There were missile launchers on the Rig but Trevor always assumed they were just for show! Who in their right mind actually fired them, and into the city no less?! Those things were supposed to be in reserve to fight Endbringers and crazy tinkers, which was just a fancy PR way of saying they weren't supposed to be used at all.
Trevor didn't see any bodies.
They'd gotten lucky.
They wouldn't get lucky again.
It was time and he'd waited too long.
Trevor crossed the perimeter back onto the factory grounds. "Get everyone away from here. This factory is about to be a war zone."
Orga looked up at the perimeter field, brow raised. "How long will that hold?"
"Forever. We have two GN Drives powering it. Nothing is breaking that field short of a WMD."
Orga narrowed his eyes. "Except?"
He would ask that.
"Except," Trevor sighed, "the dome doesn't fully cover us. We're still working on projecting a field this big. There's a small gap at the top." He pointed. "Someone could fly through it if they noticed."
Not to mention, Taylor never needed to worry about air superiority. It had seemed like a minor design flaw. She wasn't here now, unfortunately.
Trevor watched Shino direct others around. Mikazuki came running down the street. He stopped for a moment, helping the old woman who owned the grocery halfway down the block to her feet. Hush and Danji had gotten the man out of his overturned car and were carrying him away from the road.
They fired missiles into a city.
It felt like a brick to the head.
They fired missiles into a city.
It wasn't someone making a power play, or trying to horn in on turf, or hurt people for some kind of gain. This was how it started, the war Taylor was so afraid of. And people were going to die.
"You don't have to stay here, Orga." Trevor turned to face him. "Take the rest of Tekkadan and go. This isn't your fight anymore."
Orga scoffed. "StarGazer lives in machines, right?"
Trevor grimaced. It was amazing how well Taylor could lie without actually lying. He couldn't blame her for that lie though. She'd been so oddly close to StarGazer. Trevor thought it was her loneliness, that they'd bonded to one another when neither of them had anything but each other.
Huh, that was probably true.
It also made sense to him the other way because Trevor knew his mother would say anything to keep him safe.
"Yeah," Trevor answered. "She does."
"Then if someone wants to hurt her, they're gonna have to destroy Newtype's workshop. Her computers." Orga looked at the factory and frowned. "So we'll do what we can to run interference."
Trevor's jaw slackened. "Taylor told me she never asked you to fight capes."
"That was never an option, whether she promised it or not." Orga started walking. "Our word is the only thing we have, and I won't go back on it. Besides, a bunch of Dragon suits aren't capes." He grinned and started walking toward Mikazuki. "She'd accuse me of weaseling out. Can't have that."
Trevor stared at his back. "I think they call that toxic machismo."
"Guess I'll choke on it then. What I have is what I have. Eh, Mika?"
The small boy nodded. "Yeah."
"Is it done?"
The short boy nodded. "Yeah."
"Chariot," he said, "do what you have to do. We'll stall for as much time as we can."
A Waken 15.4.O
Much as he hated it, Orga was good at thinking on his feet.
He always knew a day like this might come.
The day where he had no idea how to get them out. He came close once before. When Lung was running out of people to blame for his own weaknesses. Necks to break that weren't his own. Newtype saved them from that, when she least needed the help.
She decided she cared more about what was wrong with the world than who they were.
Orga considered that he never gave her enough credit for that, and doubled down on that failing by treating her poorly when he didn't have to.
Funny how staring down a gun barrel can put things in perspective.
Mikazuki finished explaining. "Sure it'll work?"
"Depends."
He doubted he could stop the PRT or the Protectorate for long. That just wasn't possible. Even in the ABB, avoiding capes was the best practice or facing them only long enough to save face. That first night with Newtype came to mind. Damn did that feel old hat.
Shino raised a hand over his eyes. "No sign of more missiles. Guess it was just those ones?"
"We'll hope."
Orga raised his phone and looked at the screen. Tattletale. Newtype mentioned she'd become involved again, but Orga didn't get the feeling she was happy about it. Now Tattletale was stepping up to help.
Part of him considered that she might be in on this, but he couldn't find Newtype. No one could. All Tattletale said was that Forecast said StarGazer needed to be protected.
He'd do that anyway.
The shimmering green field remained up. Hopefully it stayed that way, but with all the kinds of capes in the world he wouldn't bank on it.
"I want to clear all the younger kids out," Orga decided. "Just us. Send Danji and Aston to find Akihiro. They call him and he talks to them. I need to focus on this right now."
"Masahiro's asking what's going on," Mikazuki revealed. "He's worried about Akihiro and Lafter."
"Tell him he can go with Danji and Aston." It would get him out of the area. It'd be a shame for the kid to get hurt after Akihiro finally tracked him down. "We just need time."
"Where's Biscuit?" Shino asked as Mikazuki moved off.
"They were out of the city testing something. They're on their way back but for now there's no way around it. We need to hold out till they get here or Chariot figures something out."
His phone vibrated, and Orga glanced back at the screen.
He breathed in deep and sent a quick response.
"They're here," Mika stated.
"Yeah. They're here."
Orga started walking, doing his best to let all the nervousness fade through his boots. Now wasn't the time for insecurity. If a bunch of Dragon suits were set to show up, they'd have their hands full. Never mind the heroes. If they went after Lafter, then they'd come after Chariot and StarGazer.
Before they could deal with the suits, they needed to handle the vultures.
Approaching the front gate, Orga set his gaze on the capes first. Five of them. Two in the air. Three on the ground. The ground capes all looked like tinkers. He didn't bother memorizing more than that at the moment.
There were a dozen troopers in golden armor. That was new. Tinker-tech? Tinker-tech troopers. Hah. Wonderful!
Ban and a few others were already by the front gate. Katz was talking to one of the tinkers, a woman in green armor with a full face visor.
"Katz," Orga called. "What's going on?"
Katz turned. "They're saying we have to let them in for an inspection."
Really. They fired missiles at them and now they wanted to inspect things. Was equipping her factory with a shield against some law? "We had an inspection two weeks ago."
"Well you're having another one," the green cape snarled. "Right now."
Orga stepped past Katz and stopped right at the edge of the shield. The other two tinkers were looking at it. The fliers watched the surrounding area. The troopers kept a formation that gave them overlapping lines of fire and pivots that would let them change direction easily. He'd seen it before. Pretty standard for the PRT.
What he hadn't seen before were PRT troopers carrying assault rifles.
Mikazuki caught up and nodded to Orga.
Orga kept his face straight. He slipped a hand into his pocket and started dialing the number on his phone. "Are you allowed to do that?"
The green cape tilted her head. "If a PRT Director authorizes it, yes."
"We don't have a PRT Director in Brockton Bay."
"Director Tagg has jurisdiction."
That might be useful to know later. Tagg was the asshole who got that whole fight with the Travelers started. He didn't like Newtype. So was he behind this, or just taking advantage? Or being taken advantage of, maybe.
Orga pressed the send button on the phone in his pocket. "The last time, Dauntless was here."
Kind of weird that none of the locals were here. The Protectorate wasn't that different from a gang. Everyone had turf. They called it 'jurisdiction' and no one liked it when you stepped on their toes or tried to muscle them out.
It was already odd that Armsmaster wasn't the one inspecting the local tinker hero. Cutting the entire local Protectorate out?
"It's an emergency," one of the gold troopers said. "And I don't think an energy field was covered in the last inspection."
"It wasn't," one of the tinkers confirmed. "Got something to hide?"
Orga shrugged. "We just had missiles fired at u—"
"Missiles?" One of the flying capes looked toward the ruined side of the street. "Is that what that is?"
…
Alright, Orga didn't see the angle there.
Pretending not to be behind the missile strike was one thing. Very clearly not knowing—or sending people who didn't know—was something else. The flying cape in the silver tights might have asked the question, but the green cape was looking confused too and Orga couldn't see her face.
"Yeah," Orga answered. "Chariot is a bit distracted figuring it out."
"Acting awfully nonchalant," the green tinker accused. "Sure Bakuda didn't blow something up?"
Orga would think frame job, but it still looked a hell of a lot like they had no idea about the missiles.
A muffler choked in the distance and echoed through the streets. Half a block away, a jeep peeled out of an alleyway and roared down the road away from the factory.
"Well," Orga said with the biggest shit-eating grin he could muster. Half the capes and troopers turned to look at the obnoxiously loud jeep. "One moment. As I was saying, I can't turn this field off. I'll go tell Chariot and we can get this inspection—"
The green armored tinker spun and pointed. "Follow that vehicle! Silverwing!"
"What's in the truck?" a tinker in purple armor asked.
"It's a jeep," Shino pointed out. "I think. Could be wrong."
"How would I know that?" Orga asked. "Just wait here a moment and—"
He was interrupted again as both flying capes gave chase and the green tinker—Mantis, apparently—started ordering the tinker in red and white to break through the barrier. The man bent over and pressed a finger to the edge of the field, head tilted to the side.
"I told you," Orga reiterated, "we're going to take it down. I just need a minute."
"And that jeep is either a distraction or you're trying to ferry StarGazer away. If the former, we're getting in there right now!"
An admission. How convenient. "StarGazer? I'm not sure she's here right now, not that I'd know. She keeps to herself."
Another engine choked and a block north another jeep peeled out. Not in the open. That would be too obvious. Out of sight. Out of mind.
"He's trying to divide us," one of the golden troopers noted. "Clever."
Orga glanced over his shoulder, grinning. "I'm not that obvious, am I?"
"Pretty obvious."
The red-white tinker stepped forward and pressed a hand to the green field projected around the perimeter. He tapped one finger at the edge of the field and reached for his belt. Meanwhile, the engine roared louder.
"Well," Orga mused, "the only good distraction is the distraction that's not really a distraction at all."
"Reverse psychology?" Mantis asked. "Really? We know who you are, Orga Itsuka. You were ABB before Newtype helped you cover it up."
"Does that count as a cover-up?" Shino asked.
"Never really hid it," Katz riposted.
"I know it might be a bit racist," Orga continued, "and I've never actually read it, but I like Sun Tzu."
Mikazuki tilted his head. "How is that racist?"
Mantis stared. "Sun Tzu?"
"Fight where you're least expected"—Orga pulled the phone from his pocket—"or something like that."
Most heads turned toward the phone. Only a few turned in time to notice the jeeps. The fliers were almost a mile away now, chasing the first vehicle. The other two came around the corner not even a hundred feet away and raced down the road towards the troopers. The drivers ducked behind the engines and troopers scrambled to get out of the way.
Those who already were fired.
The bullets bounced off the hoods. Fortunately, obvious things were obvious and Chariot was accommodating. A nice layer of E-Carbon meant he didn't need to worry about anyone in the jeeps getting hurt. Well, he worried but only in the 'if things don't work right' sort of way.
No avoiding that.
One rifle, however, fired directly at him, despite the glimmering shield he was standing behind.
The bullets pinged off the field in front of him and both jeeps cut through the crowd. The passengers in the back threw out nets and let them drag. Legs and feet became entangled, throwing troopers and one of the tinkers off their feet. The jeeps kept going, and the lines connecting the nets to the bumpers were cut.
While the troopers and capes recovered from that, two of the manhole covers on the street pulled back. Cans were flung up into the air and clattered to the asphalt. A few troopers turned toward them, just in time for their fronts to be splattered in red and blue paint.
"Oh, sorry." Orga turned. "We've been doing security drills with nets and paint bombs." Amazing how fast a net can entangle someone and become a time consuming mess. "Some of our members must think we're in the middle of a drill. Let me go get Chariot and—"
Mantis snapped at the other tinkers as she cut her way free of the net. "Get through that shield right now!"
And another net fell from above, entangling the capes and troopers all over again.
Well, not Mantis. Mantis cut her way out of the net—it was just a fishing net—and started cutting the troopers free.
"The kids are playing with the drones again," Shino shouted. "Hey! Stop that! Not funny!"
"It's a little funny," Mika commented.
Orga watched Mantis and lamented internally.
Just once it would be nice to find a tinker that wasn't prepared. The blades extended from her armor and she pointed to the purple armored cape. That cape tapped at a panel on her forearm and her form began to shimmer.
At least the paint worked. The stuff was a homemade batch, mixed with some adhesives. An old pre-ABB trick. Orga scanned the troopers behind the capes, figuring about four of them were blinded and five or six more had compromised vision. Maybe. The gold armored ones looked tinkery, and he wasn't sure how well paint would blind them..
"Katz, remind me to warn the kids that the drones are for work, not play." Orga waved the kids back. Those fliers would come back and they needed to be gone before that happened. "Sorry about that. Things have been so quiet lately. The kids are bored."
Mantis pointed a blade at him. "You're going to let us in there right now or we're going to get in there and you won't like how it ends!"
"I don't like how it's going, but you're out there and I'm in here."
And running out of ideas. He could only stall that kind of firepower for so long.
Orga found the irony almost funny.
The situation was like a damned metaphor. Surrounded on all sides by walls he had no control over, but that he couldn't quite hate. The walls confined him, but also gave him something to manipulate. Walls might confine him, but they confined others too.
Lung had been a wall for a long time. As long as he played it safe and kept his head down, they were safe. Lung was one hell of a wall.
But walls crumble, all of them. Eventually. He'd dealt with that many times. Find a new wall. New paths forward that were protected. Even that seemed to have crumbled. Eventually, there weren't any more walls but the ones around them. Without those, there was no other way forward.
Resenting Newtype for that hadn't been fair, now that he thought of it. Every wall crumbled eventually, or something just knocked it over. He'd run out of walls. If the shining green one fell now, there was nowhere left to run. They'd all either be in prison or back where they came from.
Either way, Tekkadan wouldn't be together anymore.
Newtype said something once about not being a victim. He'd never really thought of himself as one, so it didn't mean much. She also said he was smart and that was an odd sort of compliment because he never thought he was smart either. That one he kind of liked.
Generally, he thought of himself as dirty and that was fine. He'd be as dirty as needed to keep the walls protecting him standing. Fighting to the bitter end was preferable to letting someone else choose his walls for him.
The current ones weren't so bad anyway.
The golden boy trooper cut himself free with a small knife. The blade vibrated with a hum, and cut the net like butter. "Really going to put yourself on the line for a girl you barely know? Someone might accuse you of thinking with your dick."
Orga grinned. "I think they call that toxic machismo. Not my style. I just dislike bullies who think they can push me around because they have power and I don't."
"You want to maintain that position when we get in there?" Mantis threatened.
"If you get in here," Orga clarified. "Newtype doesn't build things half-heartedly."
"We know your name. You think we didn't look into her? Her father's being arrested right now."
Orga raised his brow, then his grin widened and he laughed. "You suck at poker."
"What—"
And maybe they did have Newtype's father, but they weren't going to hurt Danny Hebert after all this. That would hurt them more than it hurt Newtype. More than that, bringing him up to Orga? That was desperate and transparent.
"You don't have him and even pretending you do doesn't strike me as very heroic." Orga turned and stepped up to the barrier. "You're not getting in here anytime soon. The local kids are very mischievous."
The red-white tinker got himself free and started probing the barrier again. "And when we do get in there, it's not going to end well for you."
Broken records, though repeated threats could only make them look worse. Especially when it was the same threat. That made them look worse and stupid.
"I'll worry about that when it happens." Orga dialed another number and hit send. "At least for the moment, I'm betting that's going to be a moment longer."
Troopers were still cutting and untangling themselves from the net when two kids ran out from a small alcove they'd sheltered in. More paint bombs sailed into the air and popped, splattering more troopers and the purple armored tinker in color. A few of the troopers started moving toward the manholes, but that's about what Orga expected.
The kids in the sewer would already be running, and going to look for them was taking more eyes off the street.
Two kids ran the short distance between an alcove and the nearest fire hydrant with only one trooper noticing them.
Orga laughed. "Sorry. You have power and I don't, so I'm going to keep fighting dirty."
The kids fit a large wrench to the hydrant and they both jumped onto it. The wrench arm swung down under their combined weight, the hydrant groaned, water hissed, and with a sudden violence the cap popped and clattered across the street. The kids scrambled back as the hydrant fired a blast of water into the road that knocked several of the troopers and Mantis off their feet.
A shame he was running out of petty tricks. Most of this would have worked better when Blue Cosmos came calling with guns. He regretted giving his own up, but that might just be shooting himself in the foot after whatever Lafter was doing.
He wasn't blind.
Tattletale wanted them to appear as the underdog being beaten down by the powers that be. Carrying guns of his own would undercut that image. Playing petty tricks on the other hand made them look desperate and clever.
That perception would be accurate on one count, at least.
"What now?" Mikazuki asked.
Orga didn't feel so clever as he started running out of cheap stunts. "We buy more time."
He avoided the urge to glance at the factory in any way. He didn't know what Chariot was working on, but whatever it was was desperate.
The water continued spraying into the mass of capes and troopers. It forced them down the street, away from the gate. Those pushed back by the water, and still entangled in the net, dragged others with them. Some managed to stay on their feet though, and one of the golden troopers aimed their rifle and fired a solid red beam.
Steam hissed and billowed into the air and the water suddenly shot upward and came down in a heavy rain. The top of the hydrant was blown off.
"Pretty sure that's destruction of public property," Orga quipped.
"I've had enough!" Mantis cut herself free again, got up, and pointed to the tinker in purple. "Banshee—"
"What's going on here?" The small voice carried in the street. Orga looked past the troopers in the back as the two flying capes returned with a third in tow.
Dauntless.
He wasn't the one that spoke though.
Vista stood with her hands on her hips, visor scanning the road. Mockshow loomed behind her atop some metal lion-looking thing.
Orga checked the time on his watch. Three minutes? Four if he included the time between Chariot going and the 'heroes' arriving. Time flies. Guess that was enough time, assuming the locals could handle the out-of-towners.
"You were told to standby," Mantis said quickly.
Vista looked at the older woman and frowned. "The handbook says that all standby orders that aren't part of M/S protocols are secondary to preserving human life, and someone shot some missiles over here."
"She's not wrong," Dauntless called. "What are you doing here, Mantis? Why can't I reach the Protectorate or Ward consoles?"
"You're on standby," Mantis repeated.
"Bullshit," Vista replied.
Dauntless brandished that lightning spear of his, and the other two flying capes pulled back. "I was talking to Valiant at the Wards' base when my line was cut. Given the past few times that's happened, I'm not in the mood for the runaround."
"This is a direct order from Director Tagg!" Mantis shouted. "All members of the Protectorate, Wards, and PRT ENE are to stand down until further instruction!"
"The guy with a grudge against Newtype?" Orga jumped in. He knew that would come in handy. "Yeah. He can be trusted."
"Why?" Vista asked.
"Your orders," Mantis said yet again, "are to stand down."
"That's—"
"Vista."
The girl flinched and looked up at Dauntless. "But—"
"Vista."
Maybe four minutes wasn't enough time.
They'd managed to paint over maybe a dozen troopers, but only half of those had significantly obscured vision. Not nearly enough for his tastes. Another half-dozen remained entangled in the nets but that wouldn't last long. The water spraying into the street blocked line of sight on that side. Also not nearly enough.
But, beggars can't be choosers and Orga was out of ideas. "Now's the time Mika."
Mikazuki turned those questioning eyes on the taller boy. "'Kay."
"Well." He sighed and pushed his hands back into his pockets. "Suppose that's that."
Heads turned, except Mikazuki's. Mikazuki never took his eyes off a threat.
Shino leaned in. "Uh, Orga?"
"We've done what we can." Orga shrugged. "We're no match for capes, and once they get in here we're all going back where we came from and that's a death sentence. So let's cut a deal. I'll get you in here, and you turn a blind eye while we walk away."
A brief silence followed, and the red-white tinker asked, "You're going to betray Newtype?"
"I'm just being a law-abiding denizen of Brockton Bay, and I'm out of tricks, so it's time to throw in the towel and look at saving me and mine. I don't call that betrayal."
"Newtype said we'd never fight capes," Mikazuki added. "We're not."
"You've been—"
Orga interrupted. "Let's just overlook those little indiscretions. It's not like any of you really got hurt. I'm just stalling for time. That's all Newtype can really ask of me. I don't owe her anything else."
The purple tinker pointed at the shimmering field between them. "You can lower this shield?"
"I'm in charge of security," Orga answered. "Of course I can."
"Then drop it."
"I need assurances."
"You'll get them when you dro—"
"Wait." Mantis held an arm out and glared. "You're wasting more of our time."
Orga smiled and closed his right eye. "I'm making a legitimate offer. Are you turning me down?"
The woman ignored him. "Break down that shield or get through it!"
"We can still negotiate," Orga insisted. "All I want—"
"No, we can't! We're coming in there and putting a stop to this right now!" Mantis pointed one of her bladed arms at him. "You're on borrowed time. We're not making deals with the likes of you."
He'd really hoped the ruse might last a bit longer than that. "The likes of me?"
"We're wharf rats!" Shino declared.
"Borrowed time is the only time we have," Orga agreed. "Eh, Mika?"
"Yeah." Mikazuki pulled his own phone from his pocket. "A good distraction."
Some of those on the other side flinched, and a series of pops and bangs erupted around them. Guns and heads turned, searching for the sign of the 'gunshots.'
"They're just firecrackers," Orga revealed. And a few other things that sounded more like guns. "No need to get all jumpy."
The distraction didn't last long, but the noises lasted long enough. The roar of engines became audible again over the water falling outside the shield. Troopers started scrambling again, but the net caught them up and caused several to fall. The jeeps spilled out from behind the water wall.
The drivers were absent.
Mantis swung her arms out and cut a blade down the length of one vehicle. The blade cut the fiberglass like butter, but abruptly slowed when it hit the E-Carbon underneath. Mantis jerked back. The jeep veered suddenly and started to tip, slamming Mantis in the side and knocking her down. She fell to the ground and the jeep tumbled onto its side and slid over the road.
That was going to be expensive.
The third came in behind the first two, avoided hitting anyone, and Hush jumped out of the back. He and Santi grabbed the ends of the net and hooked them onto the back bumper. Hush slapped the back of the jeep and the tires squealed before it peeled out again, dragging the net behind it and taking the red-white cape, three of the gold troopers, and five of the regular troopers with it.
Hush, Santi, and Gale jumped out of the vehicle after it got going and broke for the alleyways. The fliers gave chase, including Dauntless.
"We're done talking!" Mantis shouted. "Banshee!"
The purple tinker started moving again, and the troopers closed in.
"I'll be as petty as I need to be," Orga grumbled.
But it would be nice if help hurried itself up.
"Hello!"
Orga flinched and turned. "Laughter?"
She stepped forward with a grin, Akihiro right behind her.
Blood marred her entire right side, and her top was torn. Orga didn't see any wounds though. Akihiro was bloodied along his shirt and jacket too. None of it seemed to be his though. Lafter bled that badly and was already back on her feet?
Behind them, a shimmering portal faded away and vanished. The hell was that?
"I'm back," the blonde declared with a transparently forced smile. She looked pale, and tired. "And I don't appreciate almost being killed by the good guys, assholes!"
"Say that again?" Vista shouted.
Mantis didn't look at the girl but shouted her name.
"Shut up," Vista shouted back. "I don't take orders from you and I'm calling Breakback right now!"
Mantis froze and turned. "You're already under Breakback protocols and how do you even—"
"She read the handbook," Mockshow answered. "And you're all acting fishy as hell!"
Dauntless' weapon fired a bolt of lightning a block away. The jeep exploded and flipped onto its side, but that was a bonus. He wasn't here to tell Vista what to do.
"I'll say." Lafter stepped up besides Orga. She held her arms up, revealing the damage to her clothes. "I didn't cover myself in ketchup!"
"I've seen enough real blood to know it," Mockshow replied.
"Me too," Vista agreed. "Those missiles came from the Rig and now you're all here trying to threaten your way in!"
"The Wards will—"
"The Wards will do their job," Vista interrupted. "And as of a declaration of Breakback, we're obligated to ignore anything you say and consider you compromised."
She raised her hands and the street began to bow. Mantis hesitated. Orga guessed fighting a Ward was something she was less willing to do.
He checked his clock again. Bakuda was still a ways off.
"Come on Chariot," he whispered. "Vista can't fight all these guys hers—"
"That's enough."
The voice came over the speakers surrounding the factory. Heads turned once again, looking toward the building.
"StarGazer?" Mantis called.
"Chariot," the tinker corrected. "And this is pointless. We're playing into Teacher's hands."
"Teacher?" Banshee asked.
"Ignore him," Mantis ordered. "Sergeant Fleming, restrain the Wards. Banshee—"
"He wants us to fight each other," Chariot announced. "He's playing all of us for fools. Do you really think anyone is going to overlook missiles being shot into the city when this blows over? Or attacking Lafter at a charity event? He's setting you up to take the fall."
"I'm certainly not gonna overlook it," Lafter quipped. "That fucking hurt."
"Can we all just calm down and wait?!" Chariot begged.
Orga bowed his head.
Chariot wasn't made for this. Orga felt pretty sure the tinker knew it too. It was clear in his voice. Reasoning wouldn't work. Orga knew Tagg's type and he'd never even met the man. Lung's kind were all the same. Bullies and thugs. Some had the law on their side. Some didn't.
If he sent this lot here, he didn't pick them because they were reasonable. He picked them because they were reliable.
"None of us are the villain," the boy insisted, in spite of that. "We're on the same side. Forecast warned us that Dragon suits are going to attack the factory. We need to protec—"
"Dragon suits are going to attack because StarGazer attacked Dragon!" Mantis started directing those around her again. "And we all know StarGazer does nothing without Newtype approving it. None of you do. You're all sheep."
Pot calling the kettle black, Orga thought.
"What's wrong with sheep?" Lafter asked. "They're fluffy!"
Chariot audibly whimpered over the com. It was a small sound. Orga wasn't sure if anyone else even noticed it.
"Fine then," the tinker lamented.
The wall behind Orga exploded, and a figure blasted into motion. He couldn't even watch it as it moved. It blew by, almost as fast as Chariot could on his skates. The green field vanished in the blink of an eye, light dissipating into the air.
Mantis turned, raising her arms as a clawed hand grabbed her by the collar and lifted her off her feet. Another hand grabbed her leg as a blade shot out of the knee. Both hands twisted and she screamed. Then the dark gray form slammed the woman into the ground.
Orga's jaw dropped.
Steam hissed from the figure as water crashed down upon it. The mist spread out in a haze, shrouding the figure enough to give it a sense of menace that seemed completely out of place with anything Chariot.
The machine rose up, a familiar face looking over the surrounding troopers as a foot came down on Mantis' chest and pinned her. The armor was sharp and minimal, though it looked fairly stripped down over the arms and legs. It stood a little taller than Newtype's suits, with slightly broader shoulders and longer limbs.
No cone on the back. Did it not fly?
"It's a Gundam?" Lafter gasped, eyes wide with surprise.
"If you won't listen," Chariot said in a forlorn tone, "then I'll insist."
A Waken 15.4.C
He hated it.
It was wrong. It didn't matter that she was wrong too. Wrong was wrong.
The bone snapped so easily. A simple twist of his own wrist. He didn't even have to move from inside the suit. He'd never be able to train himself to the degree Taylor trained Lafter. He needed a workaround, and this was it. The trace-system read his muscles and nerves, transferring the signal to the suit.
He felt it, almost. The actual sensations. That wasn't part of his design but tinker-tech sometimes took on a life of its own. Did things it wasn't intended to do.
The woman—Mantis—strained beneath his foot.
He didn't want to hurt her. It turned his stomach to hurt anyone. Breaking her collarbone and leg, slamming her into the ground… It was such a sudden decision. He hated it but he didn't regret it. It took her out of the fight. She wouldn't get back up now. Their only choice was to withdraw her from the area for treatment.
They shouldn't be fighting. Not like this. Maybe hurting her that badly went too far. Taylor did warn him sometimes that he didn't think things through. That was a problem for later, for now… This is how it would be.
His conscience didn't change what was happening.
Fighting was wrong—evil—but sometimes it's all there was. It couldn't be avoided. The world was too big. People couldn't agree.
Necessity didn't absolve him any more than it did anyone else. Doing what he'd just done was evil in its own way. Maybe that's why he found it so hard for so long. He thought that way, and he couldn't escape the sense that joining in would make him no better than anyone else.
That was childish. Taylor didn't hurt people because she enjoyed it. She did it because she had to.
So, he'd end this fight. One way or another. There was no such thing as a good fight, only fights that never happened and fights that were over.
Maybe that's why he found the name so fitting.
Trevor opened his eyes and raised his head. The HUD was mostly bare, but it worked.
Mantis was pinned and couldn't fight any further with both her collarbone and her leg broken. Dauntless and two other fliers he didn't know were to his right. Two of them were coming back while the third helped untangle troopers in regular and gold armor from the net. The tinker in red and white was down there with them, so that just left the purple armored tinker—Banshee—to his right and a half dozen troopers surrounding him.
Vista and Mockshow were further back, hesitating before the scene. Lafter was behind him, with Orga, Mikazuki, Shino, and Akihiro. That brought him some relief. She was safe and he'd keep her that way.
Trevor reactivated the shield, locking Lafter, Orga, Shino, and the rest back into the factory perimeter.
He thought to rise up, and the suit responded. As the shield came back up, water began splashing off the green surface and falling onto him in a heavier spray. The steam hissing off the suit increased in intensity.
To his ears it almost sounded like a howl.
Fitting.
Trevor flexed the individual fingers, testing the joints. The system was a bit janky, but it worked.
In a flash, the machine surged forward. It was too fast, and the red and white tinker could barely start to stumble before Trevor swung an arm low. He knocked the man's legs out from under him, grabbed his ankle, and squeezed.
The armor cracked and the bone snapped before his victim hit the ground. Another thought, and the arm shot backwards, flinging the cape into the ground and sending him rolling head over heels to the curb.
He needed to end this before those suits showed up, one way or another.
Fighting made everyone evil, no matter the reasons involved. That's what he thought. Just like he thought running away from it didn't change anything. Those who didn't choose, would have their choices made for them.
So yeah, it was a good name. The black rider, who promised power. A deal with a devil.
"Time to go, Kimaris."
