Whelp, Christmas was great. Got plenty of things I really wanted. Only downside is that I couldn't get the new Xbox elite controller. Not because it was too expensive, but because it's so popular that they've sold out. And apparently they can't churn them off the production line fast enough. We had to preorder the next shipment. Those are some amazingly popular controllers. Then I ate enough chocolate stuff to make my teeth start aching the next day. Hope everyone else had an awesome Christmas too.
Now then, I want to thank everyone again for their reviews. So far everyone thinks that there's no limit to Lung's size, so basically the two would keep growing and growing. Good to know. To the guest talking about hunting down Slaughterhouse Nine, Alex would see it as too much risk. He'd either have to take Dana with him to hunt down the serial killers, or leave her in Brockton Bay and hope she doesn't get killed in the (likely) month or so it takes for him to find them. She's living in enough comfort and safety right now. No need to kick the hornet's nest, right? But if they were to, say, come on over and threaten him, then he would hunt them down.
And toolazytologin (nice temp name by the way) those are some great ideas you've had. I already thought of having some sleeper agents, but more as in they've been infected already. But yeah, he can make Evolved. They'll basically be Infected with their own personalities instead of being under his direct control.
And to all of those out there who haven't read Worm before reading my story, I'm pleased to hear that you can follow most of what happens here. It's always nice when you have a better idea on who everyone is and what they've done. Makes it easier to understand what's going on.
Happy New Year everyone.
Chapter 5: Step 5 – Make Yourself Known to the Superheroes
It had been quick and easy to work out a plan for the party that night. Alex's suggestion that he could act as decoy went along well with Taylor and the others. He guessed that she was still concerned about him, about living close to someone like him. Well, that didn't matter to him. He already knew he was a monster, that he frightened people. One more person thinking that wasn't going to change anything.
They gotten everything planned within the hour. That left him at least another hour to work on some things he needed. Things that a more juvenile part of him wanted.
Dana looked up as he came back, a bag full of parts in his hands. Bakuda's memories pointed out the common, cheap items he could use to build such simple devices. Without her shard, he wouldn't be building anything complex or beyond conventional standards. But it would do for now. She raised an eyebrow at him.
"Their employer is willing to pay us all two hundred and fifty thousand dollars to embarrass the PRT at their fancy dinner tonight." He explained as he started placing them on the table. He grew several tendrils from his body, their fine control allowing him to crack the packaging open and dismantle them. He could build all seven bombs faster than most people could build one.
"Shit. And I was planning on going to have a look." She replied. "But are you sure this is a good idea?"
"Hell no. I'd prefer not to get their attention on such a scale. But I'm probably going to get some flak from them anyway for being a notable villain. And the pay is definitely worth it."
"That it is. Even with the payday from Kaiser, this'll be more money than we've made yet." She watched him work for a bit before speaking again. "Hey, did you know that someone broke Lung out of his truck."
He stopped working for a second. "Right. Was gonna mention that. I consumed him for his power. Sorry for not saying anything before."
"You got his power? Holy crap. That's kinda scary. You gonna use it tonight?"
He shook his head. "Don't want them to know I can take powers yet. I'll save it for when I really need them."
"Them?"
"I went after Oni Lee too. His power would be very useful to me."
"Anyone else you're planning on going after? Should I start packing in case we need to run? Or grab a weapon to beat you upside the head with."
"I have a few more targets. But I'm not going after them. Too much notice. Will save them for another time. Maybe get them on their death beds." He turned to look at her, his tendrils still working. "Could you get me the guest list for this thing? And the PRT employee records? I'd like to get in early, get these set up before the fun starts."
She nodded. "Sure." She turned back to her laptop, the sound of tapping filling the room. "What are you building anyway?"
"Pie bombs. Snot bombs. Gunk bombs. Things that make a lot of disgusting mess without hurting anyone." He saw her give him a strange look. "We want to embarrass them, scare them a bit. I'm getting paid to not kill anyone if I can help it."
"No, I get that. I'm just surprised that you're going for those kinds of bombs."
"Blame the juvenile minds in me. They thought it was funny."
"So do I. Think you could add a few jingles to them?"
He shrugged. "Sure. Let me know what you want, and I'm sure I can work with it."
She smiled. "Cool." Her laptop dinged. "Now, let's choose your look for tonight. Tell me the plan so I can pick out the right target."
"Sure thing." He replied. He started loading the chemicals as he talked.
The party was in full swing by the agreed hour. The rich and famous of Brockton Bay were chatting away with the Protectorate, getting into their good graces or fishing for some juicy stories. Their children were hanging out with the Wards and Glory Girl, trying to worm their way into their circle, have themselves considered their 'normal friend'. There was a lot of passive-aggressive talk, violence replaced with harsh words and lies. All were trying to push their own agendas forward.
Alex preferred a battlefield to this. At least if a Hunter was about to rip his face off it'd wouldn't be lying to him.
"Jenkins, stop staring." His captain scolded him. "We may not get to meet the rich folks, but at least we're inside."
"Yes Sir. Sorry Sir." He said, trying to sound inexperienced. Jenkins was the unfortunate PRT officer who drew the short straw of being his meal. The majority of their plan relied on the heavy hitters being contained in their own foam. Designed to capture and hold dangerous villains, it worked just as well on the good guys. And luckily for him, they weren't fully aware that he found a chemical compound that could harden it, make it breakable. It would embarrass them to no end and it would keep them from arresting them. He hid a smirk behind his helmet as he spied on Glory Girl. If she knew that he was only a dozen feet away from her… Well, he could see her ending up in hospital a third time. He looked away before the captain returned and told him off again, standing to attention. One eye was keeping track of the time.
Ten more minutes until show time.
"Hey." A familiar feminine voice said to him. He turned to face it, keeping the anger out of his stance. Emma Banes was standing in front of him, wearing an impractical dress. He noticed with some annoyance that her bruises had already faded. Panacea's work, perhaps?
Great. Not only does her lawyer father keep her out of trouble, but now her connections to Shadow Stalker stop him from leaving any marks.
"Can I help you, miss?" He said politely. Can't let her know that he knew her. But he swore that he would punch her again during the fight. Leave another reminder of how much he hated her.
Strangely though, he noticed that she wasn't acting haughty. She seemed unsure, worried, and smaller than before. Gone was the bitchy bully, replaced by a frightened victim. She glanced left and right before facing him again, her arms holding her tightly.
"Can you… Can you keep an eye out for a boy my age? Dark hair, baggy jeans, moody looking? And can you stop him from getting in?"
Ah. She was looking for him. Or at least Alex Ragland. Guess he left marks even Panacea couldn't heal after all. "I'll try, miss. But if he's got a ticket, I'm afraid I don't have high enough clearance to keep him out. You'll have to talk to the captain about it if you think he's dangerous enough." She looked slightly crestfallen. He added something he felt people were supposed to say in situations like this. "But if I do see him, I'll try and let you know first."
"Thanks." She said. Her voice was much smaller now. Like she was trying to hide from the world. As she turned to leave, he smirked.
Good. Break her fucking spirit, and she won't be hurting Taylor. Best way to stop her without breaking his promise to Dana.
Eight minutes to go.
He did a last sweep of the room, noting where everyone was. The Wards were all bunched up in one corner, easy prey when he surprised them. Glory Girl was a slight problem, in the sense that she might fly out of the blast. If she reacted fast enough. Up at the head table was the Protectorates, taking the seats of honour. Another blast there, another set of targets dealt with. There were a few missing however. The rest of New Wave was elsewhere, likely patrolling the city for people just like him, trying to keep the fighting under control. More annoyingly, however, was Dauntless. A hero who could permanently imbue his items with power. And they stack every time. He basically got a little bit stronger every day. He was someone Alex would have to work harder to take down. Hit harder, move faster. Take him down before he even knew the fight was on. With him out on patrol, that would be more difficult.
Well. Even if he did show up, maybe he and the Undersiders could take him down together. Or at least create an opening.
He stood to attention, appearing alert and able, right up to the moment where several giant dogs came smashing through the roof. The guests started screaming as glass rained down around them, the heroes heading towards the mutts whilst figuring out what was happening. The men around him raised their weapons, ready to engage. Highly unlikely; orders were that they couldn't risk attacking until the civilians weren't in harm's way from them. That included the foam guns.
Then Grue blanketed the immediate area in darkness, leaving just his squad uncovered along with the outermost guests.
Just as planned.
He lashed out with both arms, sending the men nearest to him flying with solid hits to the jaw and chest. Then the captain was sent into the darkness, his helmet shattered. Swarm, Tattletale, and Grue came running out of the darkness, and he helped free his fellow officers of their foam guns.
Then Grue dissipated the darkness completely, and all hell broke loose.
Alex triggered the bombs he had rigged up, people screaming as they exploded. No casings, no shrapnel, but being hit by a lot of cream and snot would scare most people. Those closest were absolutely covered in the stuff, while those further away were still splattered. The Undersiders focused on the head table, while Alex aimed for the kid's table. At some point, he had shifted back to his normal look.
Glory Girl floated above his attack, snarling with rage. "You." She hissed.
"Three for three?" He replied. She flew towards him at speed. Idiot. He dropped the gun long enough to catch her fists. He gave her a slap as her shield dropped, stunning her and causing her to back away.
Maybe he should humiliate her again.
He grabbed her dress with both hands and pulled, the sound of tearing cloth filling the air. Glory Girl shrieked as he left her in just her undergarments, before he tied the dress round her head and sprayed her with the foam. He focused on the arms and legs, leaving her body bare. She toppled over like a tower, only saved by flying into the air. And hitting the roof.
Throughout all this, his bombs were playing the same thing over and over again.
"Let's all laugh at an industry that never learns anything, tee hee hee."
He turned back in time to see Swarm hit Shadow Stalker with a lot of foam. Then she walked over and hit her in the head with her baton. He could see over a year's worth of rage behind that blow.
Speaking of which, he had someone else to look out for.
He found Emma cowering behind her father, shaking like a leaf. He tried to appear intimidating, but they both knew it was pointless. Alex ploughed through them, his denser mass allowing him to slam them hard. He heard several things snap as they landed and skidded across the ground. Bugs were busy attacking the Protectorate, leaving them defenceless.
Well, not completely. Some were still able to fight. He figured that out when he saw Assault knock into Grue before being stopped.
He moved to intercept Battery. Her power was that if she spent a few seconds standing still, she would charge up energy. The charge granted her increased speed, strength, and some electromagnetic powers. It was catching her that would be that hard part. But he himself was intercepted by Triumph. His powers: Sound manipulation. He used it like a gun, blasting people with shouts.
Hmm. He just thought of a possible mutation he could make.
Triumph blasted him again, the force behind it pushing Alex back. He anchored his feet into the ground, and opened his mouth wide. His jaw unhooked itself, opening wider and wider as a second mouth stretched outwards like a funnel. He had gone with a lot of teeth, just as an added weapon.
And then he roared.
It wasn't quite the same as Triumph's blast. Far too unwieldy to really direct. And it was loud too. The kind that made your ears bleed. People crouched down and clutched their ears, wincing in pain. But it did a good job. The force behind it sent Triumph flying. He ran out of breath, but breathed deeply and turned to face Battery. She dodged his next attack, waiting for him to run out of breath, before charging in. He tried to backhand her, but she dodged him. He slammed his fists together, and she was thrown back by the force. But she managed to hold still as she flew, so that when she landed she could dodge his next blast.
He created air holes in his neck, and attacked again. This time, he could breathe in whilst still attacking. Battery's charge wore off, and she was blown away by him. Knocked unconscious, she was easy prey for Tattletale.
So, that was most of the heroes dealt with. The only ones not accounted for were Armsmaster, Miss Militia, and Velocity. He knew they had been here the whole time; where were they now?
There was a muffled 'whumping' sound, somewhere not far from his position. He turned to see Armsmaster standing over Swarm. He pulled the trigger, got nothing.
Dammit. Guess he was going for his fists.
"Not one step closer, Blacklight." Armsmaster said as Alex moved to approach. He slammed his halberd against the floor, and all the bugs near him died. "Or else we will be forced to hurt your teammate." Miss Militia stepped out of what darkness was left, arm wrapped around Regent.
Fucking dammit.
"Surrender." Armsmaster said. No, ordered. And Alex didn't take kindly to someone ordering him like this.
"Fuck you." He growled back, taking a step closer. Miss Militia pulled her arm tighter, a clear warning. He stopped again. And laughed. "You're not going to kill him. You guys are meant to be heroes. You're supposed to bring criminals in alive. You don't have the guts to do it. Not like I would."
"You seem pretty confident about this." Armsmaster replied.
"What can I say? I'm good at recognising my own qualities in others. Shadow Stalker? I could easily see her doing it. She'd put a bolt through his neck and not even care. And you guys…" He shook his head. "You'd probably scold her for that, give her some punishment. But it wouldn't be serious. You need her on your team. You need to have more people. That's why you guys just ignore everything that happens in her civilian life. Because if you fucking saw it, you couldn't let her run around anymore."
"You know who she is." That was Miss Militia. She didn't sound happy.
He shrugged. "Yeah. I do." He could use this moment to out her. Take on her real appearance. But he saw the fees of Winslow. Few who went there could afford this place. It wouldn't mean that much. And the PRT would keep it under wraps. Or at least try to. Better to wait till later, when he could get his real revenge.
"Surrender." Armsmaster ordered again. He was pointing the blade of his halberd at him. "I won't repeat myself again."
"And my answer still hasn't changed. You won't kill Regent, not in front of a crowd. So fuck you. And I'm getting tired of all this talking." While he had been standing there, his biomass had been coiling up like a spring.
So when he moved towards Miss Militia, he moved far faster than she was expecting.
She dropped Regent and jumped away, her energy forming a rifle. The first bullets the struck him were nonlethal. Meant to bruise, not kill. Then she switched to lethal rounds. But his armour had been evolved to resist that. Maybe if she used armour-piercing rounds, they might get through. But it wouldn't matter anyway.
He barely even tapped her on impact. But the force behind him still launched her a sizable distance. Then he was being struck by a hundred blows, all in rapid succession. Velocity. Alex had already written him off even before the fight. His power made him faster like the Flash, but his blows became weaker as a result of whatever state he turned into to go so fast. A hundred blows, only a tenth of the strength. He usually just pummeled a person repeatedly until he could knock them down. Defeat by a thousand cuts.
Against a regular person, this might work. Against Alex however, it was barely like standing before a strong wind.
Alex slammed his fists together, and Velocity was sent flying. All his speed meant nothing in the air. Alex shouted at him, and he smacked into the wall hard enough to crack it.
That just left Armsmaster. This world obviously had no plans for dealing with things strong enough and fast enough to smash them. He stopped smirking when he saw Armsmaster fighting against Grue, Bitch, and her dogs. And winning.
Cross.
Alex remembered where he saw that kind of skill before. Cross. The best soldier in Blackwatch. The first person – the only person – to show him that humanity wasn't to be underestimated. He did more damage to Alex than an entire squad of men.
And Armsmaster clearly followed the same battle techniques he did.
The head of his halberd configured into a ball and the chain extended, turning it into a flail with a longer handle. He spun it around, the extra momentum turning into more force when it struck one of the dogs. It stuck it on the shoulder, and it seemed to be even more effective than he would've guessed. Armsmaster was a tinker; maybe he had more mass in it like Alex does. Armsmaster followed up his attack by spinning towards Grue, swinging his staff like a bat. Grue avoided it barely, but that just allowed Armsmaster to grab it with both hands and slam the midsection into his chest. Then he slammed the end into his stomach.
Minor things for Alex maybe, but he still needed to be careful. Alex growled as he charged forward into the fray.
But Armsmaster moved away, his flail taking his place. It smashed into Alex's face, their combined momentum giving it more force. His mask cracked under it. But even as he fell and rolled, his mask healed over. He got back up and moved again. Armsmaster dodged him again, swinging his staff at Alex's head. He grabbed it with one hand, only for the end he held to heat up. Alex's instincts made him release it, and by the time he was able to correct that Armsmaster had moved again. Alex moved in again, hands lengthened into claws. Looks like Armsmaster was going to have to lose some blood to get a fucking clue.
Armsmaster pointed the end at Alex, and lightning fired out of it.
Son of a bitch.
His biomass was able to withstand things that would break normal cells. But electricity was one of those things it still didn't like. His body spasmed for a second, forcing him to step away. He and Armsmaster stared at each other, weapons ready.
"Blacklight. Formerly known by the public as the Masked Man or the Hooded Man." Armsmaster stated. "I know a lot about you. Every time you fought in front of a security camera, everytime one of our capes saw you in action, I was learning. I know how you fight. I know your strengths. And that means that I know your weaknesses."
Alex scoffed. "Good for you. Doesn't mean shit though. I'm still going to kick your ass into next week."
"Really? Do you actually think you can win against me?"
"Of course."
"And why is that?"
Alex grinned, though Armsmaster couldn't see it. "Because you don't know all my tricks."
And he stabbed one hand into the ground.
Armsmaster was quick, he'll give him that. He was already jumping back even as Alex was channeling his biomass through the floor. But even so, he barely made it out of range of his spikes. Two passed near his chest, while a third scraped against his helmet. Even with most of his face hidden, Alex could see the look of shock on his face.
Alex broke off the biomass, and jumped through the spikes towards him. He added the biomass as he moved through them, and landed with a pounce. Armsmaster lashed out with his halberd, the tip now a blade again. It clashed against his claws, and he backed away. As he pulled free, he slashed at Alex with the blade, then followed through by striking his elbow with the handle.
He gaped again as Alex bent his arm the wrong way and grabbed hold of it. He swung it round, and Armsmaster was forced to let go.
He was feeling proud of that, until it vanished in his hands, reappearing in Armsmaster's. The hero stood in a fighting stance, but there was caution in it. Alex pulling out a new technique scared him.
Well then, he wouldn't like this.
Alex slammed his foot against the ground, sending cracks outward and shaking the room. He used the force to launch himself, where he curled up into a ball and launched forward. Armsmaster moved, but he didn't realise that Alex could track him like this. He slammed into him, both of them skidding across the ground. There was a slight trail of blood.
Knowing what Cross was like, Alex was ready for when Armsmaster came up fighting again.
Alex slammed his fists together, Armsmaster too stunned to back away. He was thrown back against the wall, hard. Alex followed up by booting him to the other side of the room.
Armsmaster was tough like Batman was tough. They both used data and hours of training to take on things bigger than them. But they were both still human. They could only take so much damage.
Guess that made Alex the Bane to Armsmaster's Batman.
"Undersiders, I think we've done enough. Let's get out of here." He called out. The others jumped onto the dogs, who ran towards the large windows.
Alex unleashed one final shout, and was soon right behind them.
I didn't really want to admit it, but having Alex on the team was a fucking godsend.
He was the one who did the most damage. Every hero they had there, every attack they threw at us, he just pushed through and kept going. Even Armsmaster, who managed to fight Grue, Bitch and her dogs at the same time couldn't beat him. He thought he knew all of Alex's tricks, but then Alex surprised him.
It made me wonder what other tricks he had at his disposal.
"Woo!" Alec was shouting, laughing away. "I can't believe it. We barged right in and fucked them over. They're not going to recover from this kind of screw up soon. It'll be all that everyone talks about. How a small team showed up and kicked their asses."
"We got lucky." Grue said firmly.
"Fuck lucky. We had Blacklight."
"He helped. But we did a lot of work too."
I got it. If our boss decided that supporting Blacklight was a better deal, he might very well drop us. No more cash flow from him, no more information. We'd be set back by months. I'd be set back by months.
And I was sure that Alex wouldn't lift a finger to help us out.
"Blacklight." I called out to him. He had managed to get from behind us to ahead of us. I saw him look back, slowing down so he was running alongside us. I also saw that he was running along the wall, one hand pressed against it. Cracks were forming from where his feet were. "I want to make a deal with you."
He looked at me. "What for?"
"We're worried that the boss will choose you over us. And you wouldn't argue against it."
He shrugged. "Not really."
"Then what if we offered you ten percent of what we earn?" The other looked at me in surprise.
But I noticed that Alex was listening.
"…I'll make your continued service one of my conditions. If it comes to that. I won't charge you if he still hires you alongside me." He pushed ahead again.
But we hadn't gone much further when a bolt of lightning struck the ground. I looked up to see Dauntless floating above us.
Fuck.
Alex didn't wait for Dauntless to give some grand speech. He simply jumped up to attack him. Dauntless raised his shield, and it created an energy bubble that Alex bounced off of. He grunted as he fell, and I heard a slight sizzling noise.
"Regent." Alex said as he landed. Regent nodded and raised a hand. Dauntless's arm seized up, and his shield dropped. He managed to raise it up again in two seconds.
But that was all the time Alex needed.
As soon as the barrier fell, he had fired a tendril at Dauntless and at the same time jumped. The tendril stabbed into his chest, and Alex pulled him towards himself. Two extra arms grew from his back, and he started pummeling Dauntless as hard and as much as he could. Armour plating cracked and shattered. When they both landed, Dauntless was out for the count.
And yet another hero Alex had taken down on his own.
No. Almost. He needed Regent to start him off. Get Dauntless to drop the shield. Maybe if we mentioned that, this employer of ours might not get rid of us.
I just had to see who he was before we were kicked out.
"Come on." Tattletale said, waving us along. "We have to get to the van before anyone else shows up."
"And from there?" I asked. "Back to the hideout?"
She shook her head, even as Bitch shrank down the dogs and we ran towards the parking garage we had left our ride in. "The boss wants to see us as soon as we were sure we lost any tails. We'll go for a windy drive, take a lot of turns and backtracking before heading to our next destination. Blacklight, you'll need to hop in too. No running alongside us."
"Ok then. But don't blame me when the suspension fails on us." As the rest of us ran into the garage, Alex moved in just enough to change into a different disguise before walking back outside. He was a dark skinned man dressed in a security jacket, waving off anyone who came closer. The rest of us had to change our costumes in a less efficient way. I unzipped the top half and tied it round my waist, pausing to tug at the sweaty thin black shirt I was wearing underneath. Thank god black doesn't become too see-through when wet, or else I would've been mortified. Rachel carried her tired dogs into the back of the van along with us, heedless of the blood and melting flesh still covering them. As the oldest, Brian took the wheel. He stopped briefly at the entrance, long enough for Alex to hop in. The back sagged alarmingly as he stepped in, the van shaking with every step. Grunting, black tendrils flowed from his legs as he sat down, moving towards the open window at the front. The van stopped sinking on its suspension so much. But it was still lower than I liked. Every time Brian turned a corner, I could hear the wheel hit the wheel well. Surely someone would notice how low it was.
But despite my worries, despite the odds against us, despite the fact that the universe just loved fucking with me, we made it our destination without being followed. Hopefully. I somehow doubted that any heroes tailing us would be willing to listen to me if I told them I was an undercover hero. More likely to think I'm trying to save my skin and arrest me anyway. Along the way, we all put our costumes back on. All I had to do now was wear the mask.
Brian pulled to a stop, the sound of a roller door engine filling the air. Only when the room was lit up by lights did we step out. As I hopped out, I finally realised what Alex had done with his extra mass.
They were covering the outside of the van, changing from red to black. Had he been doing that this whole trip? Having this stuff changed colours to try and throw people off our tail? I kept a good distance away from it as it flowed off the van and back towards Alex. Any bugs that were swept up in it vanished from my senses. Eaten alive. It shifted into his armour as it wrapped around him. With all of us fully in costume again, we headed for the rusted door waiting at the back wall.
Surprise, surprise, it opened without so much as a squeak.
On the other side, everything was clean and new. Well, not entirely clean. There were obvious signs of construction. An army of builders parted around us, letting us through. I saw Alex lift an entire concrete mixer and move it aside rather than just walk around it. Tattletale led the way, as though she knew exactly where she was going. Our journey ended before a high-backed chair, several mercenaries standing at attention around it. The chair slowly and dramatically turned, revealing our mysterious employer.
A black bodysuit, designed to make the wearer appear skeletal underneath. A white serpent winding down his body, ending at his ankle.
Coil.
"Well done, well done." He said, clapping his hands together. "While I have no doubt that Blacklight did most of the hardest work, the rest of you performed admirably. You were all well worth the investment." He reached behind himself, pulling out a roll of quarters. "Before we continue our discussions, I wish to demonstrate something to you all. A hint of my power. If you would catch the coins and place them on the back of your hands."
He flipped the first coin to Tattletale. She slapped it against her hand and called it out. "Heads." She said.
Grue was next on the list. "Heads." He also said.
I nearly fumbled with mine, but I managed to slap it against my hand. "Heads." I said. I could already tell what the others were going to get.
And I was right. Bitch, Regent, and Blacklight all came up heads. I reached into my utility belt and pulled out a silver dollar. I showed it to Coil, and he nodded. When I flipped the coin and caught it, it came up heads.
"Some kind of probability manipulation." Blacklight mused. "The ability to make the universe bend chance to your outcome."
"Perhaps, but only in the bluntest sense. Much like how one could address one of your powers as mimicking someone you eat." Coil responded. "It is true, but it fails to capture the true essence of what one can do."
"As much as I'd love to talk philosophical crap with you, I'm here for something far more physical."
Coil nodded. "Of course. Given your track record, I would be a fool to refuse. I have someone creating you a bank account as we speak. It will be completely untraceable; a desired choice when one is a supervillain."
Blacklight nodded. "Like Al Capone. He was caught on tax evasion because the cops couldn't get anything else to stick."
"And there's nothing the heroes like more than to drain your coffers and 'donate' it to charities or the city." Blacklight shifted, moving slightly. "I'm assuming that I will find the two hundred and fifty thousand Tattletale promised me to be in the account?"
"Naturally. I'm afraid I can't just give you that kind of money in a briefcase. The PRT keep an eye out for the kind of money being transferred."
Grue cleared his throat. "And what about us? I know we'll be getting paid too, but I somehow doubt you had Tattletale bring us here just to tell us that we have a private bank account."
Coil turned his chair to focus on him. I wasn't as worried about being told to leave. I knew who their leader was. I could bring it all to Miss Militia tomorrow if I wanted. "I won't lie, Undersiders. Recruiting you was a well-placed gamble. If you were to fail at any point – be captured, arrested, or killed – then that meant there were fewer parahumans in the city for me to deal with. But if you succeeded like you lot have, besting heavy odds time and again, then it meant that you were worth investing in. Everyone in this room should be pleased to hear that you passed." He waved a hand around the room. "Tell me, what do you think I desire?"
"The city?" I guessed. "You've already been making moves on the gang turfs; your men have been fighting Empire Eighty-Eight this whole time. Anyone could see what you want."
"They could. You see, I have no interest in ruling the world. It is a cliché, and frankly far too difficult to accomplish. Instead, I am focusing my efforts on controlling an entire city. Even this is something few ever accomplish." He raised a finger though. "Make no mistake however; I am not just interested in taking over organised crime for Brockton Bay. I want to control it all. The government, the law enforcement, the businesses, and so much more."
"Ambitious." Grue said. I detected a change in his tone. Was he feeling dubious about this? I mean, I certainly was. It sounded crazy. The idea that one villain could take over the entire city like that? It was almost like something out of a Saturday morning cartoon. "But what's our role in this? Are we helping you get all of this in place?"
Coil shook his head. "No need. The final pieces are already falling into place. The ABB have been eradicated; Kaiser and I both were of the same mind about them. After failing to deal the final blow to the ABB and tonight's attack, the Wards and the Protectorate are on precarious ground. They will likely reorganise themselves, moving people from city to city. While they are doing this, they are vulnerable and in no condition to halt my plans. By the time they will be prepared, I will already be in place. New Wave are far too controversial to take their place; people trust them even less than they trust the Protectorate. The Merchants are too weak to be anything more than a flea against me. Faultline is a mercenary, and therefore can be bought. That only leaves Empire Eighty-Eight as a threat, and with your help and some other employees, they will fall soon."
He let all of that sink in. "And that's just the parahuman side of things. Thanks to my power, I have become a wealthy man. I have been buying property throughout the docks, and anyone unwilling to meet my price can suffer an unfortunate villain attack. Mayor Christner's opponents in the coming elections are on my payroll, and the Mayor himself has lost votes thanks to your near demolishment on his property. Likewise, several candidates for the city council elections have also been hired by me. When I saw that the final pieces are falling into place, I am not exaggerating.
Well, if the Protectorate weren't interested in this, I'd eat my costume.
"You still haven't said what you're hiring us for." Grue said. "So far, it seems you just want us to harass Triple E and businesses not willing to sell to you. That doesn't seem worth the money you've been throwing around."
"There is one other thing I will need your help with. Taking over the city is pointless if I cannot keep it. I may have vast resources, but I am only one man. I cannot fend off attacks and guard every district in the city. But if I were to gift these districts to loyal employees, then they could lessen my workload."
"You're going to give us parts of the city?"
"I would. If you accept my offer, I will grant you control over the docks. You will of course be expected to help police it and force the others out. But anything that happens within the docks is yours. Any drug deals, protection money, and other sources of income. They will help supplement the pay I will be offering you. And if this proves successful enough, then we can start expanding to other cities, where you will find yourselves in my shoes, with your own people working under you. But of course, that's a topic for the future. For now, our focus is on Brockton Bay."
"Anything other than the pay? I just want to learn all our options first before we decide anything."
"A wise choice. I will allow you all to make one demand each of me. If I can, I will fulfil it to the best of my ability. I cannot offer you any certainties, but know that I am in the best position to ensure that they happen." He looked at all of us, his snake head moving from one person to another. "I already know what some of you want. Bitch wants to help more of the dogs that are awaiting euthanasia in the animal shelters. I can offer assistants, proper buildings, create laws to ensure that they are all well-cared for in the hands of their owners. Regent wants enough fame and power to escape from under his father's thumb, to maybe even get revenge on him. Grue wants to ensure that he can look after his sister." I saw Blacklight looking at Grue. Right. He was probably getting all this cash for Dana. He was in a similar position as Grue was. "Tattletale has already had her wishes met. That just leaves Blacklight and Swarm."
"I already know why you hired me, Coil." Blacklight said. "You want me on your payroll so that someone else couldn't hire me to destroy your plans."
Coil lowered his head. "Correct. You have already proven that in terms of sheer power you are easily one of the most dangerous capes in Brockton Bay, if not the most dangerous left in the city. And I'm sure that Kaiser would greatly desire having you as his lap dog, attacking anyone he doesn't like. Normally I would consider simply removing your from play completely, but I can't be sure that it would work in the first place. Much easier in both the short term and long term to simply gain your services for myself."
"Smart. I don't take kindly to attempts on my life, no matter how badly thought out they might be." Blacklight said smugly. Well, not smugly. His tone just made it feel like he was saying the most obvious thing in the world. "My demands are simple. I want money, and I want help in keeping somewhat out of the spotlight. I doubt you can keep me from being on the front page. But plenty of my powers would likely earn me a kill order. Your job would be to sweep any such notice under the rug for me."
"Of course. I'm certain that they would fail in the end, but the sheer damage caused by such fighting would be too great." Coil turned to face me. "Now Swarm. What exactly do you desire the most from me?"
What did I want from him? What exactly did I want someone I'm planning on betraying to promise me if I 'help' him stay in power? I couldn't just say any random thing, or something a villain would want. That would just alert Tattletale's powers; maybe even make her look deeper into my actions. Find out that I was going to betray them. But there was only one thing I wanted that Coil could provide.
"What I want is for the city to be cleaned up." I said. "I'm not expecting you to clean away all crime, but at least make the city a better place. Fix up the docks so they aren't a dirty topic for the rest of the city. Help create jobs so that people have some actual work again. Fix up the corrupt and bloated bureaucracy so that it works." I remembered Shadow Stalker. Sophia. "And make it so that the city doesn't let the heroes get away with things in their civilian lives. So that they can't just hurt others and get away with it because they 'fight the good fight'." Part of me was now worried that I was asking too much of him. That he'd refuse. But so what? I wasn't planning on letting him stick around long enough for it to matter.
Coil watched me for several seconds before speaking. "An interesting wish, Swarm. But one that I was already planning on doing anyway. I am a proud man, and I refuse to let a city that I control remain a place of squalor and disrepair. Giving you a better city would be much like giving you payment for your work; something that I was already planning on gifting you."
"I am not expecting an answer from you just yet, with the exception of Blacklight. Use the time you have choosing whether or not you'll work for me to decide on another desire; something that I am not already planning on gifting. I will expect an answer from the rest of you a week from now. Whether you choose to stand by me or remain on your own will not matter to me. I only ask that you that you consider our prior engagement."
"You're really going to let us say no?" Grue asked.
"What would you have me do? Threaten you? Make you all disappear? Arrange your arrests? Such plans would not be foolproof, and I would rather not rule over my employees with fear like Lung did. If I want someone to work for me, it will be because I offer them greater rewards than if they simply went solo." He turned to look at Blacklight.
Alex didn't even hesitate. "What you're offering is probably the best damn deal I've gotten in this city. Don't fuck me over, and we'll have no problems."
"Excellent. In that case we will both certainly benefit from this mutual partnership." Great. Now I definitely faced another obstacle in my plan to see Coil and the Undersiders brought to justice.
How was I going to do that without Alex killing me in the process?
It was two days later, and I still didn't have a plan.
It wasn't just sending an anonymous letter to Miss Militia without making it sound ridiculous. Anything I could think of the PRT or the Protectorate could do to protect me wouldn't work against Alex. Men could be killed, defences could be smashed. Even if they could make a defence system so great that even Alex couldn't just break through, there was still his other power. Tattletale said that he mimicked DNA to such an extent that it was indistinguishable from the real thing. He could just sample someone who had the required authorisation and sneak in that way. And forget going out onto the field with the Wards. He'd probably kill me or them before we even know he's there.
They say that the more you know about your enemy, the better position you will be in. Well so far, everything I knew about Alex just told me that I was in over my head.
I needed someone to talk to about this. But that left me with few people I could actually speak to.
I couldn't go to Dad about this. He'd be shocked about what I've really been doing these past couple of months. Finding out that your daughter has been running around in costume working with villains would've been a shock to the system. Finding out that your next door neighbour was a monster even more so. Besides, I was worried that he'd end up doing something that would irritate Alex and get himself killed. No way was I going anywhere near him with this.
The Undersiders were also off-limits. There is no scenario where you can go to the people you're planning on stabbing in the back and talk about how to do so successfully.
Going to see someone in the PRT would just run into the same problems that I was trying to solve. Coil and the Undersiders arrested. Alex hunting me down and killing me. Even if Alex didn't care about me, Coil would. And he could pay Alex enough money to break him out and deal with me.
I stopped walking then. I had gone past my house while I was busy thinking things over. Before me was Alex's home.
There was only one person I could think of that I could talk to. His sister, Dana. Yes, it was probably suicidal. Yes, it was stupid. But everything I had right now was just as suicidal and stupid. I knocked on the door before my courage failed me. Dana opened it, frowning slightly as she saw me.
"Taylor. Hey." She said. "Can I… help you with something?"
I was quiet for far too long, trying to figure out what to say. "…I… I need your help with something. I need… I need someone to talk to about something important."
Dana gave me a tired smile, and stepped back inside. "Sure. Come on in. I'll get some tea ready." I hesitated slightly on the front doorstep, looking around the room carefully as I walked in. This was Alex's home. This was where he slept and relaxed when he wasn't fighting out there. I kept an eye out for anything that could tell me more about him. What were his interests? What did he do for fun? There had to be point where the things I learnt about him would help me make a plan against him. There just had to be.
But there was nothing. There were clear signs of what Dana did; there was a desk set up to one side of the living room, food and drinks arrayed around it and work on the screen. A couple of magazines were lying around the place. But this didn't feel like a home, not like my place did. This felt more like a temporary abode. A place where everything could be packed up within a couple of hours and moved out, or simply left behind. The kitchen was much the same. Dana was busy mixing together a couple of drinks for us.
"So, is this about Coil's offer?" She asked me. I quickly turned my head towards her, eyes wide in shock. She chuckled to herself. "Alex told me all about the meeting when he got back home. Coil sounds like a better option than Kaiser ever did."
"So you do know that he's a… You know."
"Supervillain?" She chuckled again. "Who do you think convinced him to become one in the first place?"
"You did? But… why?" I couldn't quite wrap my head around why someone as perfectly normal as Dana would be alright with her brother becoming a villain. She turned around and placed two mugs on the table, already sipping from one.
"Look. You've probably already realised that Alex doesn't have quite the same idea on morality that we do. To him, violence is perfectly fine. Killing is perfectly fine too. Because of that, he can't really hold a regular job. One shithead customer, and he'd probably rip them apart. The Protectorate are out too; Alex doesn't normally bring people in alive."
"That just leaves becoming a rogue or a villain." I said.
" And you can already tell which one of those would suit him better." She took another sip. "But enough about me and Alex. You said you wanted to talk about something?"
I did. Before I could think of backing out, I told her everything. Starting from my first night out as a cape, facing against Lung to stop him from killing some children I realised were the Undersiders only afterwards. I didn't bother talking about my Trigger Event; if Alex had brutalised the trio because of it, then he and Dana already knew what had happened. I don't know why I was telling her so much. Maybe it was because she was the only normal person I knew of who knew about the capes. Or maybe it was that she just felt more reasonable than Alex would've been.
By the time I was done, my tea had gone cold.
Dana stared attentively at me during the whole tale. "Shit." She muttered. "You've really been through a lot, haven't you?" I meekly nodded. "Well, you're right about Alex probably getting pissed off about being betrayed. And about going after you. But he'll be upset more because it could threaten me than anything else. If you can avoid telling Miss Militia about his identity, then I could convince him to leave you alone. But before you do anything else, I've just got a few questions for you."
"Alright then." One hurdle possibly down. So why did I still feel so uneasy about this?
"You said that Armsmaster offered you a place in the Wards. Why didn't you take him up on it? Helping to take down Lung would've been one huge feather in your cap. Instead, you just kept quiet about it. Don't like the attention?"
I shook my head. "It's not about the attention. I just… I felt like being in the Wards would've been too much like being at school. Getting picked on, having someone pushing me around simply because I'm the new girl in the squad. Now that I know that Sophia's on the team, I'm sure of it. She won't accept that I'm tough enough to fight with her. We'll probably end up in a fight that'll leave one of us dead."
"Fuck. Why the fucking hell is she still on the good guys' side? Alex is more heroic than her. Yeah, he's a moody angry bastard, but at least he doesn't just pick fights with people." She shook her head, tried to get back on topic. "But let's not get side-tracked. You didn't know that she was in the Wards at the time. So you were mainly worried that you'd get bullied again. But I'm pretty sure that they'd pay much more attention if there was bullying going on in the team. Can't afford to have them hate each other after all. Not when they need to work together."
"I was bullied for over a year before that night. I had gone through hell, and the best the school could do was say 'we're sorry'. They didn't even bother trying to find out who did it. Just put in a half-assed effort and then let it drop. Call me cynical, but I doubted that the PRT would've done any better."
"Because they're both part of the establishment?" She asked me. I nodded. "Fine then. But you obviously still think it could work out if you're planning on joining now. So what else is holding you back? Is it the Undersiders? Are you afraid of hurting them?"
"Maybe." I relented. "They're alright, I guess. I don't know about Rachel and Alec, but Lisa's a good friend. So is Brian."
"But you'd like Brian to be something more than just a friend." I looked up at her. "Taylor, I've been in love once too. It was messy, heated, and ended with him pissing off Alex, but we loved each other for a bit. I know what it looks like." I blushed, and looked away. She was right, of course. I did love Brian. I wanted us to be boyfriend and girlfriend. But we couldn't. It was impossible. "Here's what I think. You do consider the Undersiders your friends. Maybe not all of them, but enough that you don't want to betray their trust. But you see the world in black and white. To you, even though they're nice and funny and somewhat good, they're still on the wrong side. But the world isn't black and white, Taylor. It's grey. It's a really shitty grey colour." She placed her empty mug back on the table. "Me and Alex came from another version of Earth. There, some lab boys made a bioweapon, and it accidently got out. The soldiers that were defending against it? They were real nasty. Burning apartment buildings filled with people, gunning down people trying to escape, planning on nuking New York? They're like the fucking Nazis. But the problem is that they were that foul because the bioweapon was just that dangerous. All those horrible things they did? It wasn't enough. They were losing ground."
"And Alex? He's a bit of an asshole too. We may care about each other, but he's still great villain material. I could definitely see him ending up in the Birdcage when or if he's captured. And he was the closest thing New York had to a hero during all that crap." She let that sink in for a bit. "You want to be a hero to make the world a better place. From the sounds of it, Coil does too. He just wants it to be under his control too."
"You think I should stick with Coil and help him." It wasn't a question.
"Yeah. No one said that you couldn't be bad and help the world. You could have your own morals still, your own rules. No killing, or no drugs. You could be an anti-villain or something."
"I don' know. When you call yourself a villain, people tend to think the worse of you."
She snorted. "And what, being a hero means that you are a paragon of justice and can do no wrong? That's the kind of thinking that lets Sophia get away with bullying. Do you really think you can make the world better by working with her?"
"No." I said instantly, surprising myself. When I stopped to think it over, I was even more certain of it.
"Well there you go. I think you've made your choice. Some people here aren't villains or rogues because they've got no choice. Sometimes it's because they aren't happy being a hero or think they'll do more outside of them."
I gave her a look. "You seem to know a lot about this kind of stuff."
"Well someone has to make sure Alex doesn't kill everything he meets. Trust me; you pick up some stuff trying to sort through his reasoning."
I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding. I still wasn't one hundred percent certain I had made the right choice, but Dana was right. If I didn't want to join the Wards before, I hardly had any more reason now that I know that Sophia's a part of it and after how Armsmaster threw me under a bus like he did."
I wondered how long I had been deluding myself about why I was hanging out with the Undersiders.
"Thank you Dana." I said gratefully.
On the other side of the city, Alex was off exercising.
It was really exercising though. Not the kind of activity where one put pressure on their muscles to make themselves stronger or faster. He could do that easily enough by putting some more biomass into his limbs. It was more that he had to get out and do something to stave off the boredom.
He always had a problem with that. After the excitement and sheer energy of New York, he had been restless and irritable for the first couple of stops. He found that just running around and hitting things helped him cool off. Start relaxing. Or whatever his body considered close to it.
Plus, it gave him time to think.
So as he bench pressed a train car, his mind was mulling over Coil. As far as the villains in the city go, he's probably the least prejudiced and the most unknown. Dana couldn't even find out whether or not he had powers. Guess he knew now. And his plan for fixing up the city? It was better than wanting to murder people or kick around puppies. Maybe he tried in the public system, only to go to villainy when he kept getting blocked by red tape. But a part of him was naturally suspicious. He felt like not everything had been put up on the table that night. Another scheme, another agenda, some special plan that would've been morally sickening.
Well, he was paying Alex quite a bit just to not fuck over his plans. So until he found something worth getting pissed off about, he would keep Coil alive and on track.
Alex tossed the train car into the air, standing up as it landed with a satisfying crash. Well, he made it clear that he was permanently hired now. Might as well go and find some Triple E men to eat. Fuck over Kaiser's racist bullshit while getting some info on his latest plans. Maybe Coil would pay extra for anything he learnt. He jumped up onto the roof tops, moving fast from roof to roof. Last he heard, Coil's men had been clashing with the Empire boys over near the docks. Even if they had moved on or won, he could probably find some sign of where else they were from there. Perhaps someone had seen something that he could find out. Hell, if he was lucky, maybe he might run into…
There was a barely perceivable twang, and then something small and thin stabbed him in the back. He pulled up to a stop and reached for it. He held a broken crossbow bolt in his hand, the head still imbedded in him.
Shadow Stalker. Well. If he had a face right now it'd have a huge grin on it. He armoured up the rest of him and turned around on the spot, thermal vision flicking on. He couldn't see anything just yet. But she was here.
"I suppose I should thank you, Shadow Stalker." He said. "You just made finding you so much easier. You're probably here because you want to silence me. After all, I know who you are under that mask." There, on the next rooftop. A faint heat signature. Her powers must dampen it somewhat. But not get rid of it entirely. Not like Grue's power did.
She didn't respond. Probably still going for the element of surprise.
"You know, people like you disgust me. The kind of people who need to hurt others to feel good about themselves. Yeah, I'm a monster myself, but at least I end things quickly. You, on the other hand? You wanted to make it slow and painful. Draw out every last drop of anguish you could. I bet that Miss Herbert could've dropped off the school roof right in front of you and you would've been fucking proud of yourself. Glad that there was one less person out there. I don't even know why the PRT even considered putting you on probation. If it were up to me, I'd see you in the Birdcage for what you've done." He saw her move now, jumping to another rooftop.
He moved at nearly the same time.
When she landed, he smashed down right next to her, claws already lashing out. He knew it wouldn't kill her, or even hurt her. She was too immaterial for him to deal some actual damage. But Dana had found evidence that large or powerful blows disrupted her, making her take longer to reform, cause her some measure of pain. She managed to roll away from him, firing her crossbow as she moved. The bolts bounced off his armour; he had made it to resist bullets. Bolts were hardly any more effective. He chased after her as she jumped off the roof, disappearing into the dark alley. He flicked his vision back on again to spot her, and at the same time altered the physiology of his arms. Now they were packed with special organs that he had copied from electric eels. Electric organs, they were called. Obvious, but he didn't care about that. He found Shadow Stalker again and shoved his fists into her. When they were inside, he engaged the organs.
She screamed and jolted, her body forced away from his fists as it rematerialized. He slammed them into her again, still producing electricity. She fell to the ground, and he slammed a foot into her stomach. Ribs shattered on impact.
From there, the fight was painfully easy.
He dismantled her piece by piece, breaking every bone and dislocating every socket. He knew it was hypocritical; but that was the point. He wanted her to see what it felt like on the other side. He kept at it until she was a bloody mess, even worse off than Glory Girl had been in their second fight. Only then did he stop beating her within an inch of her life.
"Consider this your only warning." He growled, standing over her. He had grabbed her by the face to make sure she was listening. "If you ever go near Taylor Herbert again, next time I will kill you. I will splatter your blood all over the street, and hang your entrails on the street lamps. Am I clear?"
She moaned. The closest he was probably going to get to answer, seeing as how he shattered her jawbone. But hopefully she'll understand what he meant. He tossed her mangled body out onto the streets, before jumping away.
Someone will find her eventually.
Piggot sighed as she stepped out of the hospital room. She had a pounding headache right now, and the increasing load of complaints and worries was only making it worse. Someone made sure that the newspapers all learnt that the villains did most of the work, while the PRT mostly guarded buildings. Mayor Christner's attempt to raise morale only led to their embarrassment and humiliation. Fights between Coil and Empire Eighty-Eight were still ongoing, causing property damage, loss of life, and fear.
And now Shadow Stalker –Sophia Hess – was lying in critical condition. And unless Panacea showed up to heal her, she might never return to full strength. She didn't need to look at the files and x-rays to know how bad it was. The doctors had laid it out in general terms. Every bone in her body was shattered or broken. Her organs were at the very least bruised. Signs of concussion. Whoever had worked her over had wanted to inflict pain. Or was holding back the urge to kill her.
And she had a damn good idea as to who it was.
She stopped walking as she entered the entrance area, Armsmaster and Miss Militia waiting for her there. Between them was Amy Dalton. Piggot gave her a tired smile as she approached.
"Miss Dalton. Thank you for coming on such short notice." She said. "I assume that Armsmaster and Miss Militia have informed you of why you're here?"
Amy nodded. "Shadow Stalker was badly injured in a fight, and you want me to help heal her." She looked away, took a deep breath. "How bad is it?"
"I won't mince words, Miss Dalton. She's not going to die from her injuries, but that's a small comfort. Everything in her body was either broken or bruised. You're going to have your work cut out for you with this one."
"I understand. Do you know who did it?"
"Given the words said during the fundraiser, we're certain that Blacklight was the perpetrator." Armsmaster said, moving stiffly. Guess he hasn't fully healed from his fight with him. Amy frowned as she heard that.
"Right. Guess I should get to work then."
"Please do." Piggot said kindly. Amy gave her a sad smile and walked towards Sophia's room. As soon as she had left, Piggot's smile faded. She stomped out the room, the heroes not far behind her. She didn't speak until they were all in the PRT van. "For your sakes, I dearly hope that you've found something to explain why this happened." She said to them.
Miss Militia spoke first. "We don't have much right now, but we've made some guesses. After what he said during the fundraiser, I did some inquiries into things that have happened in her civilian life. There was the usual suspensions and scolding for acting out in class and her home life. Apparently that's not out of the ordinary for her. But there was one incident that got my attention. Sophia and her friends were attacked by a violent new student by the name of Alexander Ragland. Bruises, concussions, broken bones."
"Fights happen; especially around Sophia. What made this one seem different?"
"Because there is no record of an Alex Ragland. Or his father or his caregiver and her brother. It's like they don't exist." She pulled out a tablet from a side panel. "And then I saw this from the security footage of the fundraiser." She pressed play, and Piggot and Armsmaster leaned in.
It was set a few minutes before the attack began. Miss Militia fast forwarded until the dogs came crashing through the roof. As it happened, Piggot saw something else. One of the PRT officers attacking his own teammates. He hit them harder than he should've been able to, sending them flying with each blow. As darkness started billowing, the camera they were watching through stayed clear. They saw tendrils flowing over the officer as he grew in height and shrank in width while armour plating formed over him.
"Blacklight's a Changer." Armsmaster realised. "You think he was also this Alexander Ragland."
"I do. The fight at school began because Sophia was apparently bullying a fellow student by the name of Taylor Herbert. It seems that he took it upon himself to exact vengeance for her."
"Why? Why would a villain like him want to play the role of a knight in shining armour?" Piggot asked.
"I'm still looking into that. Right now though, I thought it would be more prudent to find out his motivations. I believe that this is a follow-up to those events. Shadow Stalker chased him down, and he broke her."
Piggot sighed again. Ever since he showed up in Brockton Bay, Blacklight has been one mess after another. They had to stop him at some point. She looked at Armsmaster. "When will you be ready for a rematch with him, Colin?"
"Hard to say." He replied. "My wound will heal in time; the only problem is that we don't know enough about him. I thought I had enough data to take him down, but he surprised me. I'll need to keep watching him. And we'll also need to make sure that he's pushed. That he's forced to use more of his abilities. If we can do that, I will be able to take him down."
She nodded. She could trust Colin to put his all into this. His fame and standing meant everything to him. The fact that Blacklight managed to best him before everyone else… Well, he'll be even more motivated than before.
"Then take as much time as you need. We'll only get one more shot at this. In the meantime, I'll have some of our boys do some digging. See if there's any mention of anyone like Blacklight before. He may be a new cape, but the skill he's shown so far suggests that he's been at this for a while. We may be able to use that somehow."
"Be advised though, Colin. Given his violent behaviour, you may have to use lethal force on the first go. If so, we will protect you from reprisal." She ignored the look on Miss Militia's face.
One way or another Blacklight will be brought to justice.
You know, when I was writing this I almost felt sorry for Shadow Stalker. But then I remembered what she did to Taylor and then everything felt much better. If anyone in Worm needs to get beaten half to death by Alex, it's got to be her.
When I was writing this, money and helping him remain anonymous were the only things I could think Coil could offer Alex. It made sense to me. Alex doesn't want people putting a kill order on him, since attempts on his life are annoying and could affect Dana too. And until Alex finds another way to keep the PRT off his back, he'll keep Coil alive.
I liked the talk between Taylor and Dana. Dana already knows what it's like to be on the morally grey side before, so she's probably the best person for Taylor to talk to right now. But I always felt that the choice between the Undersiders and the Protectorate was really always more effective if everything was black and white. Because to me, sticking with Coil always sounded like a better idea. I mean, if it was that the Undersiders worked for a stereotypical 'I'm pure evil' villain like say Jack Slash, then the choice would swing to the Protectorate. But otherwise it wouldn't make sense for her to join the heroes. If she didn't join when Armsmaster offered, then I don't see how it would seem better the second time round.
No questions right now, but I do have some news. I have decided that I am going to focus on this story exclusively until I finish it. I know that I could probably put it on hiatus or something, but then I'd probably focus on writing a buffer or something instead of actually doing the other stories. Might as well get this out of the way first while I'm on a roll rather than have it pile up on everything else.
Edit: Now I have a question about Night. Are her powers affected by electronic sight or indirect sight? So would she be able to change if there was a camera watching her, or if someone saw her with thermal vision?
And Fog? When he's in his gaseous form, can he still be affected by powerful winds. Would he be swallowed up if someone were to generate a tornado?
