Hey there everyone. Enjoying the support you've shown me. Just going to answer some reviews from here.
To those thinking that Alex is OOC for getting murderous over the Trio, you'd be right. I probably did get out of character over that. But that's mainly because they're so despicable. I know other fanfics out there have done a great job of making them less of a hate sink (and have even made them heroes) but I prefer to just hate them. Blackwatch may have done some nasty shit, but at least they did it because the Virus is just that dangerous. The trio though… Sophia hurts Taylor because she feels like she has the right. That she's the strong one, and Taylor's the weak one, and any attempt by Taylor to change that has to be stopped. I haven't had it in my story, but in canon, she attacked Taylor and nearly ripped her ear off because the meeting with the teachers led to her being booted off the track team. I wasn't kidding when I said that Alex is more heroic than her. You know you're bad when the murderous virus is a better hero.
Madison, supposedly, is just a social climber. She picked on Taylor because she wanted to be with the 'in' crowd. That's still nasty, but not as nasty. She'd probably can't hate Taylor on a personal level.
Emma though… (Takes a deep breath.) Here's her history.
When Taylor was at Summer Camp, before all the bullying happened, Emma got attacked by some ABB people. I haven't read the interlude in a while, so I can't remember all the details, but basically they threatened her (not with rape or anything) and were planning on cutting off her hair when she fought back. That show of strength led to Shadow Stalker finally dealing with them. But Emma was traumatised, because she didn't think she could be strong like Taylor was when her mother died.
Yes. Emma rated the loss of her hair the same level as Taylor losing her mother. Maybe.
Anyway, Emma wanted to be strong like Sophia was. So she cut off everything related to the 'old' Emma. Among those things was her friendship with Taylor, and Taylor in general. She practically ruined her life just to make herself feel stronger and tougher. Taylor might've committed suicide, and she'd probably be thinking that it meant she was stronger than Taylor.
What. The hell.
So yeah. Add in the fact that they're only high schoolers, and they actually feel worse than some of the villains to me. I know it's still out of character, but plenty of people love having Alex kick their shit. So I'll still keep that part in.
Well, now that we've got that rant out of the way, I've got something to say to Crowheart about the power ratings.
You're right about how I'm probably overestimating Alex's powers. It's why I asked people for their own ideas about his ratings. But something I want to point out is that the ratings aren't just how powerful someone is. It's more like how much of a threat the PRT feels someone is. A Brute 6 could actually be stronger than a Brute 8, but the 8 could have something about them that makes them more dangerous than the 6. So say that we had… Deathstroke and Deadpool (not the best comparison, but it's all I can think of right now). Deathstroke may be more dangerous than Deadpool, but Deadpool has such insane regeneration that he could just keep bouncing back. Deathstroke though, you hit him hard enough and he goes down.
Yeah. Not the best comparison. But like I said, it's all I got.
Another way to think about it. The PRT have equipment and strategies for different powers and levels. Having a higher rating means that the PRT can pull out better gear and plans to fight a cape. So if they need Shaker 8 equipment but their opponent is only rated as a 6, they won't get the authorisation. I mean, Taylor is rated as a 2 in everything and a 10 in Master. Not bad for a girl who can only control bugs.
So yeah. Now that that's over, let's enjoy the story.
Edit: the BSDude just corrected me. Apparently they did threaten to rape her and were planning on removing her eye, her nose, or her hand. Worse than I thought, but still not enough to justify ruining Taylor's life. Probably feel that way because I got bullied when I was younger. So yeah, I'm probably also projecting my feelings about bullying too.
Chapter 6: A Virus, A Tinker, and A Bug All Walk Into A Bar…
The next day was the first time I had been to school in over a week. Three if you didn't count the few says I went before the ABB made it too unsafe to keep going. And the meeting.
To say that I had a lot of catch-up work to do would be an understatement. My absence had caused me to drop to near the bottom of the class. I was always at least two subjects behind everyone else. I had to stay for catch-up classes, complete extra homework, put in even better work during class to keep up.
Funnily enough, I actually enjoyed it.
I wasn't one of those students who started having an orgasm over difficult work. Or a teacher's pet. But I liked having myself challenged. I liked pushing myself a bit harder on something that wasn't life-threatening. I became interested in the things we were learning about… Most of the time.
But best of all, everyone stopped bullying me.
Emma practically shrank away from me when I got close to her. Gone was the confident part-time model and full-time bitch. She acted a lot like I had when she made my life hell; like she was expecting someone to come up and ruin her life any moment now. She avoided her old social circles, and Madison had left her alone now that she wasn't a rising star. Sophia had completely vanished; school rumours said that she got involved in a car crash, and was stuck in hospital for a few more days. Without them egging each other on and appearing cool for hurting the school loser, everyone else backed away. Stories about Ragland floated around the school; spoken of by every clique out there. He was a psycho, he was a serial killer, a cannibal, he was secretly a member of Slaughterhouse Nine, kicked out for being too crazy even for them. A dozen different theories were flying, and each one was crazier than the last. I mean, someone actually went ahead and said he was really my psycho lesbian ex-girlfriend, here to kill any girl who got too close to me so she could have me all to herself. Where the hell did that even come from?
Most girls still kept far away from me, just in case.
Thing is, I know that Alex was still in the school. Someone out there had a personal vendetta against Emma and Madison. Through at least half the classes, something happened to them. Their desks fell apart; the vial they were testing shattered; their designer clothes were shredded during gym; a shard of glass found its way into their shoes. And everytime, there was always someone watching them closely, a smirk on their face. A boy, a girl, a janitor, a teacher. Sometimes I recognised them; other times, I didn't. It seemed that Alex was determined to hound them every single moment in revenge for what they did to me.
So when at lunch Emma and Madison both tripped and they ended up wearing their lunch, I confronted him. He had taken the appearance of a lean pale girl with long black hair. I'd put her nationality as Asian, maybe. She was leaning on one elbow, her finger dipped into her food and moving through it. I sat in her way, so that she would see me.
"Alex, this needs to stop." I said, just loud enough for him to hear. I didn't want someone else listening in, even though my bugs told me that there was no one within range. Alex looked at me, and his smirk changed. He looked confused. Like he did when I told him off the first time.
He blew a tuff of hair from his… her face. "I'll never understand you people. You lie, you cheat, you steal and take whatever you want. You hide it all behind doublespeak and make yourselves seem like good people. Some of you are, but most people are driven by their own desires and selfish needs. And when I think I understand how you lot work, someone like you comes along and throws it all out the window. Taylor, they made your life hell. They fully believed that they were in the right; that you were to just sit there and take it. And any time you fought back, any time you stood up for yourself, they saw that as you breaking the rules. You should want them dead for what they've done." She shrugged. "Or at the very least, a taste of their own medicine."
There's an old saying attributed to Ghandi." I retorted. "He once said 'an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind'. Giving them the same treatment they gave me isn't right."
"It was said by Louis Fisher, actually. A biographer's own expression of Ghandi's belief. It's still stupid. That's why you don't go for an eye. If they take your eye, you should take their face. They break your arm, you should rip theirs off. They hurt your family, you should murder them and everyone else they know."
"Fucking hell." I cursed. "I can't believe Dana has to put up with this shit all the time. You're impossible to talk to. Normal people don't need to be convinced not to kill people."
"You're wrong about that. It's actually pretty easy for people to start killing others. Religion, money, fame, a slight to their name, or even just because they can. I think that's the problem. You don't truly understand the people around you. Whereas most of the time, I understand them all too well."
Or maybe it was the other way round. That I understood normal people and Alex only got killers like himself. I think they say that you're more likely to bond with an understand people who act like you.
I had to get Alex to stop. But what could I do that he would fear? What exactly would make him back off?
"Does Dana know that you're bullying them?" I asked him. He stopped moving. As in his whole body stopped moving. His expression froze over, he stopped breathing, even his hair had frozen where it had been swinging. If I didn't know better, I'd have thought that he somehow got affected by Clockblocker.
"You wouldn't dare." He hissed at me.
"Oh, but I would. If you don't leave them alone from now on, then I'm telling on you. And don't even think about killing me. I bet Dana would spot it a mile away." Inside, I quailed. The glare Alex was giving me made me think of a snake looking at a mouse. Like he was deciding on whether or not to waste the effort eating me.
"Fine." He muttered finally. "I don't get why; but I'll leave them alone if you want it that badly." He pushed away from the table, and stalked out the room. As soon as he left, I breathed a sigh of relief. I did it. I managed to get him to listen to me.
Here's hoping I won't end up regretting it.
Understanding humans was hard. That was the conclusion Alex had reached. There was a saying that the females were difficult to understand, but he felt that it was actually everyone. Even despite what those three had done to her, Taylor didn't want him making them pay.
Was this one of those morality things? Prove you're a better person because you won't stoop to their level? That seemed ridiculous. You'd be a better person because you're alive and they're dead. Or at least, you're on top and they're the ones crying a puddle on the floor.
He didn't understand what the big deal was. And he was angry because he wanted to understand. A part of him that still felt human, still wanted to be human, was constantly asking if he was wrong.
An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth.
But who exactly could he talk to about this? He and Taylor just couldn't understand each other. From what Dana told him, she has aspirations to be a hero, or at least an anti-villain. He was under no such illusions. Their ideas of morality were just too fundamentally different. Dana? No. That would defeat the purpose of obeying Taylor's threat. She would be angry that he was still hounding them. Bitch? Regent? No again. They were too similar to him. Both would believe that he was in the right. He wasn't looking for like-minded people. Just someone who could explain things to him.
Tattletale.
It made sense. Her power was understanding things; acquiring new data. From just seeing him using Bakuda's grenade launcher, she figured out that he could sample and incorporate DNA. She'd probably figure out quickly that he's not human, was never really human to begin with.
Good enough. It wasn't like he was brimming with options here.
He took off at a run towards the hideout. He saw people glance in his direction as he passed; a teenage girl going faster than most cars. They'll probably call the PRT on him, maybe even the Protectorate. As he approached the docks, he slipped into an alleyway. The girl went in, and Alex stepped out. From there, it was a slow tedious jog the rest of the way.
It took far too long to reach the hideout at a human speed.
Tattletale was already waiting for him when he climbed up the stairs. Likely her power, telling her that she had a visitor. She gave him a guarded smile.
"Hey Alex. You here to find out what we've decided on?" She asked him. She pointed at the seat opposite him, offering him a seat.
"No." he said, still standing. Before, he could've sat down on an ordinary chair. But that was before he had more people making up his biomass. Now, any chair he sat on would break under his mass. "I… I need to talk. To someone."
"And you chose me? I'm flattered." She kept smiling. It was probably a quirk of hers. Appear harmless, not a threat. Surprise them with knowledge. Gloat. Rinse, repeat.
Except he knew that knowledge could be as dangerous as any weapon if used correctly.
Ah, what the hell. He had to expect this. Best to suck it up and get this talk over with.
"Why does Taylor care so much about the girls who made her life hell? He asked. Tattletale frowned. Whatever she had been expecting, this wasn't it.
"The girls? You mean the ones from school?"
He nodded. "Emma Banes. Madison Clements. Sophia Hess. If it were us that they were attacking, we would've taken them apart with our powers. You would've broken them with words and secrets…"
"And you would've broken them with claws and tendrils and murder." She finished for him. She glanced around the room, as though looking for someone. No, not looking. Making sure that they were alone. When she turned back, she wasn't smiling anymore. "My powers are telling me that you and I both know that she originally wanted to a hero."
He blinked. His memories told him that was one way people showed that they were surprised by something. "Have you always known?"
"Yes. But I also saw that what she wanted, what she needed, was friends. So that's why I pretended that she might've been a villain and let her join."
"Alright. But it doesn't answer my question."
"Tell me, how would you define a hero?"
"Someone who obeys the law, protects the weak and the innocent from criminals preying on them. Follows a strict set of rules on what they can and can't do. Brings all criminals in alive." He was reciting everything his memories had on comic book superheroes. It was a contradictory list at times, but that's what happens when you generalise something.
Tattletale nodded. "And most of the time, they don't use their powers for personal gain. Especially getting revenge."
He folded his arms. "So Taylor wants them left alone because she's working on some naïve bullshit on how she should be better than them." He frowned. "That's the part I don't get. Why?"
Alex, you and I are villains. We're used to breaking the rules, doing whatever we want. That's why we'd make terrible heroes."
"Figured that out myself. It's why I didn't join the Protectorate."
She changed tack. "I'm sure we've all got some form of rules. Like for you, if someone wrongs you, then you make them pay for it. Or how if you're being paid to keep people alive, you'll make sure they survive. Taylor's got rules too. One of them is that you don't go seeking revenge with your powers. Not if they're not parahumans."
"Why?"
"Because if she attacked them with her bugs? Well, I don't think they've got a list of suspects. She'd be outing herself as a cape. And not all of us have the ability to steal someone's face and hide." The words. They still sounded so similar. The same things just said differently each time. Taylor wouldn't hurt or kill them because she had rules, she wanted to be better than them. He would kill them because he was a monster. He still didn't understand why she had these rules.
Maybe he never would. An unfortunate side effect of seeing human morality through the eyes of a pathogen. It was just so alien to him that he couldn't understand it.
He sighed. "I still don't get it. They hurt her. They nearly ruined her life. And for what reason? Because they could? Because she was an easy target?"
Tattletale shook her head. "I'm pretty sure that Sophia thought like that. But Madison and Emma… My powers are telling me it's not that simple. Only thing is, it's harder when I'm working with incomplete data. I could even get things wrong."
He waved a hand. "Forget about them. I just want to try and understand Taylor."
"I know you do. But I'm getting the feeling that you can't. You guys are just too different. The only thing you've got in common is that you're not good with people. Taylor because the bullying fucked her up; and you because you're…" She frowned. "A bioweapon? Seriously?"
He felt his phone vibrate inside his biomass. It was pushed to his hand within seconds. A text from Coil. He wanted a meeting with him. A job.
He pushed away from the wall he was leaning against. "Yeah. I'm a bioweapon." He shook his head. "Fine. I'll let her do her thing. I'll leave them alone, even though they fucking deserve it. I still don't get it, but I'll accept it. I guess."
Well, that had been a complete waste of time. It would probably be a lot more productive if he just accepted that Taylor was weird and went on with his life. Plus or minus some getting told off by Taylor.
As much as he would rather just call Coil to get his orders, he knew this was more than just about them. It was Coil trying to test the waters on how much Alex will obey before he tells him to fuck off. And the more Alex acted up just to be contrary, the more likely that Coil might put in some counter-measures. Better to just play along for now; after all, only an idiot fucks with his meat shield.
So Alex ran to Coil's location like a dog returning to his master, eager for a bone and a chin-scratch. Coil must've left barely a few minutes before he texted Alex, because when he arrived Coil was just stepping out of his limo. Alex glided down towards him, landing more softly than he normally would've. He saw Coil start as he noticed Alex in his costume.
"You're faster than I was expecting." Coil remarked. "In that case, I will be brief. As I said last time, Empire Eighty-Eight is my main threat right now. Everyone else is either too disorganised, too weak, or working with me to impede me. But few of my soldiers are parahumans. Triple-E has to get lucky once or twice, and I will be set back by days, maybe even weeks."
Alex nodded He had reached the same conclusions himself. Sure, Coil's men were good. If they were back home he'd rate them as ex-Blackwatch even. But the other side had parahumans. It was like setting soldiers against Hunters; they'd get lucky and do enough damage, but a single Hunter could still wipe them out if it had enough time. "You want me to cull them for you? Kill off their capes and leave the rest to you?"
Coil shook his head. "While effective, that would take too long. And I am worried that Kaiser, in his desperation, would offer you a sum that even I couldn't match. No, there's an easier way to deal with them. We cut the head off the snake."
"You do realise that won't work long term. Sure, short term wise there will be chaos and disorganisation. You could take a lot of ground from them while they're still reeling. But someone will take over, and then they'll start pushing back. There will be someone else ready to offer me more to kill you."
"Ah, but you don't know them quite like I do. I've actually figured out most of their secrets. Tell me, how much do you know about Purity and Hookwolf?"
Purity. Female, rated as Blaster 8 and Mover 4. Uses some kind of kinetically charged light to both fly and attack. Easily one of the more destructive capes in Brockton Bay, causing more damage than even he could do. Has been spotted attacking criminals, disrupting their crimes and business hold outs. Only been seen attacking coloured gangs though. Recent behaviour suggests that she's trying to become a super hero. Held back by her racism.
Hookwolf. Male, Brute 7 and Changer 4. Can use metal he conjures from… somewhere to replace flesh with metal. Usually blades, hooks, and needles. Favours the form of a wolf. Began as a parahuman underground fighter before murdering the manager. Definitely a villain.
He understood now. "Hookwolf and Purity both see themselves as the next in charge of Empire Eighty-Eight. But they're too different in morality. Neither one's going to step down."
Coil nodded. "And therefore, their infighting will splinter Empire Eighty-Eight into two much more manageable sizes. There will be even more losses as they fight for resources. By the time they've finished sorting themselves out and consolidating their power, I will have won."
Alex nodded in return. At least this mission wasn't going to end up a waste of time. "In that case, perhaps you can tell me what you've learnt about Kaiser that'll help me find him."
"Of course. His real name is…"
Max Anders glanced at his expensive watch as he headed into his offices. In his hands were sheets listing sales and losses across the entire Medhall Corporation line. So far, things were looking good. Sales were up across the board, no doubt helped by the injuries suffered during the ABB attacks and the Undersiders' party crashing. His scientists were currently working on a new drug that was at least fifty percent faster when dealing with flus and colds. With any luck, they could roll it out by the winter season in time for all the runny noses and coughing fits.
Underneath them all though, on his personal tablet, were reports from his Empire.
Things weren't going as well as he hoped they would. Coil was a slippery bastard, and his men just as annoying. He would be arrogant to consider them mere fleas; they were like wasps actually. Smaller and weaker than his side, but still capable of doing some damage if he wasn't careful. Their battles were swinging like a pendulum. Coil would take some of his territory; he would send Purity or Hookwolf to clear them out. They would scamper from the fight; another team would attack another area. If he forced Purity or Hookwolf to stop them, the first team would move back in and fortify. If he ignored them, he lost a different patch of land.
He needed to find their base of operations. The location they scampered to in order to hide and lick their wounds. If only Blacklight hadn't taken himself out of the game; he would've paid any amount to get him to deal with Coil. And perhaps he could've convinced him to stay. Reveal that he only faked his belief in white supremacy to get followers.
"Welcome, Mr Anders." Pauline, his secretary, greeted him. "Shall I inform your one o'clock that you have arrived?"
"No thank you. I might have to reschedule today. Important private matters have unfortunately come up again."
"Oh dear. Another custody battle with Miss Anders?"
"No, no. Kayden and I are on better terms these days. At least, we can talk without her wanting to kill me now." He gave off a small chuckle. Kayden still blamed him for making her the way she is now. Ridiculous. The feelings had always been there; he just allowed her to vocalise them. "Though this is going to be taking up a lot of my time."
"I understand, Sir. I'll reschedule all your appointments for today."
"Thank you." He knew he couldn't put them off forever – he had learnt how to juggle Kaiser and Max Anders successfully already – but today, Coil was just taking up too much of his mind. He needed to be sharp, he needed to be focused. Kaiser could think about Coil and still be focused. Anders couldn't do the same.
He was just contemplating finding some way of reaching Blacklight when he felt hands grip his head. Instantly, he speared metal upwards to kill his assailant. So, Coil found a way into his offices. Given the distance and the lack of people, he must've recruited…
But he gasped as his head was twisted. The spikes hadn't been enough. Pauline was somehow still able to attack him. Did he have a parahuman under his nose and not realise it? But he couldn't follow that line of thought anymore.
In the time it had taken for his cooling brain to think all of that, his biomass had been consumed. His memories were already integrated. A Trigger memory about Allfather holding him down against a metal floor, threatening to kill him, came to mind. His shard was captured.
By the time he had wondered whether he had a parahuman spy, those thoughts belonged to Alex Mercer.
Alex saw the first signs of chaos when he left Medhall shortly afterwards. Lots of people were standing outside a nearby electronics store, watching the TVs they had set up in the shop window. Others were glancing at their phones and tablets. One person walking the streets – Fog in civilian wear – was attracting weird glances from people who passed him. Alex pushed past the crowd in front of the store. Enough people were watching it that it had to give him some idea of what was going on.
The news reporter was talking about an email they had received from an unknown source. The contents of the email were ground-breaking in terms of dealing with the criminal community.
It was every last detail about every Triple-E parahuman.
Well, that explained why people were backing away from him.
"Goddammit Coil." He muttered, running away. It was easy enough to ditch the crowds. He just had to enter the closest alleyway, and shapeshift. From there, no one would be looking for Alex…
"Going somewhere, Kaiser?" Battery stood in his way. He looked behind him to see Assault waiting at the other end. Above, he saw Armsmaster glaring down at him.
He and Coil were going to have a talk about this afterwards.
"Fuck my life." He sighed, before unleashing a metal devastator. It was weaker and far slower than the real thing, but it forced them away from him. At the same time, he coated himself in metal, to resemble Kaiser. When Armsmaster sliced through his shell, Alex was ready to fight.
Armsmaster ducked his first punch, but he was used to a mortal man. Not someone who could move just as fast lifting a car as he did without. His next punch landed, launched him away. He steadied himself with his halberd, looked up at Alex in surprise. Battery jumped over the spikes, and Alex blocked her off with more. She landed on one, jumped to another, and kept up like that to get close. Alex waited until she was in the air, merely feet away from him, before he focused the metal into a battering ram.
Too slow, too late. She crashed into him, bounced off him. He punched her back up, and then the ram hit her. Assault jumped up to catch her, and she kicked him towards Alex. Alex created a shield, but it barely got high enough to block.
What the hell? How did Kaiser get to be in charge with such a weak power?
No. This wasn't right. He had seen footage of Kaiser in action, saw him fighting against the ABB. His spikes were faster than Alex's were. Something else was at work.
His shards were failing him.
"Fucking hell." He cursed. He focused solely on Kaiser's Trigger, and pulled the metal into a sphere around himself. He could hear the heroes bashing their way inside. But it would take time. Time enough for him to escape.
He stabbed the ground with one hand, created a tunnel for his biomass to escape. He flowed down it like a river, coming back up around the corner. From there, he became Alex again, and ran for it.
Something was muddling up his powers. Something he couldn't explain just yet. And now he was worried that he would lose them altogether.
Time to start with something he had been planning for a while.
"I should apologise, Blacklight." Coil was saying over the phone. "I should've warned you of what I was doing. But I had to work quickly before they could start hiding, and I was worried that I would blow your cover if I called you."
"I'm not stupid, Coil. I've got ways to subtly answer a damn phone without giving myself away." Alex replied, one hand inside a box. "But you nearly screwed me over. I went out there as Max Anders in broad daylight, right when everyone found out that he was Kaiser. Three members of the Protectorate were waiting for me. I had to pretend that I was Kaiser still, unless I wanted to give away that I had replaced the leader of Empire Eighty-Eight. And I bet that you sent me specifically because of my powers."
A pause. "I won't deny that I would find using Kaiser's face and personality a little bit longer. But I'd be foolish to put all my eggs into one basket."
"Well if you're not careful, I'll break all those eggs for you." Dana walked into the room, a whiteboard in her hands. She had written something onto it. He nodded to her. "And I also have concerns that this breaks the unwritten rules. I thought you weren't supposed to out people."
"I didn't. Well, not entirely. I sent that information to the PRT. I figured I could let them arrest the capes, maybe find Kaiser in case he slipped past you. I respect your powers, but Kaiser's been running a powerful organisation for years now."
"You still should've told me. It made things real awkward for me. I got away just fine, but they're still going to wonder how a guy who can only make metal managed to pull off a disappearing act like that. From now on, you keep me in the loop about this kind of shit. I don't care if you still go through with it or not. Just don't you dare fucking blindside me like that again." He hang up on Coil, still feeling annoyed.
"Do you think Coil's going to agree on keeping you in the loop?" Dana asked him, putting down the whiteboard and sitting near him.
"He'll have to. He hired me because he didn't want me becoming his enemy; pissing me off like this is going to be counterproductive to his goals. But if he screws up like that again…" He left the threat unsaid. They both knew what he would do. He looked inside the box again, seeing how it was going.
"Ok, I know that you do some freaky shit with your virus powers sometimes, but I've really gotta ask. What the hell are you doing?"
"Creating a head." He answered.
"A head. In a box."
He nodded. "When I used Kaiser's power today, it started off weaker than normal. And then it just kept getting weaker and weaker during the fight. Want to preserve it in case I might lose it altogether." He waved a hand at the box. "Figured that maybe I should keep it separate. At least until I figure out why it did that."
"Good luck with that, Alex. I seriously doubt this is something you can just google for. Even the capes who can borrow powers probably don't do it like you do."
"I know. But at least with these around, I can afford to experiment. If it ever starts slipping, I can just put it back in the head." When he had looked inside his own skull (metaphorically) he had actually seen that the shard was smaller than the others. And they were definitely shrinking. As soon as he got Kaiser's power out, they started returning to normal.
Annoying. He didn't want to have to be limited to just two powers. He'd like to have at least three to give him variety.
An unfamiliar ringtone filled the air. Dana looked around in surprise. "Shit." Alex cursed. "Kaiser's phone. I forgot I kept hold of that."
"Better answer it then. With all their identities revealed, the Empire's going to want some answers."
"I know, I know." He answered it, his voice box shifting to Kaiser's DNA as he accessed the memories he gained from him. The screen had listed the caller as one 'Brad Meadows'. Hookwolf. "Hookwolf. I already know what this call is going to be about."
"Then where are they?!" Hookwolf nearly shouted at him. Alex had to pull the phone away to avoid his eardrums from being damaged. He could heal them easily enough, but it was a hassle anyway. "Where the hell are the Undersiders?!"
The Undersiders? Why was Hookwolf focusing on them? How were they even linked to the outing of the entire Triple-E? "You'll have to forgive me, Hookwolf. My mind's been a little preoccupied after escaping the Protectorate's attempt to arrest me. Perhaps you could explain why we should devote our efforts to hunting down the Undersiders instead of finding the real culprits."
"They are the real culprits." Hookwolf growled. "They used that Tattletale bitch to out us, right after Swarm and Bitch fucked with my boys. There's no fucking way those two aren't connected."
Ah. Well, that explained some things. He could actually understand now why he would blame the Undersiders. Still, it seemed unfair to let them suffer because Coil fucked up.
"Actually Hookwolf, my sources tell me that those two events aren't connected. It appears that some 'upstanding' citizen handed all our identities to the PRT, planning on letting them deal with us. Guess Director Piggot decided that we were a big enough problem to break the rules over. I'd be flattered if this weren't so… inconvenient."
He heard Hookwolf breathing heavily over the phone. He already knew what he was going to do. It was what he would do too. "I'm going to…"
"Grab every cape you can from our ranks and go to the PRT. Splendid idea. Perhaps it will convince them to never try something so short-sighted ever again." His phone started beeping. Another caller. Likely another member of Triple-E. "If you'll excuse me, I have another call coming. But one thing I wish to say; don't go after the Undersiders. I don't want you wasting any of our resources hunting down the wrong people. We'll need everyone if we're planning on getting out of this alive." He hung up on him, answered the next number. He barely got to say anything before he had to pull the phone away from his ear.
"THEY HAVE HER!" A shrill voice shrieked at him. It took him several seconds to recognise it as Purity's voice. Kayden. Kaiser's ex-wife. "WHERE IS SHE?!"
She. There was only one female Kaiser could remember that Kayden would be so angry and protective about. Aster. Her baby daughter.
He sighed. "I'll find her, Kayden. But you have to give me time. I didn't even know they had taken her until you…"
"WHAT KIND OF BULLSHIT IS THAT?! YOU DAMN FUCKING BASTARD, YOU DON'T EVEN GIVE A CRAP ABOUT HER! FINE! IF YOU AREN'T GOING TO LIFT A FUCKING FINGER TO HELP HER, THEN I'LL DO IT MYSELF!"
"Kayden!" He shouted. But she had already hung up on him. "Shit. Purity's going on a war path. I think the PRT took her kid away from her."
"I'll start looking for her. There's got to a memo or something about Purity's kid." Dana said. She only just got started when Alex's phone started ringing. Coil.
"Blacklight, there has been a change in plans." Coil said when Alex answered. "I want you to go out there, and kill Purity and her team."
Alex raised an eyebrow at that. "I thought you wanted her and Hookwolf fighting each other. Beating each other up while you took more ground."
"Unfortunately, one of my men believed that she would pay more money to learn of my involvement. I have dealt with him before he could talk, but he still managed to get a message out. It won't be long before she connects the dots to me."
"That's what happens when you fuck with an entire criminal organisation, Coil. They tend to get pissed off with you." He was tempted to leave Coil to rot. Let him pay for his stupidity. But after the fundraiser, the PRT would be more interested in him than ever. He needed Coil to keep the heat off him. "Fine. I'll do it. I'll get them off your back." He hung up without a goodbye; now wasn't the time for pleasantries.
"Feels kind of wrong to kill her." Dana said. "I mean, she's just trying to get her kid back."
He shrugged. "If you've got a different idea, I'm all ears."
"Actually, I do. It'll take the heat off Coil, some heat off you, and maybe even get Hookwolf away from the PRT."
"Only thing is, it's going to need you to do some acting."
Armsmaster watched as Purity started tearing into an area of the docks. Part of him wanted to jump in and stop her – he'd gain a lot of fame for stopping this mindless rampage – but he forced himself to wait. This was but the bait. The real prize was still coming.
Against someone like Blacklight, he was likely to only have one shot at them.
He knew there would likely be hell if anyone found out that he had released the data to the public. It may have been on Piggot's direct orders, but he was the one who emailed it out. When Battery and Assault went out to arrest Kaiser, he joined them to see if there was some way he could ensure that the villain would get away and target Blacklight. No need from that front. He simply encased himself in a ball of metal and vanished. He was still wondering how he did that. From there, it was easy to pretend to be a 'concerned citizen' and ask whether a supervillain was capable of looking after a child. Child's services came round and 'rescued' young Aster, and now Purity was unleashing her rage upon the city.
If Kayden Anders didn't want her child taken from her, then she should've joined the Protectorate instead of running back to Kaiser.
He tapped into his comms. "Dragon, are all the cameras operational?" He asked.
"They are, just like the last two times you've asked since Purity started attacking." Dragon replied. He liked her. She was considered the world's greatest Tinker, which meant that she was one of the few people capable of understanding him when he talked shop. And she didn't seem to hassle him as much about the things he said. She simply accepted them and they continued working. He knew that the others weren't like that. Sure, to him his decisions and words made sense. But to the others, he seemed to come across as… Well, hell if he knew what they thought. Arrogant, cruel, rude, vain. It still rankled him that he was stagnating simply because he didn't know the right thing to say at times. He could put down plenty of villains; that should be enough for anyone. Instead, all the problems Brockton Bay suffered meant that someone's career was in danger. It was just his damn luck that it was his.
Blacklight was his last chance. Unless he could bring him in… Well, he'd be lucky to get anything besides 'unofficial sidekick'. He had put in too much work and effort just to get side-lined.
"Good. This time, I want to catch Blacklight arriving. See if there's some pattern to his arrivals or disguises." After they had found out he was a Changer, he had been wondering just how powerful it was. How long could it last for? How effective was it against security? The more they learned, the better his chances.
"Of course. I will let you know as…" She paused. "Hold on. Found him. Eastern quadrant."
"Bring him on screen." He replied, tapping away at the computer before him. As he did so, he moved a little bit closer to that area. Piggot would rather have had him do this back at the PRT office, but he wanted to be right there near the fight. Just in case the cameras missed something crucial. As he vaulted to the next rooftop, the holographic screen before him activated. It showed an empty alleyway, populated by nothing but garbage. But then a black shape skidded into view. It grabbed the road with one hand, letting itself turn into the alleyway at speed. He came to a halt, and his program studied his composition through the sensitive equipment he had shoved inside it.
A man wearing organic armour plating. It's him alright.
"Where is he now?"
"Still waiting there. I think he might be in communications with someone. I could try and hack it if you…"
"Do so." He said curtly. He had an ally? Was it Tattletale, perhaps? Maybe they might let something slip over the comms, something crucial.
"Damn. Missed my chance. He's moving again." Dragon said. And indeed, the camera showed Blacklight jumping straight up. But there was something off; his body seemed different. Shorter, leaner. His armour was changing composition, no longer registering as organic-based.
"So, you're the fat hussy Kaiser dumped me for." Armsmaster looked up as a female voice filled the air. Purity stopped blasting, turned towards the voice.
There was a woman wearing metal armour, red lines going down her curves. Blades stuck out near her elbows and knees, claws on her hands and feet. The upper part of her face was covered by a stylised swastika, leaving the lower half visible. She had put on far too much makeup, making her appear worse than she would've been.
He also noted that she was standing on the roof just above the alleyway Blacklight had been in.
"That him?" He asked Dragon.
"I'm going to assume so. As a Changer, a female form shouldn't be too difficult. But something doesn't feel right. He's never shown signs of crafting armour from metal before." He – or rather, she – was talking again. Made up some story about how she had been Kaiser's secret lover. Had the best of everything, until Purity came back and he threw her aside. So when she heard her real identity, she stole her baby as repayment. "Why is he saying this stuff? Child Services were the ones who grabbed the kid."
"Deflection, perhaps? If Purity's busy hunting him down, then she can't be attacking the city now then, can she?" Purity wasted no time in trying to get retribution. She fired a beam at the building, sheared the top off like a knife through butter.
But Blacklight had already started moving.
His speed was still the same, he noted. But instead of attacking with weapons formed from his body, Blacklight seemed to be acting like a Tinker. Metal wings spread out from his back, and when he jumped a blast of air pushed him forwards. He would've slammed into Purity if she hadn't dodged it at the last second. Only Blacklight fired a wire, pulling her down as soon as it wrapped around her leg. Armsmaster heard something break. Rune – a telepathic who could only affect things she had touched - tossed part of a building at Blacklight, but he simply grabbed it and threw it back. Rune managed to stop it, just in time for Blacklight to smash through it. Crusader created two of his 'ghosts' – some kind of projection – and used them to fight back. Blacklight found the same problem others had faced when fighting him.
They couldn't hurt his ghosts, but the ghost can hurt them back.
Growling at their onslaught, Blacklight barged through and aimed for Crusader. But the distraction gave Rune enough time to recover more ammo. Blacklight formed two large metal shields covered in spikes, surrounding himself in them and weathering the assault. Crusader's ghosts phased through the shield. Inside, they were likely running Blacklight through.
Without being able to see anything, Armsmaster started mulling things over and thinking out loud.
"We haven't seen any signs of metal manipulation before now." He said aloud. "All previous signs have merely been biological manipulation."
"Indeed. As this 'Hitleress', Blacklight is showing powers more like Hookwolf's. Perhaps his real power is different than we expected."
Like Hookwolf, yes. Or like… His eyes widened as he realised something.
"Dragon, how thorough do you think Blacklight's control over his own body is?"
"Hmm. Hard to say without a proper test. He can heal lethal wounds, and my thermal cameras show that this form of his isn't a projection. If I would have to guess, I would say that it's very thorough. Perhaps even greater than Panacea's control over biological manipulation."
Earlier today, Battery, Assault and I caught Max Anders trying to escape his own building. We confronted him, but he managed to disappear on us. The only clue we had was a hole about ten inches wide. Far too small for a person to go through…"
"But likely not too small for Blacklight." She finished. On camera, Blacklight had managed to surprise them. He came smashing up through the roof behind them, grabbing Rune by the face and slamming her to the ground. Immediately, all hovering debris fell back down. Crusader focused on defence, surrounding himself with his ghosts. They brandished their spears menacingly, standing in Blacklight's way.
He merely smirked, and pointed a hand at him. There was a hole in the palm. The lines on his arm pulsed as he fired some kind of orb at Crusader. His ghosts moved to intercept, but the orbs dodged them and circled overhead. Some were stopped, but those that got through managed to throw Crusader some distance.
"What the hell was that?"
"I… wouldn't have a damn clue. Biological attacks aren't my area of expertise. It appeared to be some sort of energy orb, though what it's really made of is unknown. But whatever it is, it hits hard."
"So does Purity." Armsmaster noted. She had recovered enough to fire a beam at Blacklight, catching him unawares. Through the light she made, he saw Blacklight get thrown to the ground level, parts of his metal armour fragmenting.
He also noted dimly that Blacklight was anatomically correct.
"According to the cameras in that area, Night and Fog are waiting for him." Dragon said. He cursed. Dragon's power required that she wasn't being observed. Fog would spot the cameras, and either destroy them or blind them. Valuable data would be lost.
"I'm getting closer." He said. At least this way he could bring Purity and her lot in. He ran towards their rooftop, pausing long enough to knock Purity unconscious. He knelt down by the ledge, helmet already pinpointing Blacklight. As he watched, Blacklight's armour started growing, covering the areas that had been damaged. Within seconds, it was like he had never been blasted.
Definitely like Kaiser's power, he noted. Hookwolf's was more that he replaced his actual body with a metal one. Question was, how did he get his power? Was he a Trump as well? What were the full extents of his powers?
Well, that was what these fights are for.
Alex felt completely and absolutely ridiculous. This whole thing was so embarrassing it physically hurts him.
He had to come out here, acting like some stupid jilted lover, and go by the completely idiotic name of 'Hitleress'. Really Dana? Hitleress? He knew he was pretending to be the lover of a white supremacist, even he would expect some fucking Nazis to have better taste than that.
The whole thing probably would've fallen apart if Purity wasn't so pissed off about her kid.
So Purity, Rune, and Crusader were down for the count. That beam of hers was pretty nasty, but the armour he made was a godsend. For starters, Kaiser's power couldn't run out on him like his biomass could. He just had to have metal for it grow on, and he'd have more than enough. Thank god for the complete breakdown of the laws of physics. Now, he just needed to jump back up from the other side, break her neck, consume her, and then…
Something slammed into him at great speed, hard enough to throw him into the wall. He felt large blades slicing grooves into his back, tearing into his biomass. Alex lashed out wildly, but his attacker had already moved away. He turned to see two people at the end of the alley. One female, on male. Both wore the same cloak, the same cowl. Only the different colours told him who was who.
Night and Fog. One could turn into a living fog, the other could turn into a monster.
Damn she was fast.
She reached into her cloak and pulled out a flashbang, tossing it into the air. As soon as it had detonated, she was on him again. Alex had formed two shields, both made of biomass and metal, and was weathering her assault. But she could hit just as hard as him in less time. His barriers were cracking under the assault and the claws. He pulled them apart and glared her, now in her normal form. She dropped a flashbang at his feet, but not before he broke one arm free of its shield and punched her in the face. She went flying backwards.
When the flashbang went off, she was on him again.
Alex felt his face get sliced, his eyes ripped out. Focusing on instincts, he simply threw punch after punch, not holding back. His fists collided with something, and there was a loud crash as it careened into a wall. He healed his face in time to see Night sitting inside a hole in the wall, struggling to her feet. He dashed towards her just as Fog closed in, trying to block his view. His fist found her face; she grunted as something went crack.
He let tendrils through to taste her. Her cells were still full and alive. He hadn't killed her yet.
The fog swept in, trying to suffocate him, to poison him. His biomass forced the poison out as he held his breath. But he couldn't keep this up indefinitely. Hell, he didn't even know how long he could hold his breath for.
Time to clear the air.
He slammed his fists together, creating a pocket of air around him. Fog was forced away as the air was pushed away. Now that he could breath, Alex formed his roaring mouth on both shoulders. He roared loudly and fiercely as he turned on the spot, the air rushing out of him pushing more and more fog away.
He saw the fog recoil, pull itself back to a single point. They were sizing each other up, trying to identify weaknesses and flaws. But before they could keep going, the Undersiders came barrelling in. The fog turned towards them.
Well, fighting capes was the risk of being a villain. He used that moment of distraction to jump towards the roof. His mission was still clear. Kill Purity. And he intended to.
She was now unconscious, her injuries likely too much for her. Without delay, he rammed his arm into her stomach. His tendrils fed on her, and he consumed her alive. He searched for the most traumatic memories, the ones the shard responded to. A memory of losing control of a car, crashing down in a ditch. Alive, but trapped, no one near to hear her. Starving down there, getting weaker and weaker as help never showed.
Powers triggered.
Grunting, wondered if he should take the others too. But he still didn't know why Kaiser's power grew so weak before. He couldn't risk them yet. Better to wait for another time, after he learnt more about how the shards interacted. Besides, his orders were to eliminate Purity. She's a part of him now, and that was good enough for Coil. Thank god though that he didn't try to consume her while she was conscious. Her mama bear thoughts might've overwhelmed his own.
He jumped away, letting himself appear to be hobbling and pressing a hand against a wound. With any luck, they will assume that Hitleress bled out from her injuries. And he can ditch this ridiculous disguise.
But as he left, he didn't realise that the cameras hidden around had seen everything.
Later that night, Armsmaster was back in his room. He had his screen set up to play every minute of footage from every camera they had set up. Some ended abruptly, destroyed by Purity's rampage. Other showed hours of nothing, too far from the fights. And then there were the ones that had caught something. Had seen Blacklight in action.
But right now, Armsmaster and Dragon had eyes only for one screen. The one that had caught Blacklight in the act. They watched as large claws ripped their way through the metal gauntlet, had skewered Purity through the chest. Then they saw how tendrils flowed from them towards her, growing bigger and bigger as she shrank in size and shape. He slurped her down until there wasn't a drop left of her. Then he clutched his head, stumbled a bit, before his body changed under the armour. The new shape matched Purity's figure and anatomy. He shifted back into Hitleress, and walked away before settling for a limb. Armsmaster stopped the footage, played it again. And again. And again.
He had learned more about Blacklight from this single battle than they had learnt for the month or so he had been active for. But what they had learnt made him both worry and feel excited.
If he messed up, he would likely die. Die painfully, maybe.
But if he succeeded, he would regain his old position and more.
But he'd only have one shot at taking him down. Failure was not an option.
"I know what you're thinking." Dragon said, interrupting his musings. She was watching the same footage, probably thinking the same things.
"Do you?" He replied, clicking on another shot. The few glimpses he had gotten of his fight against Night. There wasn't much, aside from the fact that he threw her aside and through a wall.
"Yes. Blacklight wasn't using something like Kaiser's power. It is Kaiser's power. Was his power."
Ah. Yes. That was just as troubling. "Explains how Kaiser escapes though. We must've attacked him minutes after he killed the racist bastard." He mulled over that for a moment. "We can't send other capes to help fight him. If we hurt him enough, he could decide to take their powers."
"Odd that he didn't go after Rune or Crusader." Dragon noted. "If I were in his place, I'd consider their powers worth taking. With his speed and agility, he could tag multiple items to throw at us."
"Maybe there is a limit on how many powers he can have. Or maybe they degrade over time. When he was Kaiser, he was weaker than the man himself normally was. Maybe we can use that."
"There's something else we can use too. When I used the thermal cameras, he showed up much hotter than any normal living thing. Could be a side effect of his powers. If he tries to hide himself in a crowd, then we could use that to find him again."
"Brilliant. Guess there is a flaw to his Changer powers after all." One of the biggest problems of fighting a Changer was that they would pretend to be a squad mate. Or a civilian. Sneak up on you and stab you in the back that way. "Automated suits will be more effective against him."
"I agree."
"The biggest problem though is still his physical attributes." He continued. "At least with most capes, you hit them hard enough, they go down. But not him. At least, not according to our data."
"I think our biggest theory is that he can manipulate his injuries on a cellular level. Let's him heal wounds as fast as we make them."
Armsmaster nodded. "From the data I got from the Fundraiser, blunt-force trauma doesn't do anything to him. It may actually be even less effective than trying to carve him up. Velocity took him on, and according to him Blacklight didn't even react. I know Velocity doesn't hit all that hard while he's in his speed state…"
"But you'd think that someone of Blacklight's size would still be somewhat affected by getting hit so many times." Dragon finished for him."
"Exactly." He nodded. His musings were interrupted as his phone started ringing. He answered it immediately. "Colin speaking." He said.
"I want you in the labs pronto." Piggot said. "We need to talk about that sample you found."
"Of course." Quick, easy, no attempt at brevity or kinship. Just straight-forward talk. He liked that kind of talk. If all talks were like that, then maybe he wouldn't have lost his position. "Piggot's found something interesting about Blacklight's DNA. Maybe she's got his secret identity."
"Maybe her lab boys have found some ground breaking secret about how his powers work." Dragon remarked back. "I'll talk to you some more when you get back."
"Sure. Just make sure you eat something though. We could be here a while."
"Plotting to take down one of the most varied capes on record isn't meant to be quick." He chuckled as he left. Something about her… he always felt more at ease around her. Was this love, based solely on an intellectual level? Possibly. But he swore he would never get into a romantic relationship. Never have a family. Too easy for the psychos out there to try and use either of them against him.
Besides, his career always come first. And he knew enough that no woman wanted second place to a job.
He found Piggot standing next to one of the lab boys, both looking at a sealed vial. Inside was the sample he had gotten from the fight; something Blacklight had left behind in the scuffle. The lab boy was animated, excited. Piggot, on the other hand, was watching the sample like she wanted to burn it.
He looked closer at the sample. Somehow, it was moving slightly. Shifting from side to side, like it was caught in a tide. It would change direction, flowing around the edge in a circle, before flowing back to the centre. It was… odd. He didn't know much about biology, but he was certain that it wasn't supposed to do that.
"Director." He said, his way of announcing his arrival. Used to be that he could walk into a room and people would immediately notice him. Not anymore.
Piggot turned towards him. "Armsmaster. Good job getting us that sample. It could very well be one of the biggest breakthroughs we've had on this guy."
"Really?" He said absentmindedly. Piggot turned to see what he had noticed. The sample was moving more now. Much more. And aggressively. He watched as it threw itself at the side of the vial, pushing it slightly towards him. It bounced around, the vial tilting from side to side. This thing… it wanted to get out. It was angry.
The lab boy grabbed the vial, and he secured it to a stand which was in turn bolted to the table. The sample kept bouncing, but the vial stopped moving. It eventually stopped, settling down at the bottom.
The lab boy turned to him. Well, boy was the wrong word. A black man, easily in his forties. He held out a hand to shake. "Armsmaster, Sir. Glad to meet you in person. Name's Ragland. Bit of a fan."
He didn't shake. "Charmed. Now, what have you learnt about this… thing?"
I've learnt a lot already. This thing, it's pushing the boundaries on all thing biological. It could change the world of medicine so easily. I feel like I've discovered the philosopher's stone. Or the Rosetta Stone."
"Ragland, you're babbling." Piggot interrupted him.
"Of course. Sorry, Director. Just… A quick question. Your notes said that you recovered this from an altercation between Blacklight and Night?"
Armsmaster nodded. "It's a piece of Blacklight, sheared off during the fight."
"I see. In that case, that explains quite a lot about him."
"What do you mean?" Piggot asked.
"This sample… I haven't been able to get much out of it yet. But what I can tell you is that this thing was not created by some kind of power. It hasn't been influenced or enhanced or anything."
"Are you saying it's natural?" Piggot was frowning. He had to agree with her. The way it had been acting, everything about it suggested that it was completely unnatural.
"Yes. And… Well, this is just speculation at the moment. But I think… No, I'm almost certain that it means that Blacklight isn't a parahuman."
"What?"
"His powers don't come from the same place as everyone else's. They're simply the end result of biology, tinkering on a genetic level. He was born with his powers."
Silence. Armsmaster was wrapping his head around this. Blacklight's powers weren't breaking the laws of physics. He was simply… using an extension of them. Bending them, but not the same amount as other broke them.
And if they were part of his DNA, then this sample could very well tell them everything he was capable of.
"I can't tell if this is good news, or bad news." Piggot said.
Ragland shrugged. "Well, there's a bit of both, really. The good news is that if we can tap into the sample safely, we could actually mass produce his powers. Or at least the enhanced strength, speed, and durability."
"Tap into it safely? Is that the bad news?" He asked.
"In a way. Come with me." He grabbed the vial with the sample, and led them to the back of the room. There, there was a large Plexiglas container with a dead pig inside. A smaller chamber was built into the side, complex machinery inside. Ragland slotted the vial inside it, and the sample was sucked out. The machinery separated it, pulling away a tiny bit of it. It could've rested on someone's pinkie fingernail with room to spare. The tiny piece was dropped into the larger section. One lab boy stood next to it, hand on a button and ready to use it. Another was holding onto a stopwatch.
The sample squirmed around a bit before it finally noticed the pig. From there, it scurried over incredibly fast to latch onto it. The guy with the stopwatch started it up; the sample buried into the side of the pig.
Almost immediately, things started happening.
Tendrils started climbing out of the hole it had made, growing bigger and bigger as they moved. The skin of the pig started turning red and black, and more tendrils grew. Those tendrils linked together, binding themselves into a large limb. Four limbs were made; the head grew a mouth.
In only a few seconds, a dead pig was now some kind of monster.
Stopwatch man nodded. Ragland turned to the man with the button. He pressed it down, and the box was filled with fire. The Plexiglas started cracking as it lashed out wildly, trying to break free. But it lasted long enough that it had died, a burning pile of ash at the bottom of the box.
They kept the fire going longer, just in case.
Ragland turned back to them. "The bad news is that the sample is aggressive. And it doesn't take kindly to being near others besides Blacklight. My theory is that if we try to inject it into a person, try to give them his powers, it would kill them within seconds. Leave us with something… dangerous."
"I'm worried that if we push Blacklight too far, to the brink of defeat, we could be looking at another Nilbog." Armsmaster discreetly looked at Piggot. Her face was tight, and her hands were clenched. One was pressed against her side, where her kidneys would've been.
She had once been a PRT officer. Until she was sent to deal with a supervillain by the name of Nilbog. She was one of the only two survivors, from three teams that were sent in.
This would likely be that nightmare all over again.
Piggot took a deep breath. But her hands were still shaking. "Armsmaster." She said.
"I've only got one shot at this. I know." He replied, somewhat testily.
"No." She replied. "That wasn't what I was going to say. I was going to tell you to use every resource and break every rule to put this son of a bitch down."
"Ragland. I want you to assemble a team immediately. The same rules go for you. Pull out every last scrap from his DNA. Find a way we can use it without dying from it. Once we've dealt with Blacklight, we'll use his skills to clear out every last crook from Brockton Bay. If we do this right, we'll have one of the biggest successes in history."
"Director, if we fail, we'll likely cause one of the biggest failures in history."
She turned to stare at him. "Then I'd suggest you make sure that you don't fail."
I wasn't too sure about whether to finish this chapter here, or to add something else to it. Maybe a meeting with the Undersiders after their fight with Fog (still not sure how exactly you'd beat him aside from lots of air pressure) or maybe a conversation between Alex and Dana about Hitleress. It was such a ridiculous name for a neo-Nazi that I just had to use it. But then again, Dana's probably read comics. And some heroes and villains have incredibly stupid names.
You know the Spiderman villain, the Trapster? He used to be called Paste-Pot Pete. I'm not kidding. That was his name before Marvel realised how lame it was and gave him something slightly better.
Anyway, I realised that there wasn't much else I could talk about except that we've finally reached a moment I have been waiting for for a long time. The start of some big changes in Brockton Bay.
Leviathan finally found his invitation to Brockton Bay.
And given the overwhelming support for it, Alex Mercer is going to take part in it.
You may squee with excitement now.
Something else I just want to say. Just my two cents, not all that important. I just feel like I shouldn't read about other great Worm fanfics out there. Not because I'm worried about stealing ideas from them (in this day and age, plenty of people have similar ideas anyway) but because I look at how they go completely off the rails and I feel like 'Wow they're so amazing and awesome', and then I look at this and think 'wow, I am so stuck on the rails'. I'm not the kind of guy who branches off wildly. I have taken down Lung and Oni Lee, but they could be in their canon situations for all that's changed. Having Alex kill Kaiser and Purity was my way of shaking things up. I think I stick to the rails so much because while I'm reading Worm, I'm thinking about how I could slot Alex into the situations they're in. And then I feel like I should follow the story to get those moments happening.
Well, hopefully I'll finally jump somewhat off the rails with the next chapter.
I left some questions in the last chapter as an edit, but I think most people probably missed them. So I'll ask again.
Is Night affected by electronic sight or indirect sight? Would she change back to normal if a camera spotted her, or if someone watched her through smoke with a thermal camera? I side-stepped it somewhat here, but she'll feature again later.
And is Fog affected by winds? Can he be blown away? I already used it here simply because I couldn't think of any other way one could stop him.
Oh, and I might be hard to reach for a while. Going to our family Bach for ten days, where we don't have any actual internet. Just my dad's massive data plan. I'm still going to post chapters (especially after what I've just promised) but I'll probably be getting my emails at set points of the day.
Anyway, have a happy new year.
Edit: I am also aware that in the Wormverse, changes in past events mean that most or all people born after the Big Change (or whatever they call it) aren't actually around. And I'd put the Hope Idaho Event as Alex's world's Big Change (the project that tried to adapt the Virus to improve humans. Obviously didn't work out at all). But I felt that having our named scientist be Ragland himself would be a nice little in-joke. Please don't bite my head off or anything.
(My more protective fans, please note that no one's threatened to bite my head off yet. I figured I would cut the reviews pointing out my mistake before they happen.)
