A/N: This is an interlude from Coil's PoV. He's not a nice person. In keeping with the rules nothing graphic is shown, but a lot is implied.

Interlude 4.a (Coil)

Some individuals given the paranormal ability to split time into two alternatives would take more chances, not Coil. Most people had to live their lives knowing that they could die in any number of ways any day: slipping in the shower, automobile accident, tornado, collateral damage from a cape fight, or another sad statistic in an Endbringer attack. Since they couldn't prevent it, they didn't even try. With his power Coil could prevent such meaningless deaths. As much as possible he tried to anticipate every possible threat to ensure that one version of him would always survive – no matter what.

However, that did not mean that he treated his two alternatives equally. In practice one timeline was usually the safe reality while he took risks in the other reality. When word leaked out that Lung was gunning for his Undersiders, he made just such a split. In one reality he did the smart thing. He told Tattletale to have his Undersiders stay in their base and wait it out. Lung could just rage impotently on the streets. For all his raw power Lung lacked the knowledge to apply it properly. The Azn Bad Boys, his foot soldiers, didn't really hold territory as infantry should. They did little more than act as spotters. Not fighting would cost his Undersiders little in reputation. Even E88 retreated when Lung was in full rage. Besides, they were his spoiler team, not his heavy-hitters, at least not yet. He went home to his ordinary run down home in the suburbs and went to sleep early.

Meanwhile in another reality, he told Tattletale to have the Undersiders go on the offensive against the ABB. It was a good test of her loyalty. Would she follow orders that were obviously suicidal? He had reassured her that his power would protect her, and it would. He would discard the timeline after assessing how well his Undersiders fared against the ABB. Even then he didn't take unnecessary risks. He stayed in his underground based surrounded by well-armed and well-paid soldiers. For him it was a quiet night. He checked his stocks, read the news, and listened to PRT channels to see how his Undersiders fared. He had expected this confrontation from the moment he had sent them rob Ruby Dreams. When facing an undefeatable dragon, the next best thing to winning was being able to twist his tail without getting caught.

The call from Tattletale that the Undersiders had chased off Oni Lee and some ABB gang members was a pleasant surprise. The calls to Emergency and PRT hot lines reporting a cape fight with Lung were expected, but the description of the fight was not. The conversation going on the 'secure' channels was even more interesting. Armsmaster thought he had a tranquilizer that was capable of taking out Lung if used preemptively. That would go on his list to acquire and test. Coil was reasonably certain that a sniper armed with an anti-material rifle would take out an unramped Lung. The trouble was managing to find him before he ramped up. The one attempt he'd ordered against a nine foot tall Lung had failed. Perhaps this tranquilizer would work better.

More interesting than the tranquilizer – Lung was fighting two new capes instead of his Undersiders. He closed his stock portfolio to focus on the incoming news. Two capes, a golden knight and one with a bug helmet. Both very generic costumes. He expected to hear of their deaths shortly, but instead learned that they had taken down Lung. It could be done. Lung had even served time in prison, but it took a good bit of luck and the right power set. He listened with interest as Armsmaster rattled off details on the pair on his supposedly secure line. His extended torture session of the PRTs nighttime communication technician continued to bear such wonderful fruit.

Lady Bug, a Master and a Brute. That was a powerful combination. Most masters were weak to physical attacks. More impressive it was apparently her power that had taken down Lung. She controlled insects and it had been spider venom that had weakened the dragon. The other new cape didn't sound as impressive, a Brute/Thinker combo. However, he had a policy about Thinkers. All Thinkers in Brockton Bay had to answer to him. Thinker powers were well-known to interfere and detect each other. He did not need the city becoming aware that he was more than a minor snake in the grass. That was one reason the Alcott girl was a top priority. Her precognitive abilities were quite strong. She needed to be acquired and placed under his control, just like his Tattletale. Now he had another Thinker to deal with, one with an unknown gift.

Armsmaster did a wonderful job of briefing Miss Militia, and dropped a nice juicy tidbit, the pair were both overdue in their civilian identities. Since most new capes were teenagers, that meant they might be out past their bedtime and concerned parents call the authorities. He had access codes to search for that information, but he would only do the searches in a throw away reality as the systems logged who accessed the data. With Lung out of the picture it seemed more likely that he would be keeping this reality, but he needed more information.

A call to Tattletale revealed more information. She'd been there and seen most of the fight with Lung. She had then chosen to intercede to save Lung's life and score points with the two capes which she identified as heroes. She was able to independently confirm their powers and offered some of her insights. Both were young, fourteen to seventeen. Lady Bug appeared to be the more formidable of the pair, but had been socially awkward and shy. She was very clearly intending to be a hero. Beetle Knight was more talkative and more easily swayed. Despite being their spokesperson he deferred to Lady Bug. Also, he was holding back. He was a lot more than a Brute/Thinker combo.

Coil was certain that Beetle Knight wasn't the only one holding back. Tattletale just fed him what she thought was enough to keep him happy. What he needed was levers. New capes were a dime a dozen. They would die or choose a side, but didn't change the game. However, new capes that could take down Lung, now those were a very rare commodity indeed. Removing Lung from the board was a good thing. The E88 would expand. Kaiser would inevitably overplay his hand biting off more than he could chew. His contingency plan to take care of E88 wasn't ready yet, but it was close. He just had to make sure that the new pieces on the board wouldn't interfere with his own plans.

Briefly he drummed his fingers on his desk. He would certainly be keeping this timeline. He dropped the reality where he was sleeping safely away hidden in suburbia and promptly split the timelines again. In both realities he ordered Tattletale to report to him for a debriefing. The only thing that varied was the time. In one he ordered her to report at 6:00 AM and the other at 8:00 AM.

"Understood, Boss." She sounded just as sullen about it in both timelines.

Tattletale had a talent for pissing him off, but her sulky attitude amused him. It was almost as if she thought that she was about to be raped and tortured for information. Well, she was half-right. He detested the vulnerability of sleep almost as much as having his two selves at the same location. However, here in his secure underground bunker of a base, it was safe as it was possible to make it. In the reality where he ordered Tattletale to report at 8:00 AM, he went to his private bedroom and went to sleep. That became the designated safe reality.

Meanwhile, he remained awake in the throw-away reality. Now was the time to access all the secured and logged files. He was quickly able to determine that there had only been two calls that evening about missing children, both female. One Rachel Lynn Worthington had been missing the required forty-eight hours and one Taylor Anne Hebert had just never returned home that evening. A quick check of data showed that Rachel Lynn Worthington was too short to be Lady Bug while Taylor Anne Hebert fit the physical data. Hospital records showed she'd been treated for a psychotic break back in January. That sounded suspiciously like a trigger event. He would have his Tattletale confirm it, but he was reasonably certain he'd discovered Lady Bug. Really so-called secret identities weren't that hard to uncover. He was half-way through the ranks of E88 already. That was good, but not good enough. When he released all their identities, it would be a death blow to Empire Eighty-Eight. However, it would be a slow death. They would do a lot of damage with their death struggles creating chaos and opportunities.

He had several hours before Tattletale's debrief, so he did some more research on the missing girl's background. Child of Daniel Ray Hebert spokesperson for the Dockworkers Association and Annette Rose Hebert deceased. As a spokesman he had made numerous public statements over the years, none of much importance. The Dockworkers had ceased to be a power in a city since their disaster of a strike shut down the docks. A quick skim showed typical labor union blather with a side emphasis on restoring the ferry service. Digging deeper into the medical records revealed that the suspected trigger event happened during school hours. Using the personal password of the BBISD (Brockton Bay Independent School District) superintendent, he was able to access Winslow's records of the event. Trapped in a locker. Settlement for hospital bills only. The Heberts didn't even get follow-up visits with a psychiatrist. They really got screwed. Any mildly competent lawyer could have gotten them a better settlement. Danny Hebert talked a decent game to the press, but he was either stupid or a paper tiger. Given the general incompetence of the Dockworkers Union, possibly both.

Further digging found paydirt. Three students were punished: Emma Barnes, Madison Clements and Sophia Hess aka Shadow Stalker. A ward was involved in a trigger event? How did he miss that in Piggot's files? Even more interesting was that the girls weren't really punished for the locker. No blame was assigned. They were punished for not helping and in Madison's case attacking another student, James Barron. Hmm, possible boyfriend? Could he have found Beetle Knight? The official records avoided mention of Sophia as a Ward.

He needed more details. Even if he was way off base and Taylor Hebert was not Lady Bug, a cover-up would be useful for blackmail and/or taking down Piggot when the time came. He tried to log in to check Piggot's files, only to find that the paranoid bitch had changed her password again. Had it really been a month already? Why, so it had. She changed her password once a month like clockwork. He would have to schedule a kidnap session sometime soon. She sang quite nicely when installed in his mock-up of the Protectorate's Master-Stranger protocol cells.

And it was almost time for another little bird to sing. It was a little before six and Tattletale had arrived. He had his men direct her to a conference room, and then sent in Creep to soften her up. While he randomly tortured all his assets to root out any treason, his Tattletale required a very short leash. He had the breaking of her down to a science. Everyone had their weak points. Tattletale had proved resistant to most forms of torture, holding out for hours without breaking. However, his Creep was a man of intense hungers. His mercenaries were hardened killers, but even they ostracized his pet pervert. Tattletale always broke down quickly when Coil allowed him free rein. Now, the only question was if he should continue to do computer research here, or if he should treat himself and join in the fun? There was certainly more data to be mined, but on the other hand his Tattletale was such a smug little bitch. Putting her in her place never got old. Decisions, decisions.