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Terror 3.c

"We're ready, sir," a young woman said as she adjusted her clipboard. A headset coiled around her head as she listened in to the various parties working on their finishing touches. Victor only gave her a passing glance out of the corner of his eye, never once taking his focus from the stage before him. He couldn't for the life of him remember her name, but she was loyal, and that was all that was really important in the grand scheme of things.

"Good," Victor said as he watched his subordinates scurry around like a hive of busy ants. The warehouse had been a bit of a rush job, but his crew had managed to pull it together. The once abandoned building now looked like a proper meeting place. Floorboards had been replaced and holes had been covered in an effort to make it as presentable as possible. Victor would have liked more time to work on it, but given how little time they had had to begin with it turned out fairly well. "Tell Kaiser that we're ready for him." The woman nodded in compliance and moved to go inform their Emperor that they were ready for his presence.

Victor was a man of many skills.

A bit of ironic statement given his powers, but it was no less true. Over the years he had stolen an impressive array of skills, everything from scuba diving to sharpshooting and everything in-between was his to command. And what skills he did not possess he would steal and make them his own. His hours spent volunteering at rest homes not only gave Medhall good publicity but allowed him to siphon of skills that had been honed over lifetimes by those nearing the end.

It wasn't as if they were going to find much use for their skills, so why should he let them go to waste?

But for all the talent that he had stolen, he could never satisfy himself. He always needed to steal more, to take everything. No matter how insignificant the skill he would steal it, even if it was something as mundane as sweeping a floor.

Prior to his trigger event, Victor had never had much skill in anything. He possessed no marketable talents that he could use to further himself, nor had he taken the time to try and learn any of them. The long hours of practice and study only ever managed to infuriate him. For all the skills he possessed, he could never quite get the hand of patience. Trying to sit down and gruel through dull lessons had brought him nothing but resentment towards his father for trying to teach him. When he had left his father to go out on his own and make his way in the world he had sorely underestimated the difficulty of such a venture.

With no real skills to his own, he had been forced to take menial jobs that were unbefitting of him. And even those jobs were short-lived and fruitless. They demanded perfection and when he made the slightest mistake they cast him aside like a broken toy. He had been lost an angry. Angry at everything and everyone. He had sought to make his name in the world and had been denied his prize, his right. He had lashed out at everyone and frequented bars to drown his sorrows out.

It hadn't been until he had met with the Herren clan that he had learned the truth of the world. That his failures weren't anything of his doing, but rather it was because of the minorities. They pillaged and plundered from the society that the whites had given them. They took what wasn't theirs and left the better deserving on the streets begging for coins. The niggers and chinks were all parasites on a perfectly good society, and so long as they remained in power he would never be able to obtain what was his.

And when he had triggered the night a group of Asian thugs tried to break into the Herren's house and steal their wealth, he finally had what he needed to take back what was his. He had let loose the full force of his power on one of the attackers that night, perhaps more so than he even had before. He stole everything from that chink and left him lying on the ground without so much as the ability to speak or stand. And he showed the world what that man really was, a worm who didn't have a single thing to contribute to society.

His induction into the inner circle of the Empire had been virtually guaranteed at that point. Since then he had proved himself to be a valuable asset to the organization. He obtained prestige and wealth and even a wife because of his affiliation to the Empire. He had everything that he ever wanted and then some. And in turn, he repaid the Empire with his loyalty and service.

Just as he was now.

The room held a quiet clamor as people went about final preparations. Most of his involvement in the planning and execution was done, all he had to do was make sure his subordinates were doing their jobs properly. Cameras were mounted into their proper positions as the lights were centered on the stage. The crowed before the elevated podium was more for show than anything else, a display of the might of the Empire. Unlike the degenerates of the ABB, they wore strictly regimented uniforms that demonstrated their allegiance to the organization. It made them seem less like a gang and more like a legitimate alternative to the PRT. A handful of the Empire's capes sat in the front row to remind the viewers of the strength that the Empire could wield against their enemies.

Victor let his eyes flicker to where his wife Othala sat next to Purity. His beloved had struck up a conversation with the woman in an effort to calm her nerves. Purity had been reluctant to rejoin the ranks of the Empire since her little tiff with Kaiser, but the man had a way of making people agree with him. Purity was here merely to provide a degree of power to the Empire's ranks, but only against criminals. Despite Kaiser's best efforts he hadn't managed to bend his ex-wife's will on that matter. It was of little consequence though, with the number of capes that they wielded they could crush the local Protectorate with sheer numbers.

Though if there were two capes that Kaiser had been less than enthused with dealing with it was Night and Fog. The two sociopaths were firmly under Purity's control, but more so they were Gesellschaft property. Kaiser had been all but against calling them up in order to avoid tangling himself even more with their European mother organization, but he had had little choice in the matter.

The Gesellschaft had all but ordered him to take the two capes in and "fix the mess that he had made". While he could appreciate the extra firepower, they brought Victor knew that the organization was more concerned with having a foothold in America than the cause itself. They wanted to expand their operations and their similar ideologies with the Empire provided them with the means to do so. It had been a beneficial arrangement in the past during the Empire's fledging days, but now that they were self-sufficient it felt more like a chain around their necks. And one that could tighten its hold and drag them all down at a moment's notice. The two capes would serve them so long as their masters told them to. A tenuous alliance at best and a gun to Kaiser's head at the worst.

But it wasn't as if Kaiser could say no, at least not publicly. The Gesellschaft were a dangerous enemy to have and that was the last thing that they needed with the entire city circling them like sharks in the water.

Hopefully this event would be as successful as they hoped.

As the twins took their positions on each side of the podium Victor started to signal the others. Lights were dimmed as the whole focus of the building was placed on the now approaching Kaiser. In his knightly armor, the man looked every bit the king that he was. A pity that they had to go to such lengths to convince the rest of the city of this matter. But he could recognize that the actions of their rouge members had only inflamed the public against them. So long as they denied the truth of the minorities they would deny the light that the Empire so willingly gave them.

Still, an action like this took on a risk of its own. Not so much from the application, their agents in the media ensured that. The local news stations would find themselves cut out as their feeds were overwritten by the Empire's message. But rather the risk was the message that this speech would send underneath the promise of security and protection. For their Kaiser himself to deliver a speech to the unwashed masses himself implied a certain level of vulnerability. A strong organization didn't need to make proclamations of their strength. They just crushed anyone who would deny them their right to power. Their enemies would be crushed under their heel like grains of sand. The strong had no such need for platitudes.

No, this move was a gamble to try and turn back the public's sympathies in their favor. Their narrative of the two teens with no regard for human life certainly helped, but the needed to make an official statement beyond what they already had. They needed to show the world that the Empire was still standing, and would continue to endure. Kaiser's speech would work to convince the populace that the Empire's way was the right way. He and Crusader had worked day and night on Kaiser's speech to make it the best they possibly could. With his countless stolen skills of public speaking and Crusader's natural talent, they had managed to put together a rather good speech in his humble opinion.

With some luck, they would be able to bring the Empire back into good graces with the people and alienate them against the Protectorate and the Boogeyman. He would personally love to see if that race traitor could survive her brains being blown out by a .50 caliber sniper round. She had caused far too much trouble to be anything but an enemy to the Empire and was freakish enough that nobody of worth would care about her. Perhaps if Alabaster wasn't successful he could put in a request. But Victor pushed such thoughts aside as they cameras flicked on and the live recording began.

It was a bit of a risk sending this live through the media outlets given that someone could possibly triangulate their position. But at the same time, having a recording speak wasn't nearly was effective as a live speech by their Emperor. The people would be more willing to flock to a man who would take the time to speak to them directly instead of hiding behind an army of editors. The people of Brockton Bay were going to meet the real Kaiser. As the lights on the cameras flicked on Victor gave Kaiser a discreet signal.

"Fellow citizens of Brockton Bay," the man intoned in a commanding and dominating voice. What few whispered remained in the room were snuffed out like candles as their lord began to speak. "We have endured many obstacles in this past week. The knowledge of the Protectorate's corruption. Traitors in the ranks of the Empire. This rise of a monster who would see all good work undone. This Boogeyman would see us all thrown back into the dark ages, a time of uncertainty and unrest. She would see us all crushed under the heel or her tyranny of fear."

The room was utterly silent as Kaiser drew them in with his charming words. Somehow despite his helm, he managed to meet the gaze of everyone in the room and even those watching from their screens. This was how Kaiser worked, he got people to join their ranks by convincing them of how they could help the cause and how the cause could help them. They wanted safety and power and he delivered them both.

"But the Empire still stands as a pillar of the community against those who would see the rightful inheritors of this city ground beneath their heels out of jealousy and hunger. They would see themselves the masters of this fine city as they cast out all who oppose them. The two murders that slew several of our brothers and sisters were merely the first. More will come, and they will not stop until we are all dead," Kaiser said as his voice rose in intensity. The man paused as he allowed the audience a moment to digest his words with quite murmurs of agreement.

"We cannot allow this to happen," Kaiser declared as he slammed his fist into the podium. As the wooden stand shook metal spikes shot out from the front of it as a display of Kaiser's might. A reminder to the people of the power that the man could bring to bear. "The Empire will stand against those who would seek to bring such an injustice as the hardworking people of this city. We are the protectors of those who need protection. Where the Protectorate has failed you, we will not. Where the PRT has abandoned you, we will not. We will not bend to a degenerate dragon who would burn you to ash for the smallest offense. We will not fall to a venomous snake who hides like a coward. We will not break to a monster that would shatter your mind with a smile."

Victor could feel the air in the room charge with the intensity of Kaiser's speech as he appealed to the base desires of the audience. Though he couldn't see what the people viewing this in their homes might be feeling, he could imagine that more than a few of them would be nodding their heads in agreement. They wanted protection, and the Empire was more than willing to give it to them.

"We are the Empire. We have protected this community since the time of our fathers, and we will continue to do so to the time of our children's children," Kaiser declared. Despite the fact that he had helped write up the speech, Victor couldn't stop himself from being drawn into Kaiser's almost hypnotic voice. The way he moved and spoke was the culmination of a lifetime of experience in public speaking. It was Kaiser who brought this speech to life from the page, who turned it into something more than just empty platitudes on a page.

"The Empire will not break!"

A roaring cheer erupted from the audience as Kaiser shouted, raising his fist up into the air.

"The Empire will not falter!"

Another roar that Victor himself joined in. He could feel the negativity that had been present at the beginning of the meet being banished away by Kaiser's promises. This was the leader they would follow to the end for. This was the leader who would give them all that they deserved. A chance for a better life, unmolested by the sub-humans that infested every nook and cranny of the city like the rats they were.

"The Empire is-gurk!"

Kaiser's proclamation was cut off mid-sentence as a massive blade erupted from his chest, tearing upwards towards his throat. Victor could only stare with mounting horror as the internal organs of his leader were carved into a fine paste. Blood and viscera ran down from the blade like a waterfall. Victor watched as the raised hand of Kaiser fell limply by his side as the blade was wrenched out of his form. The man let out a gurgle as blood poured out of his mouth and dribbled down his chin. The plating that had protected him through so many battles had been punched through like a pencil through paper. He could see the shock and fear in the man's eyes and he struggled to keep himself upright against the podium, but it was like trying to balance an egg on a tightrope. White shards of bone clattered to the ground while Max's body collapsed into a heap. As the blood started to pool around his form the entire building looked up to the perpetrator at once.

Boogeyman stood behind where their leader had once been, her wretched blade still in hand as she looked down upon the body with contempt in her eyes. As she turned her gaze from Kaiser's cooling corpse back to the audience Victor could feel a chill go down his spine at the intensity of the coldness in her yellow eyes.

There was no mercy in those eyes, no compassion or forgiveness for what she had just done. There wasn't a single ounce of regret in her body for killing the man that would lead them all to a glorious new future. She had just strangled the hope for Brockton Bay as a member of the Slaughterhouse might do to a child. The rest of the room seemed as stunned as he was. Even the well-trained twins didn't move, too frozen in shock by the sudden and dishonorable death of their leader, cut down as if he was nothing more than grain on a field.

He watched as her eyes roamed over the crowd, and for the briefest moments, he caught her gaze. There was something hidden behind those remorseless orbs, something that only he will the body reading skill from dozens could notice. Only the barest traces of the madness leaked out from behind her, like a shadow attached to her waist.

She would kill them all.

Her lips curled back into a sneer as she uttered one sentence. Her voice didn't have the same passion or zeal as Kaiser. There was no heat or care to her words. They were cold and clinical, like a doctor staring at a cadaver. Victor could feel a chill go up his spine despite himself as the entire temperature of the room seemed to drop like a rock.

"The Empire is dead."

All hell broke loose.

People started screaming in panic as many rushed for the doors, eager to escape the gaze of the creature that had just killed their leader. Some moved to attack the girl, holding their loyalty to the Empire in a higher regard than the fleeing cowards. But they were stymied as the panicking mass made movement almost impossible.

The twins moved to kill the interloper that had just slew their charge, but as their spear and sword moved in for the killing blow the girl was no longer there. Her form twisted into a massless shadow as she slithered across the ground like a serpent. Fenja and Menja nearly struck each other as their quarry disappeared from their gaze. He could see them searching the room as they started to grow in height, but they wouldn't be able to take their full height in such an enclosed space.

A multitude of Boogeyman's monstrous horses erupted from the shadows as if they were the hordes of hell. The panic only grew to even higher heights as the monsters attacked the assembly with callous abandon. Flesh was torn from flesh and bones were crushed into a fine powder. With once orderly room had become a disaster in a scant few seconds.

"Cut the feed," Victor shouted over the din as he pulled his pistol out and shot one of the horses. The creature's head exploded into a billion bits and its body fell apart into a pile of sand. "Cut the feed!" Victor screamed over the din. They couldn't afford any more of this to get on the air. What few members of the camera crew that didn't run moved to cut the feed, but there was no telling how much had already gotten out.

But none of that was Victor's concern as he waded his way through the death field to reach his wife. A brilliant flash of light filled the room and Victor was forced to cover his eyes even as the creatures screamed in panic. Through his fingers, he watched as many of the monsters closest to Purity collapsed into dust as the brightness of her light struck them. They boiled and burned like eggs on a sidewalk.

Victor felt a savage grin pass over his face as another creature was felled by his nine-millimeter pistol. While the race traitor had the element of surprise she was on the backtrack now. Purity couldn't unleash her full power in fear of bringing the building down on top of them, but even weakened her powers proved to be adept in destroying Boogeyman's minions.

"Augh!" Victor looked up to see Purity clutching her now bleeding arm as the spear that had struck her vaporized into nothingness. It didn't look that serious from where he was standing, but Purity's glow made it difficult to make out any details. The Blaster threw out her unharmed hand and fired a beam at the now exposed Boogeyman. The young parahuman managed to dodge the full brunt of the blast, but her pained scream echoed through the building as she slid back into the darkness. With her foe apparently vanquished, Purity started to float down from her position above the chaos to avoid being such an obvious target.

"Victor!"

Said parahuman turned around to see his beloved wife fending off one of the equine monsters with a chair. Victor didn't even have time to blink as he unloaded several rounds into the creature, ending its existence with a screech of pain. "Othala," Victor cried out as he rushed over to his out of breath wife. His eyes widely searched her form for any injuries. To his immense relief, he found none.

"We need to leave," Othala said, her eyes wide with fright. Victor wasn't one to walk away from a fight, but he didn't survive this long in Brockton Bay by being stupid. Even with Purity's help, the creatures were still taking a chunk out of their forces. If they tried to fight it out here it would only end in death and destruction.

"You're right," Victor muttered as he reloaded his pistol. Normally Victor wouldn't think to give an order while a superior was in the same room as him, but Krieg was gone on Gesellschaft business and he didn't see any of Crusader's ghosts in the fight. If Crusader was down and Purity was refusing to give orders then it fell to him to ensure that his brothers and sister lived through this fight.

"Purity!"

The floating parahuman swung her head over to the sound of his voice, only barely audible above the din of the fight.

"Clear a path for us," he shouted, waving his hand towards the exit sign. Having apparently understood his words the Blaster proceeded to carve a huge hole into the wall with her power, widening the exit for the clamoring mass. More horses fell to her powerful beams, but at that point, they were starting to retreat. Whether it was because of their resistance or because of Kaiser's death Victor wasn't sure, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Move, move," he shouted, desperately waving his hand towards the gaping hole in the wall. Those in his immediate vicinity heard and heeded his words as they made a rush for the exit. As they moved even more of the men and woman recognized what was happening and made their way to the exit. The previously disorganized mob became a charging stampede as they simultaneously made for the exit.

"Eep!" Othala cried out in surprise as Victor threw her over his shoulder. He was sure he would get some flak from her for carrying her like so, but his primary concern was getting her out of her. She could be angry with him after they were all safe and sound. Even with the additional weight, Victor was more than able to keep up with the unburdened masses.

The sunlight and open air were welcome as the oppressive monsters halted in their tracks. Victor looked back to see the parahuman herself standing on the edge around the hole with a murderous glare etched onto her features. She looked as if she wanted to strangle them all with her bare hands. But for whatever reason, the cape refused to make the chase. Even with a large group of Empire members a few dozen feet from her she remained rooted in the shadows of the building.

Victor let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding as the young woman bled back into the darkness from whence she came. Her minions followed suit, leaving nothing behind but dead bodies and piles of sand as proof of her presence. Some of the others began to cheer at the sight of their foe retreating, but Victor knew that this was no victory.

The taste of defeat stung like bitter ash in his mouth as he gazed out at the crowd. He could see Fenja and Menja were unharmed as the brushed the dust of the enemies off their armor. Purity was wrapping her arm with a shirt that someone had lent her, but she didn't look too perturbed by the injury. Othala looked a little shaken as he set he down on the ground, but was otherwise unharmed. But as he gazed out to the crowd Victor saw no sign of Crusader or his ghosts, and even if the man was alive, Kaiser was dead.

"We need to leave," Victor said, raising his voice over the din. A few tricks that he had picked up helped him project his voice over the fearful crowd. They couldn't stay here, the Protectorate and PRT would be on them shortly. There was no way that even they could miss something like this.

There was a quite clamor of agreements as the men and women moved to their designated leaders. They would disperse to different safe houses and regroup at a later time. Even with the sheer panic that still gripped at their psyches, they were well trained enough to remember their training. With some luck, they could avoid being caught by the police or PRT.

As the started to make their way through the streets and back alleys he tried to not look back towards the warehouse.

For the first time in a long time, he wished he could learn how to forget something.

"What's going to happen?" Othala asked. Her mask was set to the side as she gazed up at him with her fear filled eyes. Their masks laid to their side as they spoke as husband and wife, not parahumans. The room was locked and a group of loyal soldiers were guarding the main room, there would be no chance to disturb them here.

"I don't know," Victor admitted as he paced the room. Under ideal circumstances, Crusader or Krieg would take reigns of the Empire until a more permeant solution was found. But with Crusader dead and Krieg in Europe, this was a less than ideal situation. He supposed that Hookwolf could take charge, but the man was a dumb brute and had no talent for administration. The man would tear the Empire apart by fighting everyone in his path until they were dead. Victor could appreciate the man's enthusiasm, but he lacked the subtly in order to further the political agenda of the Empire.

No, the best option would be to have himself run the Empire for the time being, at least until Krieg returned from his meeting with the Gesellschaft. It wouldn't be an easy task by any stretch of the imagination, the Empire was bleeding and would be beset by all of its enemies. Even as degenerate as he was, Lung wasn't stupid enough to ignore an opportunity like this. But it wasn't as if he had much of a choice in the matter. Regardless of his personal feelings, he had a duty to see that the Empire survived this calamity. They would not let Kaiser's death be in vain.

"We'll need to rally the men," Victor said, his mind made up. The Empire was going to have to defend its borders from those that would see them crushed. They would have to pull back on a few operations, but if they hunkered down they could survive the deluge.

"We'll get through this," Victor said softly as he took his wife's trembling hands into his own. A soft kiss on her forehead calmed her nerves as he put his own mask back on. His wife followed suit, sealing her face behind the identity of Othala. When they stepped out they needed to be strong for their soldiers. They couldn't be seen as afraid or uncertain. They needed to be the rock on which their men held their ground. They were the Empire, and so long as they remembered that they would never lose.

The door swung open as Victor stepped into the main sitting room. Guns and ammo were stacked to the side as the assembled men and woman paused their work. Victor watched as each one of them looked to him for guidance and safety. There was a sense of helplessness that hadn't been there a few hours ago. Like a group of children who had lost their parents these soldiers had lost their commander, their leader. Something like this would take years to get over, but they had to be strong.

He had to remind them to be strong.

"We have been wounded," Victor said, his voice heavy with regret. There was no point in trying to deny it, they had suffered a great loss at the hands of Boogeyman. A setback of this magnitude would take years to recover from. The fact that their leader's death had been televised live across the city didn't help matters at all. If their own leader couldn't be protected in the heart of their kingdom, then what hope did they have.

Victor shook off such thoughts as he returned to the situation at hand. Now wasn't the time for uncertainty or fear.

"But we will endure," Victor declared, his tone full of confidence. He watched as a few of the men stood up a little taller and prouder. They would no bend under the might of their enemies, they would not break in the face of adversity.

"We will-"

Victor found himself cut short as a man appeared directly in the center of the room. Victor felt a chill go down his spine at the sight of one of the most violent parahumans in the city. A grinning demon mask glared at him as the man pulled something on his waist. There was a brief flicker of movement to indicate that the main Oni Lee had already teleported away, leaving behind a lifeless suicide bomber in his place.

"Move!" Victor shouted as he desperately threw his wife to the side. If he had been half a second faster he might have been able to make it out of the grenade's range, but it wasn't the case. As the duplicate Oni Lee's bomb detonated, everything within ten feet froze solid as their molecules were brought down to just a hair above Absolute Zero. For a brief second Victor could feel his body go numb as his internal organs were frozen from the inside out, and then nothing.

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