About half an hour later I was sitting in front of the back seat of the wrecked car with Alabaster tied up behind me with the belts connected to it.
He was humming, he had been talking, but I managed to rip the seatbelts out of the front of the car as well, and while less intact they were long enough to form an improvised gag.
I also found a bag of Doritos, which I was now eating, so, yay for that.
"Wait, doesn't this count as petty theft? Or would it just be folded into some kind of collateral damage law?" I asked myself.
Alabaster made a muffled comment.
"Meh," I tossed another one back.
Gods I was tired.
I was also burning like a bonfire, with the green flare of my anima searing around me like a bonfire. I wasn't actually that worn out at the moment. My power was sort of... split. There were motes I fully controlled, and could use easily and efficiently. That power was mine awoken by the exaltation yes, but born of my soul and heading my will with absolute precision.
Then there were the motes that were... rougher. In game terms it was called a peripheral pool. That power was the result of my exaltation cranking everything to eleven, and hence, outside of my range of full control. It wasn't like it was less mine then my personal motes, but it was... wild, chaotic, stretched way beyond the grasp of fine control.
It was also a little under three times the size of my properly controlled reserve.
That's actually where the anima banner came from. Loose power leaking out from the use of my peripheral pool. I had no idea what the loss rate, but it probably wasn't that huge. I mean a single mote of Exalted essence had been compared in power to a hydrogen bomb. Though personally I didn't like that comparison. The context just didn't mesh right. It could be spent on things as 'little' as letting me punch a little harder, or see somewhat clearer, but it could also be used to bounce the beam of a deathstar if used right.
Case and point I was burning one every twenty or so minutes keeping the lightshow going. This wasn't really taxing. I was resting now, the fire fight had died out before I'd managed to tie down the undying asshole behind me so I was recouping a bit more then twice that just breathing.
When the hell was the party wagon going to show up? I was lit up like the forth of July right now. I didn't dare use Coil's Cell Phone to call the PRT, they'd trace it and wonder why the hell I was using one of the Corporate Executives of Bunker Industries cell a few minutes after said guy got his neck broken.
Actually in hindsight, I should probably toss the thing just to make sure it didn't have a tracking chip or whatever in it. At the same time the information within it was to valuable to pass up. Contact numbers that Tattletale could turn into incredible amounts of resources.
Wait, was it Bunker Industries that Coil worked in in civilian guise? Maybe it was something security... My brain didn't want to pin the name down. Something about building Endbringer shelters.
That was probably the only way the guy had managed to legitimately manage a bond villain grade base of operations like he had. I mean, seriously? Elaborate underground bunker? Goons with laser guns? He even got a 'monster' to put in the bottom of it later on if I remembered right.
All he was missing was the sharp pit.
And I wasn't jealous of that at all...
Honestly I shouldn't throw stones. I was an Infernal. Sooner or later I'd probably set up some skull faced doom fortress out of the side of a volcano at some point if I lived long enough but still...
Fucking bond villain routine.
I guess that only helped protect you from heroes though. Hadn't even bought him a second from me.
But then I cheated.
The cellphone rang.
I blinked, fished it out.
Tattletale again, this time calling not texting.
I flicked it open, "Yolo."
"Malfean?" she asked, she sounded rushed, irrigated, and worried.
That... was not good.
"Speaking, though not in the best company-"
"-You caught a cape?" she guessed.
She really shouldn't be wasting her power on me.
"Can't help it, reflex, look I screwed up."
Well... crap.
Those were words I didn't want to hear.
I frowned, "Okay what's happening?"
"Kaiser just got controlling shares of Fortress Construction."
Ah that was what the name was.