A/N: Almost forgot to add this, but A Change of Pace got it's first piece of fanart recently! You can probably spot it as the new cover-image of the story, but you should definitely check the version on DeviantArt so you'll see it...not as a tiny, compressed thing. Link is on my profile!

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I do actually realize what we're doing, before we manage to get out of the docks. Victoria takes a minute to realize I've stopped, and barely half that to circle back. She's confused, obviously, which makes me feel a little better about being slow on the uptake.

"We're rushing off half-cocked again."

She stops, the question in her lips fading to silence. And then she smacks herself, groaning dramatically as understanding dawns. "Dammit, you're right." Suddenly she's glaring at me like it's my fault. "So what are we gonna do?"

"I can't help but notice you're still putting me in charge of the planning." She scoffs, and thanks to my mask I don't have to even try to hide my smile. I don't answer immediately, turning my attention to...coat pockets. There's my phone, and I do seem to be getting service at the moment. So I just need...card. Shit, where's the card? I know I took it from Dad...probably should have just put the number in the phone, but...no, wait, there it is.

Victoria rolls her eyes, tapping her foot impatiently as I dial. "Who are you calling?"

I don't answer her, seeing as I'm on the phone...when she snatches the card out of my hand anyway, I just focus on getting my mask out of the way so I can actually be heard…

"Hello?" That...isn't Assault? It sounds very much like a woman, actually.

Awkward.

"This is Crow." I turn away from Victoria (who's busy giving me incredulous looks while shaking the card at me). "I wanted to talk to Assault, if he's...available." God, that is...not a thought I want to be having. The dead silence on the other side of the line isn't helping, because it means I can hear the creak of springs and sleep-slurred 'what's going on?'. I let the phone drop for a second, press a hand to my face, and try to just...urgh. "I can call back, if now's a bad time."

"Kind of you." Lady-voice doesn't sound any more thrilled with the situation. Strangely enough, that does make me feel a little better. "But I'm sure he'd hate to inconvenience you." There's a smack that sounds distinctly like knuckles hitting flesh, and a sharp yelp. "Wake up. It's Crow." And then shifting, rustling, grumbled complaints…

"Crow! Good to hear from you again." If I didn't know better, I'd say he sounds wide-awake. The jaw-cracking yawn he lets out would have put lie to that quick enough anyway. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

It takes me a second to remember, actually. Too busy trying to not focus on things. And trying to ignore the business card that's slowly descending into my field of vision. "I didn't mean to wake you up. It can probably wait. Or you can pass me on to someone else-"

"Wouldn't think of it." He cuts me off, suddenly serious. "This is a 24/7 sort of job. Won't be the first time duty calls at-" A pause, as the phone shifts. "-wow, only one? Now I feel old." I'm not entirely sure how to respond to that, but thankfully he doesn't wait for me. "What's going on?"

Where do I even start? Maybe by snatching the card away from Victoria, so she can stop dancing it in front of my face. And then, "You know about the Bone Tinker."

"Crazy killer, Tinker-Trump. Moved 'out of town' after the big E.B."

"He was being backed by Coil." Silence. "Coil provided security, manpower, and materials in return for his 'tech'."

"...alright." More shifting. Footsteps, and an opening door. "Other than the serial murder, that seems like the kind of thing Coil does. Outsourcing."

That's certainly one word for it. "Is the Protectorate aware that the Travelers are making bids for territory in the city?"

Another pause. "This is the first I've heard."

"I sent Sundancer packing, earlier today. She was at our camp with a truck full of supplies...and a group of Coil's men."

"...well. Well well...well. Hold on, I'm putting you on speaker." I'm...not sure why he would do that, but sure? There's a clatter, and when his voice returns it's gone tinny. "How sure are you about this, kid?"

I debate, for a brief moment, telling him about the Heart. But then, maybe that's something to ease into. At some point in the future. "As sure as I can be without having seen them shaking hands with the man."

"You sound pretty sure, that's for sure." A door, opening and closing again. Rustling, creaking. "So, you're calling me because…?"

"I'm with Victoria." She circles around me, at that, shooting me an exaggerated 'thank you' look. "We got more information on the situation, and we were going to go do something about this guy while we've still got some kind of initiative."

"Okay, that makes some kind of- wait. Victoria? Dallon?"

I almost ask him why that's so surprising. And then I'm kicking myself, because duh. "I'm immune to her aura."

"Why are you guys talking about me?"

"You're immune." Quiet, and then what I can only assume is the sound of Assault picking up the phone again. "Just flat out, no effect?"

Maybe I shouldn't have brought it up. "Yes." But it really isn't important right now, all things considered. "Look, we've done this before. Gone off with just the two of us. It's worked out poorly."

Victoria pastes on a cheerful smile, leaning in and raising her voice. "I got shot!" When she spots the incredulous look I'm giving her, she just shrugs.

Which...okay, yes. "What she said."

"So, you're calling the Protectorate for backup?"

When he puts it that way, it makes my skin crawl. "I'm calling you, because you helped me out. And my dad had good things to say."

"And is there a reason you're not taking this to New Wave?"

Why is he dancing around this? "I don't think what's left of the team is going to want to touch this one." I look to Victoria, mouthing 'sorry' under my breath. She shrugs. Maybe that's something we could talk about? "Look, I get that I'm coming out of nowhere with this, and it's asking a lot-"

"Nah, you're fine. Coil's always been more of a mystery than he should be. If you've got something to go on, I'm inclined to follow up on it." There's a click of plastic, right beside the receiver. "And I mean, I'm already awake, and suited up...and no offense to either of you, but somebody in this little party of yours should be a responsible adult."

For a brief moment, I consider sharing that tidbit with Victoria. I'm sure she'd be more than willing to give him a punch in the mouth…

"Oh, speaking of...you two don't mind if Battery tags along, do you?"

"Battery?" A pointed look Victoria's way, but she just shrugs again. "I don't think that would be a problem? If you're-" I was about to say 'if he was willing to wake her up'. But then I get a sinking feeling of what his answer would be. "That sounds...fine. Yes."

"Okay then, we'll swing around and spoil a supervillain's night."

Seems that's in order then...I drop down to street level long enough to give him our location, pocket my phone once I'm back on the roof. That went well, I think?

"Since when are you and Assault bffs?"

"I'd hardly call us 'friends'." Victoria snickers. I huff, and pull my mask back down. "He just helped me get rid of a body."

She lets out what seems like a genuinely affronted gasp, and it's an actual struggle to stifle my laughter.

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Battery is the first to show, a flash of light and crackling static heralding her arrival. She spends a few seconds scanning the street before I draw her attention with a sharp whistle, and a wave. After another moment she returns the gesture, falling still a moment later. The pulsing lines on her costume take on a brighter glow...and then she moves.

Super speed and strength, together? I don't think you can appreciate the combination properly until you watch someone scale a six story building in maybe four seconds.

I swallow down an inexplicably nervous feeling as she sticks her landing just barely out of arm's reach. Maybe not inexplicable. I haven't made the best impression with any of the Protectorate heroes I've met so far. Even Assault had to deal with 'bloodflies' right off the bat. So maybe I'd been a little worried on how to approach Battery, in this case.

I'd meant to offer up some kind of greeting, maybe thank her for coming along. But standing in front of her, looking down in some vague attempt to appear attentive despite two layers of obscuring lenses between us...when I actually manage to find my voice, what comes out is, "Sorry for the wakeup call."

Her expression is unreadable, behind her visor. For the nth time tonight, I'm very glad that my mask offers the same benefit.

"...not a problem."

Aaand awkward silence. So much for making a good impression.

I turn my attention back to the street, fiddling with my cuffs for lack of anything better to do. Battery continues to say nothing, as we wait. And then, finally, Assault bounds into view. He actually looks up when he's greeted by an empty street, and he barely misses a step, taking a sharp turn into the building across the street to throw himself shoulder-first into the wall.

It's another impressive showing, considering he was able to judge (or control?) the rebound closely enough to land at his partner's side. He bounces on his toes a couple of times, all smiles as he looks between us. "Hope I didn't keep you waiting."

"Not long enough to worry about." I wave it off, because...well, it's not important. And this isn't really the time for smalltalk. "Now that you're here, we can move on this stuff."

"And we should definitely talk about all of that." Assault chimes in, far too energetic for my tastes. Or Battery's, if her frown is anything to go by. "But first, I bring gifts. For your proximally-challenged friend." He produces something out of nowhere, tossing it at me before I can really react…

Earbuds? They're bulky things, made to hook over the ear, but...right. Okay. I guess Victoria isn't the only one having trouble thinking around her new issues. "I didn't consider radios."

"Well, you should be glad I'm so good at what I do."

Right. "I was planning to thank you." I let that hang for a second before turning away-

-and stepping around the corner of an impressively large AC unit. Victoria perks up at my approach, grins when I offer up one of the earbuds.

"Nice." She plucks it out of my hand, combing her hair back to slip it on. "Kind of sick of being out of the loop, here."

I sigh, pulling my mask up just enough to get at my own ear. "Maybe they'll let us keep them? I'm sure we could rig something up easily enough." If nothing else, I could probably Tinker something together...it takes me a second to actually get the thing on, but once I do it fits just fine under everything. Although, "Are they working?"

"That's a big '10-4' my corvid conspirator." Oh, okay. That's going to take a little getting used to. "And I'm kind of assuming we're not on any kind of private channel."

Assault wastes no time in confirming that. "Sorry kids. You'll just have to deal with nosy adults for a little longer." Victoria rolls her eyes, smirking as she mimes 'blah blah blah' at me. "The good news is, these little gadgets go missing all the time! I doubt a couple more will bother anyone."

"Could you not talk about misappropriation of government property right in front of me?" Battery. I offer Victoria a quick wave-

-before dropping in front of them again. And despite the moment of surprise at my sudden appearance, they're both smiling. So not actual complaints then. Still, "Let's talk about Coil, then."

Battery sobers, while Assault nods agreeably and waves vaguely in my direction. "You seem to be our expert on the subject. What are we getting into?"

...right, because I'd invited them. Presumably, with a plan in mind. I hadn't really thought about it in those terms, but now that I am I'm wondering if this was the best idea. Not that it matters, since they're here now. "We don't have a solid plan, yet. What we do know is that our first weak-link is Ballistic. He's set up his territory downtown, which means he's penned in by what's left of the Empire."

"Which presents more difficulties than advantages, if you mean to go after him." Battery crosses her arms, frowning thoughtfully. "That's a three-way war waiting to happen. If you start something…"

"It's a problem." At best, we piss off all three groups. At worst, we set things off early. But, "We've got a few options. I'm okay at getting into places without being noticed. Victoria's powers mean she can shut down a big fight-"

"As long as they take it outside."

She manages not to sound too bitter, which is good (I think), but I don't draw attention to it. "As long as they're in the open, yeah. With you two here, we've got more power and experience on our side. So...we just need to work something out."

"Alright." Assault grins, clapping his hands together. "Jam session. Let's do this."

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'This' went from hashing out our limited options to actual reconnaissance much faster than expected. And then, as the exact nature of our situation becomes clear…

"For those of us just joining us: yes, this is our luck."

Thank you, Victoria. I take a deep breath, clench my fists just to feel my gloves creak. "This is a setback." Which is kind of an understatement. Considering the building that should be Ballistic's is swarming with armed men. No few of which are sporting distinctive, wolf face-paint.

"The Chosen work fast." Assault sighs. "Bringing blitzkrieg back..."

Battery shakes her head, arms crossed as she considers the scene below. "The front entrance could easily be Hookwolf's work. Stormtiger too, if he put some effort in." Considering it looks like someone made a concentrated effort to take down that entire section of wall, I tack the two of them onto my mental list of 'Capes not to screw with directly'. "If either of them are still here and we draw their attention, this could turn messy."

"No telling if our guy is still kicking, either. Whatever might have gone down, here?" Assault shakes his head, waving at the men milling around down below. "Over and done with. This is cleanup."

All good points. But I think it's fair to say I hate the idea of leaving things at that. So I won't.

"I'm going to go have a look." I run my hand over the Charms on my belt, chewing my lip. Everything but the anti-stealth...so long as I take things slow, don't take any chances, I should be fine getting a little closer. "I'll make it quick."

Battery looks ready to say something, but Assault waves her off. Offers me an approving nod. "We'll be here. If you run into trouble, we can draw as much attention outside as we can."

"And then I can mop them up. Y'know. If it comes to that."

I really appreciate the vote of confidence...but I guess it really is good to know I'll have backup. If I end up needing it. "Let me know if anyone terrifying shows up." That said, I move from our rooftop-

-to the top of what was once Ballistic's hideout. It's not a small place; ten stories, at least, and big enough I can only see a part of the floors beneath me. But what I do see is actually kind of encouraging. In a way. For all that the gang seems to have occupied the place, it looks like they're sticking to the lower floors. Whether that's going to continue to be the case I don't know, but, well, gift horse.

I move down a level, scanning the room I'd wound up in for any trouble. Nothing but an empty apartment and a closed door. So, I'm probably safe taking a minute to consult my…'informant'.

"Reduced to tour guide? Haven't I suffered enough?"

Alright, I may not be the most socially aware, but passive aggressiveness like that I am uncomfortably familiar with. And I'd really appreciate if we could focus on more important things, for the moment. Like what the hell is going on here?

"Ballistic must have done something to make himself into a target. An actual target, not just the kind of thing you say you'll get around to, eventually."

I'd picked up on that much, actually. Though I'll admit I wouldn't have expected something like this so soon. It hasn't even been a day yet, since Sundancer made her move. Assuming they're all operating on a similar time-table, he'd have had hours, maybe.

"He's not the diplomatic type. As might be evidenced by some of that damage out on the street." What? "Not all of it was Hookwolf."

Okay. So, Ballistic brings the Nazi's down on himself, fights back...is he dead?

"Mmm...could be. Nothing outside to indicate he got blended, but that doesn't mean much. You might actually have to investigate something."

I can take a hint...though it would help if I could start with wherever Ballistic was staying. Or some place he would have kept...I don't know, important documents? A computer, maybe?

"Alright...let me try something."

"Well that's not ominous at all." But Tattletale doesn't say anything more. And after a few more seconds of nothing, my Mark flares. It's just a moment, just a tug on my powers. Not even enough to compare with a teleport. But it's enough to be noticeable. Enough for me to make a connection between that feeling and the faint light that seems to be hovering somewhere below me, as it buzzes and pulses in time with the Heart. "Just follow the pretty lights, huh?"

"Uh, Crow? We can absolutely hear you."

I sigh, and start for the door. "Thanks, Victoria."

"No problem."

"After you're done with your harrowing infiltration, remind me to teach you how to switch the headset on and off."

And thank you Assault...Battery hushes him, there's quiet again, and my appreciation for her raises just a little bit. But I'm letting all of this distract me. I need to go down...two floors? At least that.

I move.

There are people, now. Men, moving things out...five of them on the same floor as my goal, but, thankfully, they seem focused on the opposite side of the building. Not an opportunity to ignore, I focus on what I'm assuming will be an empty space-

-and here I am. The humming glow vanishes in a flicker...it's another apartment. A bedroom, specifically. Unmade bed...a bodysuit, tossed over a chair. But no sign of a mask or helmet…

"The attack was unexpected...but the damage was mostly on the ground floor. Hookwolf called him out. It was a challenge, not an ambush."

Interesting, but not particularly useful at the moment-

"Au contraire. It speaks to Hookwolf's attitude."

Which is useful. But not at this moment. "We need something on Coil…" I move to the bed, drop to the floor to check underneath. Nothing...I refresh my vision as it goes out, again, then hit the closet. Women's clothes. Either Ballistic has some weird habits, or he just moved in and didn't bother to move the previous owner out. But there's nothing stashed in the clothes. Nothing tucked away in any dark corners.

Dresser? There are his clothes...I dig through them, checking pockets, shaking out shirts, going so far as to pull the drawers entirely to check underneath.

Nothing. So I pick up the Heart again. "You could check another room?" She says that like she doesn't know. Which...I don't actually know whether that's believable or not. I don't know how her powers worked before all of this, let alone how they've changed. "Oh, it's a long, strange story. But having you search this place was helpful. Now I'm that much more justified in assuming he doesn't have anything important here."

I take a long, deep breath. Keep my grip light and loose. "Less than helpful."

"No luck, yet?"

Battery. I take another calming breath, sigh, and turn away from the mess I'd made of the dresser. "Nothing in his apartment. I can probably dig a little deeper, but if I move further down I'm going to have to start dodging skinheads."

"They're stripping the place bare, anyway. Grabbing up anything that seems useful...the conquering army taking their spoils…"

Victoria's disbelieving snort draws my attention before I can do more than wonder at Tattletale's tone. "Didn't you clear out, like, two different gang hideouts in as many weeks?"

"I mean-" Yes, I'd done that. Sort of. "There were less of them. And I only cleared out one. The other emptied out before I'd finished."

"Oh...oh, okay, hold on. Question, for Assault."

I frown, listen for a moment...but I guess it can't hurt to ask? "Assault? There are a lot of guys here. How are the Chosen recruiting?"

"A lot of the unpowered muscle from the Empire went to them, after the split. From what I know, it seems like they run regular fights to test their members and initiate newcomers."

"Survival of the fittest? Or something like it. Okay, potentially some good news there." Good news? "Ballistic might still be alive?" And that's based on the way the Chosen are initiating members. "Hookwolf recruits based on how well people can fight. He's building an army. He challenged a rival, sacked his holdings...maybe he took a few 'slaves' back to play gladiator."

That's...that's pretty twisted. Even for a violent Nazi. "How sure-?" Not out loud, "Nevermind." But really?

"I could be wrong. If you can confirm he didn't get killed here, I might be able to give you a better answer."

If I confirm he wasn't killed, then I'll already know he's still alive. But...yeah, okay, I can kind of see her point. So I'll just have to get some proof one way or the other. And while I could try and sneak downstairs, slip past all the armed Nazis in the hopes of finding (or not finding?) some mutilated remains or something…

"Guys, if you want to take a minute to get ready, I think I'm going to pick someone up so we can have a chat about what happened here, earlier."

"Nice to see you having fun again."

Fuck it. Maybe I am.

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I pick a thug at random, one I don't think will be missed...Battery disarms him the moment we hit the rooftop, Assault knocks him to the gravel hard enough that I can feel it through my boots, but the guy isn't any worse off than 'stunned'.

The way he visibly pales at the sight of us crowding over him is pretty funny, in a sad sort of way. "Special delivery."

"Hopefully," Battery growls, static sparkling across her knuckles, "this one will actually know something useful."

"Oh, shit, she's a badass. Heheh...hope you're taking notes, Crow."

Yes, thank you again, Victoria…

He does talk, though. Eagerly. And it's good to know that our lead hasn't been cut off entirely. But god, I could do without the mental image of Tattletale's smug smirk…

"Well, it looks like we've hit a snag." Assault sighs, watching with apparent interest as Battery manhandles the Chosen thug into a set of plastic cuffs. "I may be pretty good, and I guess you've all got your own merits, but ready to take on an entire gang, we are not."

"Wow. With that kind of dedication, you're surely a credit to your entire organization."

"Would you listen to these kids? I take precious time out of my night to help, and all I get is lip."

I clear my throat, hopefully cutting them off before they can really get started. "It's another setback. But I don't think we're out of this yet." Maybe. Because what just occurred to me is...I'm not sure what it is. Stupid, maybe. Probably reckless. Still...I shake my head, drum my fingers on a holstered baton as I consider.

"Assault...what do you know about the Pure?"