Seeing the imposing figure in front of me, my fight or flight responses kicked in, and the rational part of my mind wanted to book it out of there. In between my bubbles and enhanced speed, I could probably outrun Dauntless, as he didn't have a mover ability to his name. However, a different part of my mind hungered for battle. I had to prove myself, defeat him so I could grow in power.

I was stronger than him, he was just a minor character. I could defeat him, and crush the Protectorate squad that was bound to follow. Wait a minute - I would never think this! What's happening to me? Suddenly, a horrifying realization dawned upon me. Damnit, my shard was trying to influence me to pick this fight!

Not now, shard! Dauntless was trying to say something, likely giving his PRT recruitment pitch for first-time villains. However, I was more focused on the mental battle going on in my head, my rationality and emotions facing off in battle. Seeing that I wasn't listening, he proceeded to rush up towards me, a shining golden spear in one hand and a pulsating shield on the other.

I threw rationality out the window, and immediately charged at Dauntless, right as my mind started clearing up. Fine, shard, have it your way. I dissipated all my other bubbles, and stacked as many as I could manifest around myself. The world immediately halted, and everything seemed like it was moving through jelly.

A euphoric sensation immediately filled me, and I dashed towards Dauntless, launching a jab at his chest. He immediately moved his shield to block, but due the intense enhancement from the bubbles, it only grazed the shield and connected to his armor.

The strike actually managed to put a small crack in his armor, and he let out a surprised. However, by this point, the adrenaline surge I had experienced earlier was fading, and the exhaustion from maintaining 4 bubbles simultaneously came crashing down on me at once. He immediately took advantage of the small lapse in my movements, and his shield bashed into me, seemingly with the force of a small truck.

I immediately coughed up some blood, which dripped down onto my jacket. Yep, take that shard, I was right. I turned to Dauntless and gave him a small wave, and his eyes widened. I immediately placed an acceleration bubble around myself, and rushed off right as he cried out "Stop!".

Did he actually think that would work? I shot away from Dauntless, regularly dispelling and replacing the bubble around myself to keep myself accelerated. However, more and more PRT vans were closing in on the area, and it would only be a matter of time before they sent some backup to this location.

I sighed, and made up my mind, dialing a number on my phone.

A melodious voice rang out from the other end "Hello? Who is this?"

While I felt like launching into a long rant about the insane difficulty of this mission, I grounded out "Hello. This is the girl who accepted the task from you earlier. I have the information, however, the PRT is chasing me. Could you please pick me up?"

Faultline actually had the gall to laugh, and I could practically see her smirking as she said "Now, why would I do that? You're a cape who knows my civilian identity and I only recently met you."

As expected of a mercenary. I immediately formulated a list of concessions I was willing to make in my head, and I ran into a small alleyway to hide from the ever increasing number of PRT vans in the area. I replied back to her "I can forsake my pay for this mission."

Although doing all this work for no reason would hurt, getting forced to join the PRT under harsh conditions or even a prison sentence would be much worse. However, Faultline, still in a chipper mood, said "Hah, just take it as a lesson in humility, kid. Having a powerful cape on my side is far more important than some cash. I'll come pick you up."

Maintaining my diplomatic tone, I responded "Alright, do I have to do anything? Keep in mind, I don't exactly have the time for a length negotiation right now.."

I could hear loud noises of objects being moved around from her end of the phone. "I would like for you to join my crew, but I'll help you out regardless. Just keep it in mind for the future."

Glancing at the constant arrival of PRT troopers, I knew it would only be a matter of time before I was caught and captured by them. Even if I maintained complete independence, I would lose eventually to their sheer resources. So my options here were either surrendering myself to the PRT and becoming a Ward, restricted for the rest of my life until I rebelled or Kherpi mastered me, maintaining my independence and eventually getting captured or joining Faultline's crew.

I whispered softly into the phone "I'll join your crew."

Faultline replied back almost instantly "Alright, glad you made the right choice. You don't have to sound so sad about it, we're not that bad. What's your current location?"

I confirmed my location with her and I pondered over what she said. Honestly, she wasn't wrong, Faultline's crew could get me much needed training and access to a large amount of resources. It was certainly better than all the other options in Brockton Bay. It was either growth, evolution, and adaptation, or death, now that I had been branded as a villain by the Protectorate.

I soundlessly entered the large black van that pulled up in front of me, not paying any attention to the constant gunshots I heard from the PRT troopers firing inside. As I sat in a daze, we eventually arrived back at Palanquin, and Faultline exited the car while beckoning me to follow.

I followed her into the meeting room, temporarily forgetting about the fight, fully prepared to hear several conditions tacked on last second.

I quickly started off the meeting and stated "So, I got the information on the Empire that you wanted, turns out they're planning to make a move on Coil pretty soon."

While Schmidt hadn't confirmed any Empire movements for me, I knew he was going to look into the information leaks. Though my information didn't come from Coil, the villain was really trying to get some information on the E88 capes public identities. I knew the Empire wouldn't accomplish much due to Coil's broken timeline ability, however I was certain they would at least try.

Faultline, much like Schmidt, had an expression of surprise at this revelation. "Coil? Now I didn't expect that. How accurate is this information?"

"I'm pretty confident in it. Even if they don't launch a full scale assault on Coil's underground networks, they will at least send a few incursions into his territory or on the Undersiders, who apparently work for him."

With the mention of the Undersiders, Faultline grimaced, likely due to her relationship with Tattletale. "Well, that was better than I was expecting out of you, especially in this time frame. I'll send you the contact information and wire you the money or give you unmarked bills. Your choice."

"I'll take the bills, thanks."

Also, what exactly would be expected of me if I joined your crew?" We immediately broke out into an hour-long negotiation on the responsibilities and privileges I would get by joining her crew. Though she could force almost any condition she wanted on me, she likely wanted me to have some semblance of loyalty to her, and I would at least be gaining allies, resources, and training. Although I could gain those through the Wards program as well, I held off on that for a few reasons.

Firstly, the moment it got out that my ability could slow down aging, several rich fools would no doubt ask me to become someone like Panacea, going from client to client and de-aging them. While it would give me a life without worries, I wouldn't be able to get the crucial combat experience and power I would otherwise. More importantly, the little time I had spent with superpowered abilities had planted a spark of ambition in my heart, I didn't want to be just another cog in the Protectorate machine.

As for the contract itself, Faultline's crew was generally pretty "chill". Everyone had to attend all the mission debriefs, however, it would be completely optional and up to the opinion of the member if they wanted to join in or not. If I successfully completed a mission, I would get 1/x - 5% of the mission payout, where x would be the number of individuals on the mission. Of course, for my first 5 missions, I had to take only half of what I would otherwise earn.

If I wanted to, I could also take on solo operations outside of the organization as long as I coughed up 20% of the mission payment if I was being hired. If it was a private endeavor, I wouldn't have to pay anything as long as I gave them a heads up before doing anything important. The mission pay taken in this way and from the group missions would go to maintaining the organization by buying equipment, money laundering, etc.

Most importantly, the training. Faultline was willing to advise me on all cape matters pro bono, and would train me on the basics of combat every day for a few hours after school. As I went to Arcadia, a "vocational" school, I could leave quite early in order to do this. Additionally, after explaining my abilities properly, we agreed that I could use my acceleration field to make the most of our training time.

Overall, I would say it was quite a good deal for me. I didn't actually have to partake in any missions that I didn't want to, still had complete freedom of movement, an ally, and someone to train me as a cape.

Once I got home, I immediately texted the number Faultline had given me. The sooner I got this stupid costume commissioned, the sooner I could start my activities as a cape properly. 30 minutes later, I got a reply.

Hello, who am I speaking to right now?
- Big Rig

I'm a newly triggered cape. I wanted to commission a costume from Toybox. You can call me Khonsu for now.
- Khonsu

Yes, I shamelessly stole the future Endbringer's name for this conversation. I hadn't thought of a cape name yet, so this would have to do temporarily. What's Khonsu gonna do, sue me?

I see. You certainly came to the right place. Do you have any specifications? Here's some stuff we can do as an example. However, we can get you almost anything, for the right price.

- Big Rig

Once I clicked the pdf, I got a gargantuan list of almost every conceivable feature imaginable. These guys really didn't mess around. I skimmed through the list, however, I already had something in mind for my costume.

I would like a lightweight suit made mostly of a flexible material, with metal exoskeleton forming a detachable and reattachable outer layer if needed. On both the suit and the exoskeleton, please leave my fingers open. Additionally, add a tactical visor like Alexandria's separately along with a projectile weapon that can launch poison capsules. Both the suit and exoskeleton need to have either a clock or gear theme. Thanks.

- Khonsu

Wow. That certainly is a lot for a debut costume. It'll cost quite a bit as well. How will you be paying?
- Big Rig

I can pay in a large quantity of unmarked bills. I assume you can receive them as long as I deposit them at a specific location? I reside in Brockton Bay.

- Khonsu

Of course. Please leave them at Warehouse XX at St. Stephen's Street within the next 24 hours. Provided you do this, we will send your commission within a week at the same location. I'll notify you when to pick it up.
- Big Rig

I'll bring them over now. Thanks for your assistance.
- Khonsu

With that, my costume was pretty much set. I chose poison as it worked quite well with my acceleration bubbles, as I could greatly increase the spread and damage of the poison over a short amount of time. Additionally, they finally gave me a ranged option to combat capes I couldn't reach with my Striker ability.

After I left the bills Faultline had given me at the requested location. I finally went back home and began to sleep. Although I didn't need to as a noctis cape, I certainly wanted to after everything I did today. I met Faultline, got a mission, beat up some thugs, puppeteered the E88 into attacking Coil, got my payout, joined Faultline's crew (although forcefully), and commissioned my costume. Quite productive for my first day as a cape.

After waking up from my admittedly short nap, I yawned and hit the snooze button to sleep a little longer. I wasn't particularly excited for another thrilling day in which I could enjoy the wonder that was the US education system. After I got school out of the way, I would have to attend an introductory meeting with the other members of Faultline's crew.

My day at Arcadia High School started like any other— with a reluctant sigh escaping my lips as I rolled out of bed. I wasn't particularly excited about another day filled with the monotonous routine of classes and interactions with my fellow students. However, I knew that blending in was crucial, so I put on my best facade and prepared myself for the day ahead.

As I stepped into the crowded hallways, I observed the familiar faces of my classmates rushing to their lockers or huddled in small groups, engrossed in their own conversations. Arcadia High School was a microcosm of teenage drama and social hierarchy, but I had never bothered partaking in such activities myself.

As I went through the school day, I began to daydream about my future plans and ideas for what to do with my power. Occasionally, I trapped some random rocks or trees inside bubbles, just so I could practice maintaining 3 at once and not make my time at school a complete waste.

I wonder if there was a way to work together with my shard or get it to release some constraints? I knew one of the reasons Jack Slash was so powerful was that he and his shard were so in sync, and his shard was willing to help him out by communicating with the other shards. Though I don't think my powers could increase much in that sense beyond the limit on the number of bubbles, as my abilities already ignored the Manton effect. I would have to look into that, at any rate.

My train of thought was abruptly halted when I heard the lunch bell ring. Sighing, I got up and headed towards the cafeteria. I opened up my homemade bento and sat quietly, occasionally scrolling through my phone to browse PHO and check the recent news. Huh, it looks like there's a new hero card game coming out. Although none of Earth Bet's games could compare to the ones I had back home, this one might be worth a shot.

Just as I was about to retreat further into my phone, a familiar voice pierced through the noise, pulling me back into reality. "Hey, mind if I sit here?" Victoria Dallon stood before me, her eyes scanning the empty seat across the table.

Suppressing a sigh of resignation, I motioned for her to take a seat. "Sure, go ahead," I replied, my tone polite but disinterested. Despite my lack of enthusiasm, I understood the value of maintaining a cordial relationship with Glory Girl, one of the most powerful capes in Brockton. Especially so when being polite wouldn't cause any negative consequences at all.

"So, how's your day going?" Victoria asked, her tone carrying a hint of curiosity. It seemed that my reserved nature had gained her attention, even if only momentarily.

"Same old, same old," I replied nonchalantly. "Just counting down the minutes until the end of the day."

Victoria chuckled, her laughter a symphony of confidence and amusement. "I feel you. High school can be such a drag sometimes, can't it? But hey, we're almost done. Just a few more years, and we'll be free."

Seriously, I have no clue why she's even here or talking to me. Didn't she have better things to do with her time? Or at least other people she could sit with? I knew for a fact that she was far from unpopular. However, this would be a good opportunity to get to know Victoria Dallon. Sure, I "knew" her from Worm, but it was hard to say how much of that would apply here.

Curious, I decided to continue the conversation. "I found a new card game that's launching pretty soon, I think it's called Weavercard. It's made by the same company that made Weaverdice, so it should be pretty good."

Victoria raised an eyebrow, her interest piqued. "Weavercard? 've played Weaverdice before, so I can imagine the card game being just as fun. What's it about?"

I leaned forward slightly, my indifference momentarily replaced by a genuine spark of enthusiasm. Despite my disinterest in socializing, I would never say no to talking about games with others. "Well, from what I've read, it's a strategic hero card game where you build a team of capes with different powers and abilities. The cards represent different parahumans, and you can use their powers strategically to outmaneuver your opponents. It's a mix of tactical gameplay and resource management."

Victoria's eyes lit up, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "That sounds right up my alley. I love a good challenge, and anything related to capes and powers has my attention. When will it come out?"

I shrugged, as I allowed myself to engage in the conversation. "I'm not entirely sure. I read that the release date hasn't been announced yet, but they've been teasing it with trailers and previews. Most of the people I've seen on PHO think it'll be released next week."

We continued discussing the potential features and mechanics of Weavercard, our conversation flowing effortlessly. It was an unexpected turn of events, finding common ground with someone like Glory Girl. Finally, I realize how much time has passed when the bell that indicates the end of lunch rings. I let out the first genuine smile since I've arrived in this world and quickly wave goodbye.

Victoria returns the gesture and calls out "We should play sometime when the game comes out. It was nice talking with you!" before also turning back and heading towards her next classes.

The rest of my classes that day seemed to pass in a blur of monotony. The teachers droned on, delivering lectures that barely held my attention. I sat in my seat, nodding when necessary, and quietly slipping into my own thoughts.

Sometimes I think I would've done better with a Tinker or Thinker ability. It would allow me to stay on the backlines and work through my machines or by scheming. Such is life, I suppose. Finally, I was released from school with the sound of the last bell for the school day.

Luckily for me, Arcadia lets students leave at 1:00 for vocational training. Otherwise, I would have to sit through another 4 hours of this nonsense. It was already bad enough when I did it in my previous life, having to do it again would probably cause me to have suicidal thoughts.

That reminds me, I really need to change my vocation at this school to corporate law. That way if somebody actually checks to see how much I've been learning, I can pass the test. Well, that's a matter for another time. I once again walk down the steps of Arcadia and head towards Palanquin. I'm really getting a sense of deja vu here.

I quickly raced through the familiar streets into Palanquin, sneaking in through the back entrance. Although initially caught off guard, Faultline shrugs at my early arrival and leads me into the building. She then had an inquisitive look and said "Well, as you're here early, everyone hasn't gathered yet. I'll go fetch them, and you can head to the meeting room."

While she definitely knew of my abilities and had a general grasp on my personality, I think she was curious as to how I would handle the situation and if I could mesh with the rest of the crew. Already present in the meeting room was a blonde haired woman with an emerald green robe and mask, as well as a blue haired "devil". They seemed to be playing a board game, likely the Worm equivalent of Monopoly based on the pieces and swathes of fake money in their hands.

Newter, the young Case 53, grinned mischievously. "Well, Yui, welcome to the crew! I'm Newter, and I've heard a bit about you, but I'm eager to see what you can do firsthand. We're always up for freshies."

I returned his grin, my polite nature surfacing. "Thanks. I have a feeling we're going to get along fine. I have a few surprises in store, and I look forward to working with you in the future."

Labyrinth, observed me with distant eyes. Her abilities were intriguing, possibly the most powerful Shaker ability in Worm. She quietly said, "It's nice to meet you. What can you do?"

I quickly eased into conversation and replied with a brief run-down with my abilities. I casually grabbed a piece and joined in on their game. Curious, I asked "So, why exactly did you guys join Faultline? I mean I'm pretty much here because it's a well established mercenary group with loose restrictions, but it wasn't that well known when you guys joined, right?"

Newter's grin faded for a second before he composed himself. "Well, if you couldn't tell by the tail and red skin, I'm a Case 53. I basically just appeared like this without much memory, and Faultline was the one that found and took me in, you know? I sort of stuck with her after that."

"I see. I guess that makes sense, I joined up because it was better than inevitably losing a fight and getting captured by the PRT or worse, a gang, y'know? I would have preferred to remained independent otherwise." I rolled the dice and unfortunately landed on Labyrinth's property. As I was handing her the cash, Newter laughed and said

"Don't worry about it, you'll soon get used to the crew."

I passed the dice to him and said "Well, I had to do a task first, but pretty much. Ever since I triggered I knew I would have to join an organization eventually, my powers aren't exactly strong enough to last on my own as a new cape with no experience." I then turned to Labyrinth and asked "What about you, Labyrinth?"

After a brief moment of silence, I thought she wasn't going to answer me. However, to my surprise she softly spoke "Well, I was trapped in an asylum due to my powers. Eventually, Faultline broke me out. I also came to see this place as my home, just like Newter." She paused for a moment before continuing. "You can call me Elle, by the way. We're part of the same team now."

I was about to respond, however the door opened and Faultline walked in. Looking at us casually playing monopoly and conversing, she smirked and said "Well, looks like you're getting along just fine. We have to actually start the meeting now though." She then proceeded to promptly sit down on a chair as we cleaned up the board.

I watched as the rest of the crew filtered into the meeting room, taking their seats. Gregor settled himself down, his large frame folding into the chair with ease. Spitfire, wearing a red and black HAZMAT suit and a gas mask, gave me a small nod of acknowledgement. Shamrock, who exuded an air of poise and determination, greeted me with a warm smile. Lastly, Whippersnap, a Case 53 teenager with a mischievous grin, plopped down in a seat next to Newter, clearly eager to be part of the conversation.

Faultline cleared her throat, bringing the room to attention. "Alright, everyone. We have a new member joining our crew today. This is Yui, she's expressed a desire to work with us." She turned to me, gesturing for me to introduce myself.

I glanced over everyone in the meeting room. It appeared that Scrub, Matryoshka, and Chantilly hadn't joined yet, though they weren't too important anyways. Feeling a bit nervous, I steeled my resolve and projected my voice into the room. "Hello everyone. I am Yui Hasegawa, a newly triggered cape looking to join your organization for protection and training."

Feeling my momentum build up, I continued with my introduction. "I specialize in tracking and support, though I am capable of combat. In terms of PRT classifications, I would qualify as a Striker/Brute/Shaker, with a minor Trump rating. I'm looking for a more loose involvement with the organization, but rest assured, I won't back down if you need me." Of course, what I didn't mention was that I would do a thorough cost-benefit analysis before actually helping them, but they didn't need to know that.

Newter snickered at my mini-speech and said "You don't need to be so formal, y'know? We're all friends here."

I rolled my eyes at him and responded "I just met you like 5 minutes ago. I doubt that's enough time for me to realize your opinions on formalities."

Gregor, who had been silently observing the conversation, leaned forward, his deep voice resonating in the room. "You mentioned your specialization in tracking and support. How exactly do your powers work, and how will you apply them in our operations?"

I straightened my posture, focusing on Gregor as I explained. "I possess enhanced strength, reaction speed, and durability as a Brute, while my Shaker powers allow me to manipulate the flow of time within defined areas, creating bubbles of accelerated or decelerated time. As a Striker, I can induce rapid aging or reverse the flow of time in objects and individuals with a touch. Finally, as a trump I can view the abilities of others and gain a basic understanding of what they do."

I took a breath before continuing. "My temporal manipulation skills provide strategic advantages during combat. I can use my time bubbles to enhance our team's speed, allowing for swift and coordinated maneuvers, or to slow down adversaries, gaining a tactical edge."

I gave everyone a second to process the information before proceeding with my explanation. "My Trump power grants me insights into other capes, enabling me to effectively coordinate our efforts and maximize our overall effectiveness. Finally, my Striker ability allows me to not be dead weight in combat situations. Thus, I can play a supporting role either scouting ahead or from the backline."

The Q&A session persisted for nearly 15 more minutes as the rest of the crew took turns asking me various questions about my motives, powers, and even hobbies. Eventually, Faultline interrupted our conversation. "Alright, I think that's enough for the introduction."

She then turned to me. "You should focus on picking a cape name and getting a costume. Do you need help designing it?"

I smirked and replied "No, that's what I used the money you gave me for running errands. I have a kick-ass costume coming up in a week."

Faultline rolled her eyes and said "Was that really the best use of your money? Oh well, I'm not one to judge. Anyways, we have a pretty big job coming up in a week, right here in Brockton Bay. If you're willing, you could debut there."

Newter excitedly vocalized his opinion before I could respond. "Really? What's the job? Can I join?"

I shook my head at his antics and added on "I'm sure I'll have a name picked out by then. Though, like Newter said, what's the job?" I really wanted to get my half pay jobs over with as quick as possible, I would definitely require vast sums of money for my future plans.

Faultline gave Newter the look™ (you know the one) and said "Right. I'm sure you've heard of The Elite, right? Well, they've recently been expanding their presence in Brockton Bay and have even recruited an independent cape named Poltergeist. The Elite generally tends to expand with extremely rapid movements in quick succession, and usually end up pressing a lot of local rogues and villains to join them."

She paused, before continuing. "Now, luckily for us, only a small cell of The Elite is actually interested in Brockton Bay. If the entire organization focused on expanding here, they would succeed on sheer resources alone. A bunch of the local gangs and independents have pooled together some money and hired us to destroy their foundation in Brockton before they have a significant presence."

Interesting. Judging by the fact that The Elite didn't have any presence in the Brockton Bay underworld, Faultline or someone after her must have succeeded in driving them out early on. However, if I failed in this mission, all of my knowledge could possibly be butterflied away with an instant. Talk about high stakes.

I gave the offer some consideration before I replied "Sure, I'll join. After all, it wouldn't be good for me either if The Elite ended up expanding here."

Faultline gave me a veritable smile and remarked "It's surprising how few people can see that. Don't worry, Newter and Labyrinth will accompany us for this mission, which should be plenty to deal with a single cape."

She then proceeded to hand us an extremely dense information packet. After sifting through the papers, they seemed to contain information on The Elite's usual modus operandi, as well as a brief rundown on Poltergeists abilities. They seemed to be short ranged blaster with the ability to temporarily enhance and launch small objects at enemies.

I put the packet into one of the folders neatly arranged in a cabinet by the side of the table. I grabbed the folder and said "Alright, thanks for the introductory meeting. I'll look through this information and meet you here tomorrow for training?"

Faultline affirmed that she would be there and waved me goodbye. I exchanged a few pleasantries with the remaining members of the crew before leaving, heading back to my apartment for the day. The rest of my night was spent looking through the information given to me.

***
Interlude - Faultline

As the members left the room, Faultline sat alone in her dimly lit office. The events of the introductory meeting were fresh on her mind. Her fingers absently tapped against the polished wooden surface of the desk as she pondered the newest addition to her crew. Yui was truly an enigma, and she couldn't quite understand what made her tick.

Being randomly approached in her civilian identity was quite shocking, but the events that followed truly perplexed her. Although capes seeking her out for her contacts wasn't uncommon, most simply approached her on PHO or through the underworld, though she supposed Yui could be excused due to her recent trigger.

When she first gave her the mission, she had done so as a method of quietly eliminating the girl without it being traced back to the identity of Faultline. After all, it's common for a rogue to pick a fight above their weight class and get killed by the empire, and her asian heritage would only make death more likely.

However, Yui had succeeded. This meant that she either already had combat or espionage experience, was an experienced cape pretending to be new to scam her, or her powers were simply that powerful. In Yui's case, she supposed it would be the last option. However, powerful wasn't quite the right word to use to describe her abilities.

No, Yui's strength lay in her versatility. Normally, capes would only gain one or two abilities, and would have to use them as best they could. Even capes that had multiple abilities usually had those abilities relating to one another in some way. After the girl had explained her abilities, Faultline could envision countless uses for them in almost any role.

So when Yui had actually gotten the information, regardless of the situation that she was in, Faultline had decided to invite her into the crew. That way, the secrecy of her civilian identity could be maintained, and their organization could gain a powerful new ally. Although Yui's loyalty was unlikely to be loyal at the moment, time would slowly chip away at her anger, and the crew would be all the more stronger for it.

Despite this, Faultline would still have kicked her out of the crew and cause her to "disappear" had she not gotten along with the other members. After all, maintaining a cape organization with such a large amount of capes with extremely varied ideologies was a careful balancing act. Luckily for her, Yui got along quite well early on with Newter and Labyrinth.

With a wry smile, she recalled Newter's excitement at having a fresh face in the group. The young Case 53 always had a way of charming new members, making them feel welcome and valued. Faultline knew that Newter's lighthearted nature would likely mesh well with Yui's polite and diplomatic demeanor. She could already envision them forming a solid partnership on the field.

However, Newter developing a positive relationship with her was expected. The red-skinned cape could get along with pretty much anybody. No, what truly surprised her was Labyrinth. Even on the best of days, Labyrinth usually kept to herself and only occasionally spoke with her and Newter. However, she had surprisingly taken a liking to Yui, even allowing her to call her by name.

Faultline's gaze shifted to the packets of information about The Elite spread across her desk. She contemplated the mission she had offered Yui, aware of the potential risks involved. The Elite's rapid expansion posed a significant threat to Brockton Bay's underworld, and their alliance with Poltergeist, an independent cape, only added to the complexity of the situation.

As a mercenary leader, Faultline had to balance risks and rewards, calculating the odds of success. She knew the crew was more than capable, but The Elite presented a formidable adversary. Entrusting Yui with such a high-stakes mission was a calculated decision. While calling the entire crew would guarantee an easy victory for them against Poltergeist, they wouldn't grow. It was only through lethal combat, by using their powers in new and creative ways could they truly advance as individuals and as an organization.

Moreover, Faultline recognized the importance of testing Yui's capabilities early on. The crucible of a high-stress mission would reveal how she adapted under pressure and how well she integrated with the crew. It was a way to further evaluate Yui's potential and determine her role within the group moving forward.

With a decisive nod, Faultline leaned back in her chair. The pieces were in place, and the foundations of her plan were set in motion. She trusted that Yui would rise to the occasion, just as the rest of the crew had done time and time again.

***