A/N: I wasn't actually expecting to get this out so soon. The entire chapter has been an exhausting exercise in frustration. Pretty much every section was started separately as I tried to get my muse to work with me, and each one stalled as well. Fortunately, the last two days seem to have let me get over that hurdle and pull this together. Fingers crossed I can continue that into the next chapter!
Also, thank you to Tys1990 and Milarqui on SpaceBattles for inspiring the second half of the PHO section. The idea was just too good not to steal and it seems to have been the final push I needed. Thanks guys!
...
Striding through the first portal open in the Skitarii muster point, Jason passed through the event horizon with the ease of long practice. Stepping out the other side he found himself exactly where he expected, half of his squad appearing behind him as he moved out of the way.
Just inside the entrance to one of the four operational Endbringer shelters in the Bay, Jason was immediately faced with the police officers who stood guard from inside the doors. Part of the entire system was having law enforcement in place to be able to calm everyone down and prevent issues inside the shelters.
The three-man team at the entrance were now pointing shaky guns in his direction. Not that it was actually a problem, what with the various armour pieces and shielding available to him. But it would be best to prevent the situation from escalating. This was exactly why all of their rifles were stowed on their backs, allowing them to keep their hands clear and for Jason to raise them to show peaceful intentions.
"Relax, gentleman. My name is Captain Green, I am part of the Skitarii and am working for Mechanicus. We're here to evacuate everyone outside the city and out of any danger." He told them in a calm tone.
Exchanging looks, the trio didn't put up their guns, but the man in charge elected to speak, so that was progress. "How the hell are you going to do that, and why the fuck should we trust you?"
"Because Leviathan is coming, and the bedrock of this city is likely to crumble if he spends too much time facing off against the defenders. Then this shelter drops into a nice new hole in the ground, along with enough water to drown it." Jason stated flatly, glaring at the cops.
Exchanging looks between themselves Jason could clearly see the doubts advance across their expressions. "This portal will take everyone outside the city, well outside the danger zone. You can test it yourself, it's two-way. Just walk through and you can see the city in the distance."
Eventually, the sergeant gave a quick signal to one of his subordinates. Swallowing noisily, the constable holstered his pistol and walked up to the portal. Glancing at Jason the man nervously asked a question with his eyes.
Smirking slightly, Jason answered the unspoken question, "Just step through, the ground is level so no need to compensate, just walk along like you're on a beat. You won't feel a thing."
Gulping again, the man closed his eyes and stepped through the portal, the glare of his immediate superior on the back of his head.
A long thirty seconds stretched as the two groups waited, the cops eyeing the interlopers suspiciously. Then the third man stumbled back through the portal and exclaimed, "They're telling the truth, I was just outside the city. They have big tents and stations set up across the area."
Finally lowering the weapons, the group stepped forward and stared at the portal. "So what are your plans? What are you after?"
Chuckling slightly, Jason stepped up beside the man to let him know the situation, "We don't want anything. The tents were taken from various places in the city, relief centres and the like. What I'd suggest is to get your people on the desks set up with computers, then get everyone moving through. Register each person and assign them a tent, the computers will let you search for missing relatives and the like. Get everything organised. We're just here as transport."
Stroking his chin, the sergeant eventually nodded and raised the radio on his vest to his mouth. Turning away from the obviously military personnel, he started speaking quietly into the radio to people further into the shelter.
Shortly after half a dozen officers turned up, leading nearly twenty other people.
Facing Captain Green, the sergeant filled him in on the plan. "Alright, these are administrators from City Hall. We'll get them to man the stations and my people will get people moving. Can you show them how the computers work?"
Nodding his head, Jason signalled two of his team who quickly waved and trotted through the portal. "We'll stay on this side to make sure no one tries anything stupid with the portal. Wood and Bailey will show your people how to work the systems. Once everyone is through the portal will be closed and we'll move on."
Nodding his head, the sergeant moved to the phone system built into the shelter and quickly began making an announcement over the PA system.
"Attention everyone, we have received visitors from the tinker Mechanicus giving us a secure evacuation point outside the city. Please start moving in a calm, orderly fashion back to the entrance. You will be sent through a portal to a staging point where you will be able to register. If are missing any family members tell the staff on the other side and they will be sent to you as soon as they are found."
The group watched as the first of the civilians, those that had been in the top-most section, started appearing to evacuate. At the sight of the black and green swirling void that was a Necron portal, they all stumbled to a stop.
Jason was initially worried that they would refuse to pass through and was desperately trying to come up with the words to get them moving. Then the tension was broken as one of the officers sent through previously walked back into the room calmly.
Barely sparing a glance at the stalled queue of people, he moved over to the sergeant and nodded, "Sir, all of the administrators are ready. We can send everyone through as soon as you're ready."
Accepting the explanation he nodded back to his officer and waved at the watching people, "Good lad, everyone is ready to head through, so lead these people on if you would."
Turning to the stalled queue, he raised his voice to be heard, "Alright folks, the portal is perfectly safe, as you just saw. My constable will be leading you through, pick a desk as soon as you get through and try not to bunch up in front of the exit. You'll be perfectly safe once you're out of here."
Exchanging nervous glances, everyone waited for someone else to be the first. Then the constable strode through without a care in the world and they began moving closer. Apparently not expecting the delay, the constable's head popped back through the portal shortly after, encouraging the front runners to come on through.
After that people started heading through with more confidence.
There were a couple of people who went to speak to the BBPD officers, but no one blatantly caused a problem.
Satisfied with the operation, Jason moved over to the sergeant. "Can you give the other shelters a call?" He queried.
At the raised eyebrow for a question, Jason explained, "We want to clear them all out, but it will be easier if they are expecting us and someone they know has vouched for everything. The sooner the shelters are clear the sooner we can search the city for anyone who didn't get inside in time."
Giving out a soft noise of realisation, the sergeant headed over to one of the walls, "We have a physical line connection system, yes. Not always reliable during an actual attack, but I should be able to ring around."
"Good, good. Don't bother with the southern shelter. Another team are already working there."
Getting a nod in reply, Jason smiled to himself as he watched over the evacuation. Surprisingly it went pretty well. No mass of panic, and hardly anyone trying to hide in the shelter to avoid the portal either.
Hopefully, Taylor would be able to pull off her plans for this attack. But even if she didn't then at least the loss of life should be minimised.
…
"What the hell were you thinking?" Legend practically shouted when they were safely in the Cauldron base.
Cleaning up after the botched confrontation with the drone of Hebert's had been a nightmare and Legend was not in the mood to indulge the egos of his co-conspirators. The uncharacteristic shouting and cursing emphasised that point.
It had taken them from early afternoon full through to evening just to get everyone out of the city, and to prevent a riot by the protectorate heroes for essentially shattering the unwritten rules. A lot of people were worried about their secret identities.
There were also people like Armsmaster and Dragon who had been hoping for a closer relationship with the overpowered tinker. Armsmaster in particular was effusive in his diatribe against the Triumvirate for ruining his efforts to establish a rapport.
Scowling at Legend, Alexandria spat back at him, "If she only had the ability to create portals we could have finally tracked her back to her base and put her to work on the true threat! At least one of us would have been quick enough to get inside before she could escape. And if she just left the drone there we had enough tinkers to backtrack the connection and find her!"
"So your plan was to assault a tinker, who might I remind you just killed an Endbringer, in her base?" Legend demanded. "Oh, well that makes it all better!"
"Don't be patronising, Keith! I know she killed Leviathan damn it, that was the entire point."
"What point, Rebecca, all I saw was us making a fool of ourselves and ruining the work other people had put in!"
"The point is that she finally needed us as much as we needed her!"
"She quite clearly doesn't need us, Becca! She's made that abundantly clear over the last few weeks!"
"She killed an Endbringer, Keith! What do you think is going to happen after that?! It won't just be governments and gangs hunting her now, it will be the fucking Simurgh! If we can get her on board we could have done something so she didn't end up like Alan fucking Gramme!"
"And what exactly could we have done, we haven't been able to do anything permanent to stop the damn things!
Sighing in frustration, Alexandria scrubbed her hands through her hair as she replied, losing a lot of the heat in her voice, "If nothing else we could have excavated her in the event of an attack. Give her more options than she has on her own."
"And that's how you chose to go about it?"
"I couldn't read her, alright? All I was thinking about was the fact that she clearly has a lot of power. If we could just get her pointed at the right enemy we could finally make some progress. And she brought city killers, three of them, to a damn fight! I had to be direct, and it's not like we could have told her straight out in the open like that."
"You think she can actually make something capable of solving our main problem?" Eidolon cut in from where he was sitting at the table, "She's had some success, sure. But he is a problem on an entirely different level."
Sharing a commiserating look with Legend, Alexandria addressed the so-called most powerful hero on Earth, "I think she's had considerable success, when she's only just getting started and while she hasn't been focused on the main threat. So, yes, I think she might be able to do something against Scion. As long as she finds out he is actually a problem and has the time to work on a solution!"
"And your method for advancing that was to threaten her?" Legend pointed out dryly.
"I wasn't trying to threaten her, just point out that we had the upper hand! Or at least I thought we did." Alexandria finished in a mutter.
Both of them ignored the huff from Eidolon as his ego got the best of him again.
"Our best bet in years is running around without any cape protection and without a clue about the real threat that she could potentially help with," Alexandria exclaimed after a few moments of silence.
Drooping as suddenly as she'd been worked up, the woman finished her thoughts, "We don't have all of the information, but we have more than anyone else. If Hebert had that information it could be the key we and she needed. Everything we'd done would have been worth it to finally make real progress on the problem."
"Well, that damn well backfired dramatically. Now we're facing a congressional hearing about the Nine and breaking the Endbringer Truce." Legend shot back.
"Oh please, neither one of those are real issues. We couldn't move against the Nine as long as Bonesaw was a threat. You know we've been trying to find a counter to her biological agents for years. We have all the evidence needed to prove that categorically. Even if we were actually planning to shove her onto another Earth when we could." Alexandria muttered back at him.
"And the Truce?" He queried
"Do you know who needs the Truce to protect them?" Eidolon snapped, cutting into the conversation again. "The villains. We need them to turn up to the fights, but they need the insurance for the rest of the year. Do you really think they would care if we snatched up a non-villain who was prepared to use lethal force? Like, for instance, a great big city-killing laser!"
Gesturing at Eidolon in a slightly annoyed manner at him talking over her, Alexandria clarified his point, "No one would have cared if we'd been successful. They'd have just breathed a sigh of relief that Hebert would finally be bound by the rules. She's too likely to kill anyone she's fights against for them to be slightly comfortable."
"Well, good luck explaining that to Congress. There's already talk of official pardons and awards. And you can bet that Canada and Japan are going to want to help her out now as well. All that confrontation did was hand her more political capital, more goodwill and more ammunition against the PRT." Sighing heavily. Legend rubbed his hand over his face for a few moments.
Looking consoling, Rebecca rattled her fingers against the table (lightly, she was Alexandria after all), before replying, "The fact that she has killed several people who didn't have a kill order will be enough to prevent any backlash. We'll parade the information we have on trying to counter the Slaughterhouse 9 across the committee. Play up the fact that we do have functional information on a number of threats we are expecting Hebert to fight, explain that such an attack could cause significant blowback and we wanted to limit that, and they'll fall in line. Politicians won't want someone with her power running around outside their control anyway."
Sighing slightly, Legend had to nod and concede the point. The average person on the street wanted to make Taylor a saint, but anyone with any power in the world was going to be looking at her with a wary and worried view.
Finally, he spoke again "I think you need to get back to your office as Chief Director. No doubt they will be going mad and your double isn't going to appreciate trying to deal with it. I need to head back to Brockton Bay and explain things to Armsmaster. He didn't take the attempt well."
Nodding to his companions. Legend requested a door high above Brockton Bay and floated through without another word. He paused on the threshold and turned to Rebecca, "I don't disagree with what you were trying to do, or why, but the way you did it is going to cause problems, Becca."
Seconds later he was through the portal and the two were alone, both thinking deeply.
Following his absence Alexandria started at the opposite wall for several long moments, quietly contemplating events.
Eidolon was glaring at the spot Legends portal hung previously, but thankfully he refrained from commenting about anything else. Alexandria wasn't sure she'd be able to stop herself from smacking him around the head given his recent moods.
Finally, she shook her head and requested a portal to the panic room off her main office. It had been kitted out to serve as almost a changing room for Alexandria. Moving towards the portal she commented, "You'd better get back to Houston as well. Legend is right that we need to deal with everything quickly."
Appearing in the panic room, Rebecca swiftly changed into her suit and out of the costume. Then it was just a case of waiting for a lull in everything to allow her to make a switch with her body double. Something that took significantly longer than changing did.
Settling behind her desk Alexandria quickly became overwhelmed with the calls coming in and the requests floating across her computer.
…
High above Brockton Bay Legend reappeared on Earth Bet and hung in the evening skies for a few moments. He'd been rushing around since the early afternoon when his companions had decided to confront Mechanicus and the chance to catch a breath was welcome.
Right now he was incredibly annoyed with the both of them. Alexandria for bulling ahead like the stereotypical flying brick her class of Capes often got called, and Eidolon for allowing his ego and need for validation to overcome him, not just today but ever since Ellisburg was wiped from the map.
Watching the setting sun, far away from any demands of queries was soothing.
Finally, he sighed and flashed forward, heading for the Protectorate base.
…
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Topic: Leviathan Dead!
In: Boards Places America Brockton Bay
Mechanicus(Original Poster) (Verified Cape)
Posted On May 15th 2011:
Glory to the Omnissiah!
On this day the Endbringer Leviathan engaged in an attack run on Brockton Bay. Unlike previous instances, however, he was met with the might of the Adeptus Mechanicus and met his end.
Yes, this is correct, Leviathan is dead. His corpse is currently littering the beach just off the Boardwalk.
With zero deaths and minimal property damage, Leviathan was unable to achieve anything other than a long overdue ending.
Aiding in the evacuation of the shelters to ensure zero collateral fatalities were my Skitarii Rangers. Normal men and women who have been brought in to work towards a better future.
Joining me in the defence of my city were my children. The AI-controlled Castigator class Titans.
Paragon of Terra
Casus Belli
Mettalum Olympus.
Photos of all three individually and, of them standing outside the city are here.
They were aided by remote-piloted Seraptek Heavy Constructs wielding Synaptic Obliterators. Which delivered the killing blow.
A Synaptic Obliterator works by tearing apart molecular bonds inside a target, thereby completely bypassing the toughness of the monster.
He will not be returning. He will not be causing any more harm.
You are welcome.
Mechanicus Out.
(Showing Page 94 of 382)
barkour
Replied on May 15th, 2011:
Jesus. Leviathan is dead? Like, really dead?
Anyone confirmed this?
► Aloha
Replied on May 15th, 2011:
YES! One motherfucker down, hopefully, more to go!
► LightningBug
Replied on May 15th, 2011:
Thank you, Mechanicus!
All praise the fucking Omnissiah if this is the result!
► DrekBuilding
Replied on May 15th, 2011:
Oh man, the parties after this one are going to be utterly epic! Time to raise a pint.
To Mechanicus and the end of those damn things!
► Reave (Verified PRT Agent)
Replied on May 15th, 2011:
I can, most happily, confirm that Leviathan is dead. The PRT has already begun rendering down his corpse both to get it out of the way, and for study.
Unlike most Endbringer fights I have been given permission to release video of the event, considering there were no fatalities among the defenders. The PR team have put together a number of camera views from some of the attending capes, and from our own surveillance system where you can see the three Titans mentioned by Mechanicus.
We also have her team to thank, as they swiftly and efficiently evacuated all civilians who were potentially in danger and got them out of the city. Including a number that didn't reach the shelters and would have been in danger.
Thanks to the shield generators utilised in the attack the damage to the city is minimal as well, for these kinds of things. Most people are moving back into their homes, although we do still have a number of safety inspections to perform, and some of the office buildings in the city centre will need to be rebuilt.
On a personal note, I just wanted to say how pleased I am with the fact that I didn't lose any friends. Thanks, Mechanicus!
► Brocktonite03 (Veteran Member)
Replied on May 15th, 2011:
Can confirm! I'm already at home with power, water and everything else working. Had a bit of an issue with mud in the front yard because of the rain. But considering that's literally my only issue after Leviathan came to town? Small fries.
Also, thanks to Captain Green of the Skitarii, who was in charge of evacuating the shelter I was in. Heard afterwards that it was too close to the fighting and would likely have cracked and flooded if Leviathan worked as usual.
I heard the roar of Casus Belli even across the city. That thing (him/her/it?) was pissed at the attack. Mechanicus showed that bastard what a true Brocktonite is made of though!
► EvelynEverywhere
Replied on May 15th, 2011:
God damn! What a way to wake up today. Oceans are finally free!
► LacyUnderwear
Replied on May 15th, 2011:
EvelynEverywhere Damn straight! Ocean traffic is going to pick up again for sure with that bastard dead. And the best part is that the Boat Graveyard was destroyed in the attack. There's some damage to the docks, but we can fix that easily enough.
► cloud08
Replied on May 15th, 2011:
One more notch in the gun belt for Mechanicus, one giant leap for consumerism!
► Arcee (Veteran Member) (Not an Autobot)
Replied on May 15th, 2011:
What I want to know is where and how she made those Titans!
What gender do they identify as? Do they have one at all? Please tell me at least one of them is female! If not, how do you feel about making a smaller female AI robot?
The world needs Arcee!
Now viewing page 134 of 504…
► BadSamurai
Replied on May 17th, 2011:
Look, I'm not trying to accuse anyone or anything, all I'm asking is how on Earth Mechanicus managed to make three giant robots without anyone having a clue where she is?
It's weird. The amount of resources each one of those would need is ridiculous. Even if she's in a location where she can get those herself, someone must have noticed huge metal mines in some capacity!
► Deimos
Replied on May 17th, 2011:
That's true, actually. Those things are taller than all of the buildings in the Bay. If Mechanicus was anywhere in the city someone would have noticed something before now.
► XxVoid_CowboyxX
Replied on May 17th, 2011:
Maybe she's got a moon base!
Think about it, she said she was leaving the city. No one has been able to find her as far as we know, but she knows everything that's going on!
Could easily do that from orbit and be protected!
It makes sense, guys!
► Procto the Unfortunate Tinker (Not a Tinker)
Replied on May 17th, 2011:
Void_Cowboy, No, no it doesn't. Just like most of the ideas you manage to come up with.
I'm just super impressed she managed to create a fully functional AI. I mean, given their reactions they obviously have personalities.
Oh, that might actually explain her powers. Maybe she's an AI tinker and they are creating the advanced tech?
► Bagrat (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)
Replied on May 17th, 2011:
Procto the Unfortunate Tinker, A possible explanation Procto, but I don't think it's likely. During her first days Mechanicus didn't really have any bulky gear that would allow an AI to tag along. And nothing was found at her home that would allow them to live.
Even with TinkerTech you'd need somewhere to create an AI, and that wouldn't be portable I think.
► MZenny
Replied on May 17th, 2011:
Whatever specialisation she has she sure is taking it far! Leviathan, S9, Nilbog…. What the hell is next after that?
► GStringGirl
Replied on May 17th, 2011:
Mechanicus is really cleaning up America. And there are two more Endbringers?
No way is Mechanicus going to leave them alone!
► AverageAlexandros (Cape Husband)
Replied on May 17th, 2011:
Whatever and however she did it, I'm just glad she stopped Leviathan. My husband went to that fight, and more in the past. Every time I had to worry he wouldn't make it. Now I can be glad he came home unhurt, and have hope that he won't have to face it again.
Thanks, Mechanicus!
► LightningBug
Replied on May 17th, 2011:
Hell yeah, can't wait to see the great feathery bitch get what's coming to her!
Plenty of time before the next attack though. Wonder who else is being targeted by our new overlady?
► Judge (Moderator)
Replied on May 17th, 2011:
Alright, let me put a pin in this before it even starts. No encouraging anyone to kill someone else. I don't care about the reasons we are not getting into that.
That said, thank you again, Mechanicus. The idea that even one of those monsters is gone is enough to make me feel better.
► Mechanicus(Original Poster) (Verified Cape)
Replied on May 17th, 2011:
I understood that, historically, footage of Endbringer fights was not posted online.
Clearly, such an issue is not relevant when there were no fatalities.
As such, I have uploaded some footage I took during the event. This is mostly from Paragon of Terra.
After some discussion, I have also decided to answer some of the questions that have been raised here.
All three Titans have chosen a gender. Paragon of Terra and Mettalum Olympus identify as male, and Casus Belli is female. Please use those pronouns if referring to or addressing them.
The drones are not AI-controlled. There is a rudimentary intelligence to allow them to complete tasks, but they are reliant on their controller to direct them.
I will not comment on any ongoing or possible operations. I will not endanger my men by warning anyone that they are coming.
Entrance into the Skitarii is by invitation. It requires a certain level of mental fortitude, experience and will that most people won't have needed to develop. Trying to turn the average person into a Skitarii would be dangerous. If you qualify, and we need you, we'll be in contact.
Mechanicus out.
…
Topic: Mechanicus - Lone Wolf or Mystery Group Rep?
In: Boards Places America Brockton Bay Speculation
Milarqui(Original Poster)
Posted On May 18th 2011:
Alright, hear me out for a moment.
We've all heard of Mechanicus, the wonder Tinker who has managed to not only single-handedly stop an Endbringer attack, but actually managed to kill one.
Outed before she could even get set up, Mechanicus had to forge out alone before escaping the gangs, PRT and city without any help.
Or did she?!
Now, we all know Tinkers are bullshit. Able to produce anything as long as they can twist their thinking to work towards their specialisations, but imo, Mechanicus is taking that a bit far.
Beam weapons, swarm drones, skyscraper-sized robots? Portals and teleportation?! This is just getting ridiculous.
And that got me thinking. What if Mechanicus isn't working on her own? What if there were more Tinkers in the background and she was recruited by them, or she found them before she was outed?
While Taylor is being hunted the rest of them are setting up the base she could escape to, and, because she's already public, Taylor becomes the face of the team Mechanicus.
It makes sense, right? When would she have even had time to create a fall-back point while avoiding the gangs at the start?
And two different types of teleportation? That's not normal. Even if a Tinker could come up with a method, that would be it.
I reckon that means she has a team helping her. And she basically admits it half the time! She goes around saying she is a representative of the Adeptus Mechanicus or part of it. How more blatant can you get?
No way a single, teenaged, tinker could manage as much as she could without some serious help.
What do you guys think?
► liquidsnake
Replied on May 18th, 2011:
So, what, you think there are a bunch of really powerful tinkers grouped up. And not only does no one have a clue who they are, but there's never been a hint of similar tech before Taylor was outed.
Get real.
No cape would have managed to stay under the radar for so long without revealing themselves at some point. We'd have seen similar tech somewhere before Mechanicus (the person) started using that stuff.
Plus, TinkerTech is pretty notorious for breaking when it isn't in the hands of the original Tinker.
► BadSamurai
Replied on May 18th, 2011:
I think you're looking waaaay too deeply into this.
Occam's Razor, mate. Mechanicus is just a ridiculously talented and powerful Tinker with the right specialisation.
Is she was part of a team then she wouldn't have had to run around the city hiding from the gangs for two days. And why steal all those supplies if there were people with those kinds of resources in the background helping?
► SafeAtHome (Tinfoil Terror)
Replied on May 18th, 2011:
Actually, that makes a lot of sense!
I mean, she was outed for attacking a Ward. Maybe the rest of the tinkers were deciding if she would be allowed to stay in the team?
No one wants the stigma of being attached to someone who was accused of trying to kill a Ward like Taylor was. At least before the truth came out!
► Aloha
Replied on May 18th, 2011:
That just makes it worse! If she was already part of the team then she would have had to be in contact with them. She would have surely been able to show them the truth. And she was still running then the evidence was posted and the PRT realised what SS had done.
Doesn't hold up, mate.
► XxVoid_CowboyxX
Replied on May 18th, 2011:
But! Taylor getting outed was really unexpected, maybe the team just didn't have somewhere for her to go?
I mean, she's obviously good, but avoiding every cape in the city when she only started with a taser? That's unlikely!
► SpaceWizzard
Replied on May 18th, 2011:
You're ignoring the fact that if there was a team, and they were capable of helping her avoid the PRT and gangs, they must have had somewhere to do that from. This means there is still no reason for Mechancius to run around the city for two days.
And you're still ignoring the fact that we've never seen a hint of similar technology before.
Capes are not subtle and secretive. At least one of these imaginary people would have already tried to go it on their own and failed before they started looking for comrades.
► Milarqui (Original Poster)
Replied on May 18th, 2011:
Yeah, that's a good point, but it's also easy to overcome.
All they need is a tinker capable of adding extra effects or visuals to the tech of the others! You don't need multiple Tinkers to have hidden themselves away, you just need one Tinker that needs to work with others to be effective.
And, hey, with the number of capes in the Bay, a couple of tinkers keeping quiet is actually more likely than most of the weird shit that happens there.
► Brocktonite03 (Veteran Member)
Replied on May 18th, 2011:
Hey, I resent that implication!
Even if it is accurate.
That said, the sheer number of capes in the city means it's even more unlikely for someone to slip under the radar. Too many people are paying attention to any possible trigger event, and to all of the avenues a Tinker might start working or getting materials.
The government is the slowest, but most extensive.
And that actually makes things worse that she hasn't been found!
The resources needed to create everything we've seen so far are ridiculous, but so would hosting a group of people for months at a time.
…
"Our world is changing."
Those were the first words spoken since the meeting began. All the capes of the Empire 88 were gathered in the boardroom of Medhall. Given that they were only two days post Leviathan, the fact that they could even stay within the city was fairly miraculous.
The fact that none of the windows were even broken, the utilities were still working, and the building had no water damage was mind-boggling. And from the large windows beside them, all of the capes could see the corpse of the Endbringer still motionless on the shore. Technicians and scientists were gathered around the thing now, starting their analysis to see just what they could discover, and if it could lead to killing more of the creatures.
From his seat, Brad Meadows, otherwise known as Hookwolf, was only partially paying attention to Kaiser. Most of his focus was on the Endbringer and the huge gap in its lower torso where the weapons of Mechanicus had punched through and finally killed it.
He guessed he should think himself lucky that the only long-term consequence of his run-in with the girl was a few weeks of being unable to manifest his power. The return had been slow, but he was now back to full strength. Just in time for it to be meaningless apparently.
"The signs have been there. We've had warnings before this latest signal, but we can no longer ignore the realities of the situation."
Returning his gaze to Kaiser, Brad observed the man who led them all. To anyone without the ability to judge and read an opponent quickly he'd developed in the fighting rings, or to anyone who didn't know him well, Kaiser would still look much as he always had. Arrogant, confident and in control.
To those closest to him, the situation was not quite so clear-cut.
With the demise of Lung and the complete destruction of the ABB at the hands of Mechanicus, the Empire had expected to move into much of the abandoned territory. And they had made gains, certainly. But nothing like the clean sweep the gang had originally expected.
As much as everyone would like to blame that on the advances of Coil, the Travellers and the Merchants, the truth of the matter was very different. Fear had prevented the Empire capes from striking down everyone who opposed them. Fear of Mechanicus making another appearance and pulling some new bullshit out of her portals.
Thanks to Victor's stolen analysis skills they were aware that Hebert had intervened in the Lung situation only because of the threat to the nearby civilians. That meant that all of their engagements had to be planned and thought about much more than they were used to. Getting goaded into ploughing through apartment buildings became a good method of inviting a new and unusual defeat at the hands of the missing teenager.
It was a reality much more apparent to those of the gang that were normally on the streets. Hookwolf and his team members had been faced with this change in position for longer than the rest of the capes, but it seemed that now was the tipping point for everyone else. Hence their current meeting.
Given this was being held in the Medhall building, they were all in suits and smart office wear. Kaiser was careful to keep any ties between the two groups completely hidden, so there were no masks or obstacles preventing Bard from observing everyone.
The skills he developed during his time in the fighting rings had served him well in the Empire, and they continued that now. Despite all of them supposedly being on the same side, there were definite fractures in the gang becoming more apparent each day.
The most obvious of that was in the Valkyrie twins. Before the beautiful duo had always been flanking Kaiser. Dressed up in sophisticated dresses and with expertly applied make-up and accoutrements, they were essentially relegated to arm candy.
In any fight, they were always at Kaiser's side, always enforcing his will. But the destruction of whatever hold Kaiser had over Purity and the twins following Hebert's exit from the city had put a complete stop to that.
They were still with the gang, although Brad now knew for certain that they didn't truly believe in the white supremacy cause. But they were not sleeping with Kaiser any more, and no longer were they in pretty bauble dresses.
Indeed, they were no longer anything like as identical either. Kaiser had apparently forced them to keep their appearances as similar as possible. Now Menja was wearing her hair in ponytails most of the time and had taken to wearing pantsuits in dark colours. Fenja had cut her hair into a bob and was now wearing skirt suits. Neither one appeared to like dresses, funnily enough.
And those were only the obvious differences. Krieg was occasionally staring at Kaiser in a calculating manner when he thought no one would notice. Victor spent most of his time worrying and fawning over his wife more and more. Cricket and Stormtiger were much more reluctant to interact with the rest of the gang, preferring Hookwolf to give them orders.
Frankly, the politics of the current era were pissing Brad off. He hadn't joined the Empire to play dysfunctional families. He'd joined for the strength and the fights.
And now that strength was being whittled away, the ability of the Empire to project itself across the city was crippled, and it was showing serious cracks in the façade.
"The looming spectre that threatens our way of life is dangerous, and she has managed the unprecedented. But she is not everywhere. You cannot eliminate crime completely, you cannot limit man, and we will overcome this."
Case in point, Kaiser and his speech. Usually, the smooth-talking bastard was the centre of attention. Holding the focus of his people and igniting their passions was the norm for the silver-tongued leader.
Right now it just sounded like so much waffle. Rather than inspiring, it was talking for the sake of talking. Trying to make himself look in control and unaffected by the changes in their lives. It was honestly annoying Hookwolf something fierce.
Fortunately for the cohesion of the group, his boredom was higher than his rising temper. So, leaning on his hand with one elbow on the desk he pretended to pay attention rather than cause a fuss.
"But we can overcome this. We are facing a handicap, but the streets have always been ours. Will continue to be ours."
Idly, Hookwolf wondered if Kaiser actually believed his own words. Either using overwhelming firepower, highly advanced tech, or just more subtle means, Hebert had proven the Empire wasn't the slightest threat to her.
Honestly, Hookwolf was about done with the whole thing. He'd joined the Empire for protection and strength. He didn't give a damn about where someone came from or what they looked like, how strong they were was all that mattered.
Struck by a sudden thought, Hookwolf wondered whether it was time to break off from the Empire and start his own gang. It was something he'd considered in the past, but Kaiser was a strong leader, able to control the narrative and keep everyone in line. With the entire gang unified they could present a lot more strength than Brad could alone.
Now? There was potential in going it alone. Less of the targeting of worthless people because of their minority, more focus on a warrior code and having strong members. Where was the honour in beating up some old man or weak teenagers because they were black?
No, much better to fight someone that would hit back.
As Kaiser carried on talking, Brad started planning what he would need to break away from the Empire.
The main thing would be money. Most of his inner circle of unpowered men would stick with him as long as they could keep putting on fights. But a lot would want to maintain their standard of living, and that meant money.
Drugs were the obvious answer, but Kaiser centralised a lot of the production as a form of control. He'd need to find out more about that, but afterwards?
Now he just needed a name.
…
Most people, when told to imagine a room where the hidden leaders of a nation would meet, would imagine a hidden room. Accessible only via elaborate means via elevators and guard posts, it would be deep below some fortress. Inside, would be a large round table, chairs hidden in shadows and secrets. Perhaps there would be screens for distant members to weigh in, or for secret information to be displayed.
There would be signs of the opulent lifestyle these hidden masterminds enjoyed via their control of the lives of the citizens under them. Indicators of their choice of government would be obvious, like the Gesellschaft and Nazi symbols, they just went together.
This room was nothing like that.
Sitting high in the compound of the Chinese Communist Party, the room was bright, airy and open. Large windows gave magnificent views of Beijing and the Forbidden Palace nearby. Opulent curtains could be drawn over decorated glass, but whenever the weather permitted these were open to allow fresh air inside.
Running down the middle of the room was a large, warm brown, wooden table which was partially covered in a tablecloth. Traditional seats were arrayed along its length, with a slightly more ornate chair at the head, and no seat at the foot.
Place settings were perfectly aligned with decorative name cards for each person attending.
After all, it wasn't like this was an actual hidden cabal running China. They were the leaders of the government and were completely public with their rule.
Filing in, the various public and private cabinet members entered sedately and headed for their spots. Long experience allowed them to quickly identify the current pecking order and find their place.
There was no talking from anyone as soon as they entered the room, just a focused tone of hard thoughts. Everyone knew why they were here. The need to address the biggest threat their nation had ever faced was very real and they would certainly need to work together to have any chance of coming up with a solution.
Standing at attention along the back of the room, in sight of the leader, were a number of individuals who would be important to the discussions, waiting at the pleasure of their betters.
Finally, once the nearly forty individuals were settled the largest double doors opened and two of the elite guardsmen entered, checking the room over. As soon as a signal was given to the guards outside, the current leader of the nation entered the room and made the short journey to his seat at the head of the table.
The rest of the group had stood out of respect as he entered the room and they waited until their leader sat and nodded before reclaiming their seats.
Surveying his people for a few moments, the leader quickly got to the point. "We all know what we are here for today. The cape known as Mechanicus is a threat to our nation. She must be brought into compliance, or removed entirely. First of all, what progress have we made in finding her?"
One of the military commanders on his left stirred and leaned forward to report, "The sensors provided by the Americans have now been checked, built and deployed. So far no alarms have sounded, so she is unlikely to have entered our borders. However, we have not been able to do anything to narrow down her location either."
Speaking directly to the military officer, one of the intelligence branches queried him before he could continue, "What has been done to try and find her?"
"Our Thinkers have been working on the problem since her more explosive announcement. Initial attempts were made to narrow down her location inside America, but after that produced no results we attempted looking further afield, but the Thinkers were unable to find anything."
An economics minister, normally only included in internal decisions, raised a point at that, "What about tracing funds? The amount of materials required for the constructions already showcased is significant. Surely we can trace that to aid our search?"
Glancing at another intelligence officer, this one part of an economics division, the Prime Minister queried him with a blank look. "Sitting up straighter under the scrutiny the man quickly reviewed a tablet computer as he answered. "While we haven't been specifically looking in such a manner, we do, as you may be aware, monitor global trends as closely as we can. Nothing has been identified which could lead to the movement of materials required. There has been a slight uptick in materials heading to South Korea, but the rise of a new car manufacturer was identified as the reason. The resources were tracked to their facility, so it is unlikely this would be a viable location."
Looking back up from his tablet, the man concluded, "We will increase our efforts on tracking such resources, but so far we have seen no sign that might indicate unusual movements."
Inclining his head, the Prime Minister accepted the explanation and authorised the increased scrutiny of raw materials implied in it.
Glancing back at the original military commander, he got the meeting back on track.
"Our next move is to try and trace the subordinates she has gained. We have names for several of the squad leaders due to their actions in Brockton Bay, I would like some intelligence assets to review the case. We are confident that with sufficient time to prepare we can use a profile of people she is hiring and we will be able to insert an agent into her organisation."
Leaning forward, a second military commander further down the table addressed his superior, "Have the precog's been able to estimate chances of success?"
"No," came the clipped response. "As with all of our Thinker's they have been unable to aid us against Mechanicus."
Grimaces came across the faces of most of those in attendance at that, a few sending scathing glares to the three capes that stood against the far wall. Those three betrayed not a single thought, their minds hardwired to be a tool of the state.
Letting through a slight frown, the Prime Minister prepared to rein in the various officials once again. Now wasn't the time for internal bickering, they needed to ensure that Mechanicus could never threaten the safety of their nation, or allow other unstable individuals with powers to attempt to subjugate others within her borders.
However, he didn't get the chance to say anything, merely raise his hand to silence everyone else, before the situation changed. From above in the high ceilinged roof four devices dropped. Each one was a white tear-drop shape, the sharper end pointing down and a secondary orb at the top. Spaced equally around the room they dropped onto the edges of the table and despite not actually damaging it, stayed upright.
Everyone in the room flinched, the guards flinging themselves forward to get to the devices and try and stop anything that might happen. The Prime Minister felt two hands on his shoulders as his own guards moved to evacuate him just as the devices beeped in tandem. Moments later no-one in the room knew anything but the sensations of heat before even that ended.
…
Outside the small floor the meeting room occupied, screams and shouts sounded as a boom erupted from within the room. Civilians on the grounds panicked and ran as a bloom of blue fire roared out of the windows, the concussive force shattering glass across the buildings and showering fragments below.
Soldiers charged towards the hot zone, hoping against hope that they would be in time and that the entirety of the upper echelons of the government weren't dead. None of them took the least bit of notice of the sub-human help.
With Null, One and Two all dead the brainwashing each member of the Yangban had been subjected to came to an abrupt and instant end. Freed inside their minds those people instantly recognised a chance to escape the country and moved with a will and purpose to get out.
Others preferred to revisit the indignities suffered back against their perpetrators, turning to attack the staff members in their facility, adding to the chaos in the city.
A few truly diehard members of the group opposed them, but between trying to stop fleeing capes and fighting those determined to vent their wrath they were quickly overwhelmed.
Fortunately for the civilians in Beijing, the Yangban facility was outside of the city limits, initially to ensure none of the sub-human denizens corrupted the population. This time it aided the escaping capes as the army was much more focused on responding to the huge emergency within the government.
…
Everything was going wrong.
From being nearly unopposed in his domain, twitching strings and sending his opponents chasing the threads he chose, he'd fallen to the wayside as the irrelevance he'd spent so much time ensuring people thought of him as.
Coil had not had a good day in quite some time at this point.
When the PRT inexplicably became aware of some interference in their networks they'd responded with a fervour and fury not seen for many years. Armsmaster even pulled in Dragon of all people!
Together, the veteran Tinkers had ripped the internal systems apart and found every bug, splice, incorrect connections and more. While there were still potential sabotage points within the PRT headquarters, everything else has been found. The Rig, the hardest place he'd had to bug, was now completely clean of his invisible fingers.
With the reveal of how dangerous he could be the PRT had been much more focused on him than previously. Something not helped by the removal of Lung and the entire ABB cape roster by Mechanicus.
Nor by the fact that the Empire had not, as previously expected, attempted to expand into their previous territory and tie up hero resources there. In fact, they'd been downright quiet other than a few rallies.
He'd been planning on allowing the Undersiders to gain notoriety and power to further his upcoming plans by fighting and beating Lung. It would have allowed him to set them up as warlords and act as a smokescreen for his true control. Instead, they'd been beaten handily until some kind of demented mechanical spider had solved the problem.
Added to this annoyance was the fact that any alternative plan to capture Dinah Alcott had resulted in a blood bath. The times when swarms of scarabs scoured his base down to the bedrock and slaughtered everyone inside were the most pleasant reaction to his attempts.
Those timelines where portals had opened and resulted in nothing but darkness were far, far worse, keeping him up at night with terror-induced dreams of what it might mean.
Still, things hadn't been a total disaster. The Alcott chit had completely avoided the PRT, so she was still up for grabs. At the same time, he'd managed to negotiate the services of the Travellers from Accord, giving him a powerful team that had the reputation he needed to operate from the shadows.
His repurposed Endbringer base had been easy to alter to contain Noelle, and with her reliant on him to prevent her from killing someone he had all the leverage he needed.
Directing the rest of the Travellers he'd been able to use them to secure a decent amount of territory previously owned by the ABB.
It wasn't a situation he was pleased with, overall. He'd only wanted his patsies to start taking over territory so openly after he was in control of both sides of the Bay. But the collapse of the ABB had necessitated he accelerate his plans.
Now, overstretched and under much more scrutiny from the PRT, he was starting to feel the issues piling up.
And on top of all of those issues, his main source of funds, Fortress Construction, was now facing an uncertain future. Their main source of income was the construction of Endbringer shelters. With one of those monsters finally being killed it led to speculation that Mechanicus could pull off the same thing two more times, and render his entire business obsolete.
Already the share price was falling, not in a crash, but definite overtones of worry from investors.
That meant that as much as he would like to take advantage of events in the city he needed to spend just as much time sorting out the company and its future.
There was also the uncertainty of the Endbringer Truce. The fact was that so many excesses performed by villainous capes were ignored purely because they needed every body they could when the next attack came.
Hookwolf, for instance, was absolutely guilty of multiple murders. Before Capes and the Endbringers came on the scene he would have been subject to a massive man-hunt. Now he was just another statistic.
The same was true of Skidmark, given the extent of his drug operation, and Lung due to the number of girls his gang had kidnapped.
But with the possible end of the monsters themselves, would the Endbringer truce come to an end, and what would that mean for any villainous cape?
It was a tricky situation, because villains outnumbered the heroes drastically, so even if the Truce was abandoned, it could mean a lot of people died as villainous capes abandoned all restraint, and heroes operated under government restrictions. Not that Coil gave a damn about how many people died, but he couldn't very well rule over a pile of ash and corpses.
His own base had been tested against numerous assaults prompted by Coil in alternative timelines, so he knew exactly how much damage they could do, and how to work around them.
However, if he became a top priority it could mean capes from across the country getting drafted in. There was very little his men could do if, for instance, Alexandria ripped down the doors and attacked. Or even worse, if Cauldron decided he was a liability and sent her to silence him.
But, even in the current climate, there was opportunity to be had. The incompetence of the Protectorate and PRT, the bull-headed attempt to recruit Mechanicus and the inability of the villains to operate in the open were all potential fuel for his ascension.
After all, no one operated better in the shadows than Coil.
A/N: There were a lot of people who had issues with the way the Trio confronted Taylor in the last chapter. And, honestly, I didn't intend it to come across as that harsh, but I'm not going to go back and soften it up, so hopefully their section here explains things a bit.