Paige Mcabee''s jaw ached. Not that this was anything new. Her jaw had been aching for the better part of two months now. Apparently she was deemed too dangerous to be allowed to speak, so they'd gagged and muzzled her like a dog. She couldn't even eat food normally any more. They shoved a feeding tube through her gag and fed her sloshy gunk. It was horrible.

At first, Paige had faith the justice system would work, and she'd be let free with community service or a year or two of prison max. That was before she'd been locked in a concrete box. That was before she wasn't allowed to sit in the courtroom that would decide her fate. That was before she wasn't even allowed to consult with the lawyer who was supposed to be defending her, a civil defender she'd never met because her own lawyer could have been potentially mastered. Paige's faith in the justice system was no longer absolute. She was terrified of what would become of her now.

There was a splash of blue color in her dull gray prison cell that her eyes immediately fixed on. She couldn't turn to look at it from where she was tied down, but she knew it was there all the same. She'd memorized every inch of this cell in the months they'd held her. Anything alien was new. Paige didn't know if it was good or bad yet, but it was a break from the monotony at the very least.

"Agh! Fucking Toybox! Making useless ass tech that barely fucking works. We seriously need to renegotiate that contract." Paige heard a squeaky male's voice say from next to her. She didn't recognize the voice. She started struggling against her bindings trying to turn so she could look at the new figure.

"Ah, shit. Sorry, Ms. Mcabee. I didn't mean to scare you." the voice said. A young boy in an oversized biker jacket and a motorcycle helmet walked in front of her so she could see him. "Heya, Bad Canary! Name's Stringent. I'm with the Elite."

Paige froze. Everyone had heard of the Elite. They were a nation-spanning villainous organization that skirted the line carefully enough that the PRT hadn't declared war on them yet. What did they want with her?

"Hey, don't worry! The Elite don't want to hurt ya. I've got a proposal for ya. The way things are going in the courtroom, it looks like you're gonna get the Birdcage. That'd be a waste. Why don't you come with me instead? The Elite would love to have you."

Paige could barely think. The Birdcage? The Birdcage! Those fucks were going to put her in the Birdcage? It was an honest mistake! She didn't mean to hurt him, she just wanted him to leave her alone!

"Look, Ms. Mcabee. I ain't got a lot of time left before they bust in here and try to skewer me, so I need your answer right now."

Paige started struggling. She needed to get out of here. She didn't belong in the Birdcage. She wouldn't let them put her there.

"Is… Is that a yes? Stop struggling if you want to come with me." the teen said.

Paige immediately stopped struggling.

"Sweet. Lemme just power up this here Tinker gizmo. It's a piece of shit, but it got me in good enough I guess. Fuckin' Toybox and their monopoly on subpar equipment." the boy grumbled as he pulled a disk of metal with wires jutting out of it from his jacket. He pushed a big red button, but nothing happened. "Useless piece of crap." he grumbled, smacking the disk. There was a clunking sound and a blue energy swelled up around her. "There we go!" the boy cheered. Hold on to your skirt, Ms. Mcabee!"

The world twisted and Paige found herself lying on the beach. She could feel the sand beneath her. She could feel actual air on her face. Was she crying? Yes. Yes she was. She'd just broken out of prison with a villain, and somehow all she felt was joy.

"Thank you for your contributions, Canary."

Paige was confused. He just saved her. Why was he thanking–

Paige's world went black.

X

As Strider sent Paige's body and Grue's old costume that I borrowed for the operation to the bottom of the ocean, I looked over my shoulder at my newest spirit. The gold-hued woman stared blankly ahead, opening her mouth to sing a soothing tune at my command. The song brushed away my worries, quieted the voices, and made me feel happy. My powers were screwing with my head. Now I had a way to deal with them, albeit an unhealthy one. Maybe I should have taken some of the perks that would have made me immune to that shit. The CYOA had those, right? It didn't matter anymore. What was done was done. I had more power, and Paige Mcabee now rested at the bottom of the ocean.

I had no idea how long my cleverly crafted subterfuge and act would hold up, but if it bought me another week, I'd consider that a win. The Elite and Toybox both would deny knowing me – because they obviously didn't know me – but no one would believe them until more investigative work was done. I think I hid Strider's spirit under Paige's bed well enough, but the camera might have caught a glimpse of my 'Tinkertech' before I shoved it in my jacket. Anyone with any knowledge of electronics would realize that the disk was just a hunk of metal that I duct-taped some wires and buttons to. Then again, some tinkertech looked like that, so maybe I'd luck out.

Either way, I needed to get some powerful parahumans fast. My days as an anonymous nobody would soon be at an end. I had defense and transport covered. Now I needed to focus on some offensively devastating powers.

Pulling up the map I'd acquired in preparation for this, I summoned Strider and teleported to the outskirts of Boston. When I spent the night in the Undersiders' hideout, I used Tattletale's computer to look up everything I could find about Blasto, using her power to fill in the blanks. I was able to turn up a number of properties he used for his illicit business, but I couldn't be certain where he was. Though he wasn't my primary target. I knew exactly where Kayden Anders was staying and planned to pay her a visit.

Activating Strider's power once more, I teleported to the roof of the hotel I'd learned Kayden was staying at, quickly ducking down before any eyes or cameras could find me. Just as I expected, there was a door a short distance away. A minor application of superstrength saw the deadbolt snapped and allowed me entry. From there, it was just a matter of strutting through the building like I was supposed to be there. The staff were trained to stay out of people's way and to be as accommodating as possible, so all I had to do to fool them into thinking I was the child of one of their clients was to act like a snobby little shit. That much was easy enough to do.

I stopped on the third floor, walking up to room 312. This was it. Kayden Anders had booked this room for the full week. It was late, so she was likely back by now. I had to be careful. She wasn't expecting a fight, but that didn't mean she was defenseless. Surprise was a powerful weapon, but Purity was powerful in her own right. I had to deal with her quickly.

I burst into the room and rushed into the sleeping area. There was a freshly made bed with clean sheets, but no Kayden. There wasn't even an overnight bag. I rushed over to the bathroom to see if I passed her. The toiletries had all been replaced and the sink and shower both shined as if they'd just been cleaned.

I called up Tattletale's spirit and cursed at the information she relayed to me. The hotel room was in a state as if its tenant had just left. The staff had prepared it for the next guest, meaning Kayden must have ended her vacation early. I had no idea what might have caused her to… Did the Empire call her back? Did they tell her about what happened to her former husband and her old nazi friends? Tattletale's spirit confirmed that was the most likely scenario. She couldn't be sure if Kayden left to support the Empire or to make sure her daughter and son were safe, but she'd left for Brockton when someone called her to inform her about the deaths of Kaiser and the others.

I felt anger boil up inside me at the lost chance to claim Purity. I felt my power rising up, my spirits begging to be unleashed. Quickly, I called up Canary and had her sing to me, soothing the rage and quieting the murderous urge. Her song calmed me almost immediately. I'd made the right choice claiming her as soon as I did. With her, I wouldn't snap.

With the rage gone, I was able to look at events logically. Purity was gone. I'd missed my chance, but I would have another. With Tattletale, it would be trivial to find Kayden's home address and attack her there. For now, I needed to get out of the hotel. I wasn't quiet when I broke in, and someone would be coming to check on things soon. I could use Strider to leave Boston and return to Brockton Bay.

Strider appeared at my side and his power welled up around me. Just as he was about to pull me away, I felt an urge to go somewhere else. I was in Boston, and had plans to claim more than just Purity here. I'd failed to retrieve her, but I didn't want to leave empty handed. It was a long shot, but…

The destination of Strider's teleportation changed, transporting me to the roof of a warehouse Tattletale's power had helped me to locate the night before. This was one of four facilities I suspected Blasto to be in. I would search them all. Hopefully, I'd strike gold in one of them.

X

Rey Andino, known more popularly by his cape name Blasto, hadn't set out to be a supervillain crime lord. Despite the ramblings of the press and fears of the public, he really wasn't one. He raided certain PRT transports and corporate holdings – because screw those guys – but tried to keep to himself for the most part. If he had things his way, the establishment would leave him alone, and he would leave them alone, but that was never going to happen. He was a 'Wet Tinker'. And whenever someone heard that term, they immediately compared him to Bonesaw of the Slaughterhouse 9.

Rey didn't care to spread his influence and beat the gangs back to claim their territory as his own. He couldn't be bothered to care about what they were up to provided they left him alone to continue his work and didn't hurt the people he'd hired to work for him. Despite public perception, he had no grand designs on the city of Boston. His work was his legacy, and all he wanted was to be free to conduct it in peace.

Sadly, that would never happen. The PRT wouldn't allow him to use his gifts legally without putting a collar around his neck that constrained everything he was able to do. Either he danced to their strings as the obedient puppet they required him to be, or he would be forced to live as a villain. The subpar laboratory in the basement of a run-down warehouse Rey currently sat in showed what he thought of the PRT's puppet strings. He would rather work in poor conditions than be their slave.

"Boss!"

Rey held back a sigh. Of course, the trade off was he had to do a lot more work that took time away from his research.

"What is it?" Rey asked tiredly, setting aside the beakers and droppers he'd been transferring fluids with as he turned to Jason, a good guy he'd hired some odd months ago to handle security. The man was good at managing people, so Rey had put him in charge of overseeing his territory so he could focus on things he actually enjoyed.

"Our store houses are getting hit. I got a call from the first fifteen minutes ago and a second reported explosions a minute ago. This has to be a coordinated strike."

Rey's irritation at being interrupted was sharpened to a fine edge as he donned his persona.

"Who attacked us?" Blasto asked, pulling his lab coat and mask on as he walked out of his lab.

"We can't be sure. Richard's boys said they saw someone throwing around fire, so maybe Accord hired someone new?"

Blasto frowned. He didn't like working on so little information. He'd much rather have a binder full of information regarding his enemy's strengths and weaknesses, but he would make do.

"Get our people together. We need to–" The ceiling above him collapsed.

"Boss!" Jason dove into him, carrying him out of the path of the falling debris.

Blasto rolled with the momentum, coming to his feet as he pulled a vial from his coat pocket. Someone wanted to attack him in his lab? Fine. He would show them why Accord and the Teeth left him alone.

"Found you." an echoey voice like a dozen people speaking in unison said from in front of him. There was a small blonde boy floating in the air beneath the gaping hole in the roof of his warehouse. The kid wasn't wearing a mask, displaying his excited grin for all to see.

Blasto didn't know what this kid's deal was and didn't care. The kid broke his stuff, so he'd break the kid. He reared his hand back and lobbed the vial towards the floating boy. His aim was off, sending the vial too far right, but it didn't matter. The solution would explode and catch the kid in the radius. At least…it should have.

Moments before the vial detonated, a shadowy figure appeared next to the child and wrapped the kid in a corona of blue energy. The kid disappeared.

Blasto staggered backwards as his vial released a sickly green gas into the air, but it wasn't his vial that caused him to react like this. A cold terror flooded Blasto's veins, freezing his limbs in place. The kid… The shadow… It couldn't be…

A small hand came to rest on Blasto's shoulder from behind. The grip strength present in the small fingers was impossible.

"Welcome to my court, Blasto." a dozen voices spoke in a disjointed harmony.

Blasto's vision went black. He knew no more.