Author's Note: For anyone interested, there are three advance chapters for Thunder of the Gods available on my : p-atreon/ SkySage24
"We are going to take advantage of the Empire's humiliation-"
"We need to rescue Hookwolf before he can reach the Birdcage-"
"The new cape humiliated us, there must be retribution."
"This is the plan for the attack…"
"We need to figure out where the PRT is getting its information…"
Danny Hebert opened his eyes, wincing slightly at the headache he had.
The office he was sitting in was plain and simple. There was a metal desk, a computer, and a wheeled chair, in which he was sitting. There was a shelf lined with a few books that he never bothered to read.
It could have been the office of any office worker anywhere in the world.
But the work he did here was much different from that.
Reaching out, Danny started the computer and began typing out his latest report.
Nearly a year ago, he had…triggered, as his bosses called it. He had discovered he was a parahuman and that something had pushed him over the edge, granted him powers that he had once felt were too fantastical to really grasp, despite living in Brockton Bay for years. Even now, he still couldn't quite connect the idea of the superheroes and supervillains with his own existence.
It didn't help that the powers came so suddenly.
Danny still wasn't sure what the cause of it had been. Losing Annette? The fear that he would fail his daughter? The ever-mounting problems for the Dockworkers Union?
Maybe all at once.
In any case, his new powers had been a shock at first, messing with his perspective on things. For a bit, he wondered if he was actually going crazy, and what that would mean for Taylor.
That fear didn't last long, as eventually he understood what was happening and began to explore them.
A combination of Thinker/Master powers, as the PRT described them. Put simply, Danny could control up to two dozen insects, birds, or rodents of any kind at a given time, more if he pushed himself. He could direct them to go anywhere and make them do anything.
More importantly, Danny could see through their eyes and ears. Whatever they saw and heard, he also did, as if he was sitting right there.
It wasn't a power that was very good for combat, since Danny could control so few at a time, even when he strained himself. It wasn't always pleasant either. Danny had more than once caught sensations he would very much have preferred to avoid, especially in the early stages when he had still been having trouble controlling his…familiars.
But for recon and intelligence gathering? It was very, very good. Especially since he hadn't discovered a limit to his range yet. His little 'agents' had gone as far as the city limits, and Danny had never felt any strain whatsoever.
He couldn't fight villains or even ordinary criminals in the field, but he could do some good. The PRT had been eager to take advantage of it when he went to them for help, having him spy on all of the city's significant gangs and crime syndicates, covertly gathering information for them to use against them.
Which had been easier said than done, considering how much ground he had to cover, and the smarter groups knew better than to stay in one place. Some even had ways of noticing his agents, or at least that they were being spied on somehow, and would flee.
The information that Danny had gathered had led to more than a few raids and crackdowns on organized crime in the city. It drove the various gangs nuts, trying to figure out where precisely the PRT was getting its information, but they had been very, very careful to keep his name and abilities under wraps. As far as most of the world was concerned, Danny Hebert was a simple office drone in the PRT, filing paperwork and doing nothing else.
Danny could empathize with the criminals in this case, regarding frustration at the least. He hated what they and the corrupt officials of the city, and felt so powerless and inept sitting here doing nothing but fake paperwork.
Director Piggot had at least shown she had fast tracked his application to Watchdog, the group of heroes who tackled systemic injustice and corruption. If he was accepted they would grant him access to funding, information, and prioritize cases he built against politicians in the city.
Director Piggot had bluntly stated to not get his hopes up, however. Watchdog was a tangled knot with layers of inspections and overwatch. They were likely spying on him even now, making sure he didn't step out of line in a way that made him look compromised or untrustworthy.
More rules and guidelines in place, keeping him caged. He at least respected the woman's honesty, in that regard.
Finishing typing out his report, Danny sent it to Director Piggot. She'd decide what to do about the Empire's plan to break Hookwolf out before he could be sent to the Birdcage.
The Protectorate would probably lay a trap for the Empire. Danny hoped it would help, at the least.
Hookwolf was a slaving, murderous bastard of a Nazi who had hurt a lot of people, and he deserved to go to the Birdcage for what he had done.
Standing up, Danny stretched his arms, shaking off some of the stiffness he had felt. Time for some coffee.
Leaving his office, Danny made his way towards the small private kitchen in the Protectorate Headquarters. It still amazed him, sometimes, to walk through the gleaming halls of the refitted oil rig. It was like something out of a sci-fi series, with gleaming silver and chrome everywhere, automatic doors, and security scanners.
The kitchen was more ordinary-looking but still well-equipped. It was easily as large as the entire lower floor of Danny's house, equipped with a large fridge, a gas range, and most importantly, an expensive coffee maker.
One of the benefits of working for the Protectorate was that they had damn good coffee, Danny mused as he started up the coffee maker.
Filling his mug and taking a sip, Danny turned around just in time to see Armsmaster, Colin, enter the kitchen.
It still felt strange to think of the leader of the Protectorate ENE as a colleague, by his first name, but that was what he was now. He was a man who was in many way's Danny's opposite; muscular, with a strong jaw, a full head of hair, and an almost constant air of business attitude.
Even when Danny had officially joined, it had been a cordial affair, guiding him through the necessary do's and don'ts of the workplace before scanning him with some glowing piece of technology.
Not that he wasn't nice or polite, but Danny often wondered if there had been any time that Colin wasn't thinking of work.
Not that I'm any better.
"Oversight," The taller man nodded as he opened the fridge and began assembling his lunch. "Good afternoon."
"Afternoon," Danny nodded as the machine finished his coffee and he began pouring it into a cup. The name 'Oversight' still didn't feel real, didn't feel like him, but it was the codename that Protectorate had given him. "You see my report?"
"I did," Colin nodded. "Director Piggot and I have a meeting scheduled for later today, we'll work out a plan then."
"Glad to hear it."
"I noticed you didn't mention the new cape in your report," Colin noted. "Nothing much on her yet?"
Danny shook his head, taking a sip of coffee, feeling the warm liquid settle on his tongue and go down his throat. "Nope. She just did her usual thing, helping people around the city before vanishing. Never sticks around one place for long. Flies faster than my agents can keep up with."
Armsmaster let out a huff as he sat down at the kitchen table. "We need to find a way to recruit her. It would be good to finally have another heavy hitter on the team, especially one who can take down Hookwolf without so much as taking a scratch."
"It really would." Danny agreed.
Not that he was an expert on strategy, but having talked to both Armsmaster and Miss Militia frequently for a year, one of the biggest weaknesses of the Protectorate ENE team was the lack of a powerful Brute.
Armsmaster and Miss Militia brought some serious firepower to the table, but there wasn't anyone among the local heroes who could take a lot of big hits and keep standing. Assault and Battery were strong and tough, but not impossible to overcome. Dauntless had his forcefield, but not much offensive power, at least until his power grew more. Aegis and Triumph were with the Wards for now, which had some limitations on what they could do.
It had made dealing with the likes of Lung and the Empire's huge numbers difficult, because getting up close wasn't a viable tactic most of the time when their own personal tanks came onto the field.
Not that the heroes were weak by any stretch of the imagination. He had seen Armsmaster make absolute fools of the giant twins after all. But they needed a powerhouse.
Having a hero that could get up close and personal with the villains, and act as a shield for the rest of the team on top of that… would help a lot, make the eternal fight against Brockton Bay's many gangs less lopsided.
Unfortunately, the city's newest cape had so far declined to join the team, spending most of her time doing her own thing.
Not that that was necessarily bad. She had saved Emma, after all.
Danny still felt a wave of relief at the thought. Emma had been like a niece to him for a long time, and Alan was one of his closest friends. The idea of what could have happened to them if the new cape hadn't intervened was too terrifying to consider.
It made Danny wonder if he should use his…familiars to keep track of his friends, to keep track of Taylor, but he knew that was crossing the line into stalking/paranoia. Besides, it could strain his time and resources to push himself that far.
In the end, he had settled for just having one familiar watching his house, but the nagging feeling that he could do more had never really gone away.
"Strange that she doesn't wear a mask, though." Danny mused, thinking about the New Wave team's claim to fame in the city. "Or that nobody'sused it track her down yet." Not just the PRT, Danny knew the Empire had been hunting for her, but they had made no progress locating the cape despite the fact that she hadn't made any real effort to conceal her face.
"It is strange," Colin agreed. "The PRT at least is making efforts to not look too deeply into her identity. Too many potential issues, but the lack of known reprisal from others is telling. Could be that she was like Challenger, wearing a disguise as a civilian, instead of a cape. Might be some kind of Stranger effect, we'll have to look into it." He stood, depositing his now empty plate into the sink. "But I should go, I have a patrol soon. I'll see you later, Oversight."
"Good luck!" Danny called after Armsmaster as he left the room.
The man ate fast. Danny hadn't even finished his coffee yet.
Not that he was in any hurry to. His headache still hadn't faded.
Taking another sip of his coffee, Danny savored the taste. You didn't get coffee like this as a Dockworker.
But he'd be damned if there weren't days where Danny wished he could go back to his old job, though. He missed his friends, he missed the work he had done for years, and he still wished he could have done more for them.
He still talked to them, but it was… a growing distance.
But the PRT job was the better option. He was still doing good work and…it was better for Taylor. He was better paid now, he could afford more things for her, pay her school bills more quickly, and buy her a few gifts. He had almost considered selling the house to buy a larger one… but that was a step too far. Too many memories.
It was the least she deserved after how much he had failed.
He cringed as the memory of Alan confronting him about his failure to properly look after and even feed Taylor came to mind. That had been a brutal wake-up call, even if it had been one he had needed. Before that, he had been neglecting himself, essentially neglecting Taylor, not looking after her.
A few hours away, where he came home late, were worth the sacrifice.
At least now he was able to ensure she had a future ahead of her. He had already started an account to serve as a college fund for her. Danny hoped, eventually, he'd be able to send her to a college outside of Brockton, to a city that wasn't dying, where she could build a real life for herself.
She deserved a better life than the one he had.