Timeline A

"I'm here!" Taylor announced. "And I brought your drink."

"Ooh, what did you get?"

"Peppermint Mocha. It was special at the place on the way here. Added a double shot of espresso for you."

"Peppermint as a special? In April? I shouldn't be complaining, I love peppermint." I took a sip of the drink. "Holy shit, Tay, you are a lifesaver. I almost forgot what being awake felt like."

"So, what's the situation?"

I gestured to a house down the street. "That right there? That's the home of Thomas Calvert. He's asleep right now and has no reason to get up at night. Once eleven hits, we start the infiltration.

"That doesn't sound bad." Taylor's face scrunched into concentration for a moment. "I think I saw him in one of the rooms on the second floor."

"That would be the master bedroom," I confirmed. I'll be sneaking in there soon enough. The plan goes into motion as soon as he freaks the fuck out about seemingly nothing."


Timeline B

"I'm here!" Taylor announced. "And I brought your drink."

"Ooh, what did you get?"

"Wasn't sure what to get, so I just went with a few shots of espresso."

I took the cup, downing it in a few gulps. Then the taste registered, and my face scrunched up and my tongue curled. "God, that was harsh. Better than no caffeine, though, and I was starting to give up hope that I'd keep myself awake. On the bright side, if all goes to plan, I won't have to remember having it."

"If you wanted something specific, you should have asked. And what exactly do you mean by that?"

"I mean that we're above Coil's base. It's the number one target. This is the first timeline he dies in. Can you sense anything below ground?"

"A little," Taylor focused. "I see some people. They've got guns and body armor."

"His mercs. I want you to start mapping out the base. Don't make it obvious. Individual bugs only, and I want you to find Coil and map a way to get a few bugs from inside to the room he's in."


Timeline A

"It's eleven," I announced.

"Time to start?"

"You know it. I'll handle this myself. Feel free to take a load off. You'll know if I need anything, we've already talked about the signs."

I changed into a crow and took flight to the roof. Calvert would no doubt have a security system, so getting in through the doors or windows was out.

Calvert had an old house, though. He kept it renovated and up to code and everything, but it impacted the design. He had a genuine wood fireplace with a chimney chute coming out of his roof.

Down through the chimney came old Santa Caws.

I flapped, slowing my fall and landing on unburnt firewood. Imagine having a genuine wood fireplace and not sitting by the fire in a rocking chair every night. Another reason to ice him.

I quietly flapped out, dispelling my henge.

I crept through the house silently, making my way to the stairs. I chose to climb on the wall instead of risk creaking stairs. Upon reaching Clavert's bedroom, I approached the door and changed into a sheet of paper.

Taylor took notice, sending a few dozen flies my way. The insects did their best to drag me under the crack of the door, and after a minute I was on the other side.

I dispelled my transformation with as few traces as possible. Once again crawling up the walls, I made my way to the ceiling. Once I was about his sleeping body, I drew my knife.

Now was a time for waiting.


Timeline B

"Eleven," Taylor grunted.

Showtime. "You got a path?"

"I think so," Taylor said, "One part requires you to cross a room to reach a secondary ventilation system, but as long as I keep an eye out and direct you we should be fine."

"The smallest moving thing I can become is a particularly fat cockroach, at least until my control gets a bit better. That work?"

"How fat?"

"Small enough I might be able to fit under a door's crack, but I certainly wouldn't enjoy the experience." I transformed as proof.

"Hmm. It's weird to see a bug I'm not able to take control of," Taylor commented idly. "Yeah, I think it will work. The vent grates are big enough for you. I'll have to eat bigger holes in the air filters to let you pass. Just follow where the fly points, and you should be fine."

The cockroach was not nature's swiftest animal, but it was an acceptable scurrier. It took ages to navigate the office building, following where the housefly perched on my head directed. The labyrinthian steel cavern eventually led underground and reached an air vent.

Taylor's fly directed me to stop at the grate. Through the hole punched in the air filter I was given a view into a room. It was a break room, full of lockers. On a foldable table, a microwave was plugged in, actively nuking a meal while one of Coil's mercs stood by for lunch.

A second merc walked in. "Do I smell mom's enchiladas?" He asked the first.

"Damn right, you do. She made extra, even. We're eating good today!" The first enthusiastically responded.

Oh, god, that sounded delicious. Constantly tracking Coil for a day without meals was one of my worst ideas. Now I get to be bored and hungry while I wait, bathed in the smell of enchiladas.


Timeline A

Taylor's bugs formed into a string of numbers. '11:45,' they read. What the hell was other me doing? Coil hadn't even stirred in his sleep. Did I accidentally pick the day where he went to bed in both timelines or something? Or were Coil's defenses more effective than I thought?


Timeline B

The mercs let out a pair of belches.

"Shiiit. That hit the spot."

"Yeah, that was good. You going to be at Mom's Sunday?"

"I wouldn't miss a fresh meal for the world, bro."

They gathered their paper plates and plastic forks and dumped it into the trash can. Fucking finally. I didn't have any way to tell the time, so I just wallowed in my hangriness until I got the signal to move.

Squeezing through the hole, I popped out into the room. I hurriedly scurried through the exposed space, not interested in being seen whatsoever.

The vent I had to reach was on the other side of the room. The vent I was exiting was placed on the top half of the wall, and my goal was a vent dropping into the floor.

I made it about halfway before my fly started panicking. I thought I was going fast before, but the adrenaline my system shot out made me become the cockroach I was always destined to be.

It was a tight squeeze through the vent grate, but I made it. The hole in the filter was even tighter. It was a struggle, but I managed to pop my fat cockroach body out the other side of the ventilation system. Good timing, too, considering I heard the door to the break room open up as I skittered away.

I was in the internal ventilation system now. My guiding fly returned to its navigational perch, and I traveled further into the ventilation.

I had to squeeze through another air filter hole before making it to my destination. I watched from the grate, familiarizing myself with the interior. It was Coil's office, a simple, highly secured room with a multi-monitor set up on his desk.

Coil himself sat in a luxurious office chair. It looked incredible, practically screaming at me to sit down and relax in it.

Work before play. I exited the vent, drawing no notice from Coil. He was muttering to himself as he navigated through screens, no doubt conducting some dastardly scheme. Behind Coil, I broke my henge. My knife was drawn and went for the back of his neck.

Upon trying to predict a direct interaction with a precognitive blindspot, Coil's timeline failed. Therefore, the remaining timeline was the one Coil's body acted upon, up until the moment he felt this timeline suddenly drop.


Timeline A

Calvert suddenly woke from his bed, scrambling out from his covers. My eyes glowed red in the dark, staring down the half-awake Coil. I dropped from the ceiling down to him.

I landed on his chest, my foot stomping down. My weight knocked the wind out of him, but didn't put him down.

He reached up and under his pillow, pulling a gun out. He was too slow. By the time he managed to get the safety off, I drew a knife and slammed it into his eye. Coil twitched as the blade punched into his brain, and then fell limp, the gun falling out of his hand and landing softly on the bed.

"Good riddance," I sneered, trying my best to ignore the mutilated eyehole. Turning away, I pulled my knife out of his skull and wiped it on the bed.

A weight was lifted off my shoulders. I'd killed Coil before the bank job. Canon was well and truly fucked. Thank God, or whatever the guy who shoved me in this hellhole was named. The Travellers wouldn't come to Brockton Bay without Coil's interference, which meant Echidna was not my problem. I felt bad for Noelle, but I would feel worse being devoured.

I left the house the same way I went in. I didn't need to crawl around silently anymore, the deed was done.

Taylor sat, waiting with a frown on her face. "So… you've done it. He's dead?"

"He's dead. Dinah is safe, and the Undersiders are free to get out from under his thumb. You've done a good thing."

"It doesn't feel like a good thing," She admitted. "I feel like I might be a murderer."

"How about this?" I comforted. "Tomorrow, I'll take you to see the girl. I'll show you the life you just saved."

"And we won't kill anyone else?"

"No promises if someone with a kill order comes to town. But no, no more killing. I want us to take the next couple of days off for recovery. Then we'll go out and do some of the glamourous hero work."

"I'd like that," Taylor nodded. " I don't think I want to do anything like this again."

"Deal. I promise, the next time we go out we'll do some genuine hero action. Now, I'm going to grab a dozen tacos from the nearest 24-hour Mexican place, go home, and pass out for at least half a day."


As I exited the taco place, I pulled up PHO on my phone and made a new account.


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User183629: The snake is down. Call me at XXX-XXXX.

AllSeeingEye: What

AllSeeingEye: Who


My burner phone began ringing a second later. I changed to a random stranger to mask my voice.

"Who is this?" A girl asked. "And did you kill Coil?"

"Coil is dead."

"What do you want from me?"

"This is Tattletale, correct?" I decided to make sure.

"You didn't even…" She paused. "Yes. This is Tattletale. I'll ask again, what do you want from me.?

"Other than a couple of small favors, I don't want anything from you. I assume you'll be sweeping up Coil's resources for yourself?"

"Not until I see his body," she disagreed.

"Very well. Coil's civilian identity is Thomas Calvert. I'll send you the address to where his body is after this call."

"You believe that, at least," She hummed.

"His death isn't particularly subtle. I would appreciate a cover-up."

"Is that one of the favors you want?"

"It can be."

She went silent for a few moments. "Fuck! You're right, that's him. Fine, I'll give you your favors. What do you want?"

"Well, the body—"

"Yeah, I've already agreed to cover up your sloppy murder. What else?"

"A finder's fee would be nice. You won't exactly be strapped for cash, after all."

"I can get you money. Is that it?"

"Well, my last favor is a bit more nebulous. I just want you to use Coil's organization for positive change. Well, as much positive change as a crime lord can make. Basically, avoid the ending of The Godfather. Oh, and keep the Travelers out of Brockton Bay if they come asking. That's part of being decent."

"So, you want me to cover up the murder of my boss, pay you for doing so, and tell me that I should take care not to follow in his footsteps?"

"Yeah, that's accurate enough."

"Fine. Send me the address, and we have a deal."

She hung up on me. Rude. Regardless, I texted the address to her number.

I think that's everything I needed to do. It was a calculated risk to contact Tattletale, but she was the closest thing to trustworthy and capable I could think of.

When I arrived back, I noticed a second tomoe spinning in my eye. I have a feeling it has something to do with becoming a full-fledged murderer. I should feel bad…

But I can't. Won't. Doesn't matter. I refuse to let my instinctual distaste toward murder stop me from making the most objectively optimal decision. It was uncomfortable, but I needed to endure it.

There was so much worse in store for the world, after all.

I felt a depressive slump wash over me. This whole Uchiha genetic predisposition toward emotional instability was a real pain. It made the good feel like heaven and the bad hell. Well, I guess that's what the weed is for. Making the bad times better.


I woke to a buzzing phone.

"What?" I grumbled, half asleep.

"Huh, so that's what your real voice sounds like. Aww, did someone forget to use their powers?" Tattletale mocked.

"Yeah, yeah. Yuk it up, peanut gallery. I had a long night."

"Oh, yeah? Did you pull an all-nighter to cover up the murder of your boss and take his resources?" She demanded.

"No, but I did pull one the night before to track down your boss. Is complaining about your night really the best way to fish for information?"

"You're just annoyed that it's working."

I was not prepared to deal with Thinker bullshit at… noon?

"Oh, shit. Anyway, what were you calling about?"

"Your favors. First is done. Coil's body will never be found, and I've left a paper trail of him disappearing into South America to live like a king in resort towns. Second, your money. I've got five million sectioned off for your 'finder's fee.' Is that sufficient?"

"… Yeah, that's plenty."

Tattletale laughed. "'That's plenty' my ass. You didn't expect that much, huh?"

"I'd appreciate you not trying to look too deeply into my life. I'm a firm believer in individual privacy, unless you're Coil-adjacent in personality."

"I'll—" Tattletale wisely shut down her first train of thought. "You're right. I owe you one for Coil, even if I'm paying you back right now. I'll ease off if you can promise me that you're not a threat to me. Anyway, your last favor. Being a vaguely good person is pretty nebulous, and the last Thinker who violated that principle had his brains blown out in his own home. I want to run some of the operations by you, to avoid subsequent knifing."

"Go ahead. I can offer my objective moral insight."

"First: assets. Most of Coil's were from manipulating the stock market in a way that doesn't draw Thinker attention. I'm not as experienced, but I have his records so I should be able to emulate his success. Any problem with that?"

"Nah. Stock market is just the gambling table of the upper class. I don't care if you cheat."

"Excellent. I don't think you'll have a problem with me managing his legal resources, so I'll move on to the big one: the drug trade. Coil didn't have any actual territory, but he still had his mercenaries run operations."

"Hard or soft drugs?"

"Both."

"I'd prefer if you cut out the hard drugs."

"I agree. Now that that's sorted, are you able to promise?"

"Tattletale," I sighed. "I only went after Coil the way I did because he was going to use the Merchant's recruitment tactics on a 12-year-old, and because he was holding you at gunpoint. I'm not going to 'come after you' so long as you don't go around doing the same. I promise."

Tattletale was quiet again. "Oh. Good." She said after a minute. "My bad. You messed with my power. Thought this was a behind-the-scenes organizational takeover on your part."

"What?" I asked.

"Well, you weren't exactly giving me much to go on," her voice grumbled. "And villains like that come by pretty often, especially someone with a Stranger power like your voice swapping seems to be."

"Look. Regardless of what you thought of me: I'll lay it all out right here. I'm willing to kill if I believe it's the only effective way to deal with the scenario at hand. Coil was too dangerous to live. You know that as well as I do. I have no more plans to kill anyone unless I have a shot of opportunity at someone with a kill order."

"Huh. An independent vigilante. We haven't had one of those stick around," Tattletale pondered. "That'll be interesting to see."

"I don't suppose you'd be interested in joining up? Besides, we're going for an indie hero angle, at least publicly."

"Hah! Not a chance. I'm getting my team into retirement until I clean up this mess. If you need some Thinker assistance I'm going to need to see some of that five million back."

"You greedy bitch," I chuckled. "But I can respect that. I hope we can work together in the future."

"I think we will. Thanks again for dealing with Coil. You… Well, you know exactly how much you've helped me."

"Not a problem. If you need any help, let me know." I ended the call.


I loitered outside Winslow, waiting for Taylor. She'd messaged me on PHO early in the morning before I woke up. Thankfully, she didn't seem to hold my sleeping habits against me, at least. When I contacted her via burner with the plans for today, she quickly agreed.

I was only a little worried for her. Not because of any of her actions, but because of the trio of girls who also decided to loiter after school. They positioned themselves in the eyesight of both me and the school entrance, so I could only assume they organized something unfortunate for Taylor.

Sure enough, Taylor walked out of Winslow soaking wet. Not 'splashed with some water' wet, closer to 'Post-Leviathan fight' wet. Her clothes and hair stuck to her body, her backpack dripped, and her face was a grim expression of hopeless endurance.

"Hey, Taylor. You seem… damper than usual."

Taylor fixed me with a deadpan stare. "Great observation."

I coughed. "Sorry, uhh… do you want to grab a change of clothes first?"

The slightest bit of tension fell from her body. "Yeah. I would like that."

"Alright, cool. We'll head to the nearest store and grab something quick." I turned, setting off in the direction of downtown.

"Wait, wait!" Taylor followed after me. "I thought you meant back to my place!"

I shrugged. "I mean, it might be smart to get your backpack there. But it's already soaked, so may as well carry it and let it drip dry."

I caught a nice view of the trio's disappointed faces as we turned around a corner. Don't know what reaction they wanted, but I'm happy to be disappointing.

"How'd this happen, anyway?" I asked, now that we were out of view.

"I don't know," Taylor sighed. "Apparently, there's piping above where I sit in my final period. The janitor said it must have burst, somehow. A freak accident. Nothing can go right at school, can it?" She bitterly grumbled.

"A freak occurrence, certainly. I'm not as sure about it being an accident, though."

"What do you mean?" Taylor demanded.

"I got the chance to take a look at those three chicks that were laughing at us. With my special eyes. Particularly, the one black girl is a parahuman with an intangible Breaker state."

Taylor's steps halted. I stopped, turning back to look at her. Her hands were clenched and her eyes were set in a glare at nothing.

"Those… Those…" She growled. "How dare they!?"

"Taylor?" I cautiously asked.

"Indra. How many Breakers are there in Brockton?"

I sighed. "Like, five. But if you're asking for an intangible breaker around her age? One."

"Shadow Stalker," Taylor fumed. "Sophia is a fucking Ward! No wonder I couldn't get anyone to do anything about her, they were covering for her!"

"Yeah, they probably get hush money to cover her identity. Winslow is a shitheap from what I've seen, so they're probably just desperate for any hint of income. So, what do you want to do about it?"

"What?"

"I said," I repeated, "What do you want to do about it? I'll follow your lead."

"I…" She considered. "I don't know, yet. Right now, I just want to change clothes."

"Then we'll change clothes. There's a clothes store a few blocks away that I occasionally go to."

"Are you sure? You've already bought me a phone…"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, I'm sure. Speaking of, is the phone alright?"

"Yeah. I took the battery out of it as soon as I could. I'll be sticking it in some rice later."

"Great. Don't worry about asking me to buy things. I did say I would fund you, right?" I reminded her. Of course, since Tattletale was willing to sacrifice five mil to keep who she thought was a deranged vigilante away, I was much more willing to front any costs.

Holy shit. That thought just sunk in. I'm a millionaire. I don't know what to do with that.

"Yeah, you did," She agreed. "You never actually explained what you meant by that, though."

"I'll do that now, then. Do you want something? Tell me what it is. I won't buy cars or homes or anything that'll draw attention to us, but for any reasonable purchase, I'm willing to pay. I got you a burner because it was the most efficient solution for getting in contact with you easily, but if you want a top-of-the-line smartphone I can do something like that. Those are easily overlooked purchases."

It was funny seeing Taylor so dumbfounded. I'll have to do it more often. Only in a nice way, of course.

"Let's just get those clothes," she mumbled.


"So, that's her?" Taylor asked. She was in her new clothes, a simple black tee and jeans. She seemed to like them, so I think I did a good job.

We sat at a park, spying on little girls. That was not something I ever wanted to set out to do, but in this case, it was to show Taylor she wasn't scum of the earth for killing Coil.

"Yeah. That's Dinah Alcott," I confirmed. "And…" I flicked on my Sharingan. "Oh, shit. And Triumph."

"Triumph!" Taylor squeaked.

"Yeah, I've seen him around before. Audiokinesis is his big gimmick and he can heal quickly. Not very useful for me to learn skills from, but he's been useful in my planning against Blasters. He's related to the mayor. So is Dinah, too. Mayor's niece or something."

"We saved the mayor's family?" Taylor didn't know what to think about that.

I flicked off my Sharingan, leaning back to relax for a bit. "Well, kept her from getting locked up, drugged for months on end, and then eventually escaping. Precogs aren't people you can force to work for you. They'll always find that golden opportunity to escape. Coil was just egotistical to the point he thought he could do it anyways."

"And… why are they walking over here?"

I shot up. "What?"

Sure enough, the two were walking our way. The pair didn't seem aggressive, but simply taking notice of us was a cause for concern. I prepared my chakra, fully prepared to kick and/or haul ass if needed.

"Hey," bluntly said the man I recognized as Rory Christner.

"Hey?" I responded.

"I heard everything you two said. Like you said, audiokinesis."

That surprised me. "Huh. You didn't strike me as the type to use it to eavesdrop."

"Normally I don't, but when people show up and start spying on me, I take interest."

"Fair enough," I compromised. "I hope you don't think we plan to unmask you or anything."

Taylor didn't speak, clearly unsure of what to say. When I mentioned unmasking, she paled.

"No. I was more interested in what you were saying about Dinah, and her being a precognitive," Triumph refocused the conversation. "Though, if you do plan on unmasking us…"

"Don't worry," Taylor finally spoke. "We're heroes. We aren't going to put you at risk."

He smiled lightly. "Thank you. And Dinah?"

"Hey Dinah, what are the chances you get targeted by other groups for your powers if you join The Wards?" I diverted the conversation.

"74.14%," Dinah paused. "That's less than usual."

"Dinah is a precognitive with a focus on percentages. She can almost certainly do more than just spout numbers, but she's not developed them much," I explained to Triumph's rapidly paling face, the implications of what would happen if she joined The Wards quickly registering.

Dinah spoke up again, now clearly interested since it was about her. "The numbers don't like you," She pointed at me. Triumph instantly tensed, not appreciating the implications of that statement.

"They don't like me? Could you explain?" I said, trying to defuse.

"Divide by zero error."

"Oh?" I tilted my head. "That's a first." I guess precognitive blindspot fuckery must interfere with any equation.

"So, she's a precognitive, but can't see you?" Triumph looked at me with suspicion.

"Guess not," I tried to casually deflect. I'm not sure how much he bought it, but the ability to perfectly emulate someone's body acting nonchalantly makes me hard to read.

"The numbers like her, though," Dinah said, pointing at Taylor. "56.52% chance I stay safe if she protects me."

"And how much if I protect you?" Triumph asked.

Dinah's face twisted in a light grimace, closing her eyes for a moment. "31.97%. Please don't ask me any more questions? My head hurts."

"That explains the chronic headaches, at least," Triumph sighed. "Look, you two said you were heroes, right?"

"Yeah," I confirmed. "Not ones that you've heard of, though. We're independent, and trying to keep a low profile."

"I don't like that," Triumph shook his head. "I don't think you can be a force to good while wrapped up in cloak and dagger. But… if Dinah is a precog, and she says that you're her safest option…"

"This isn't a recruitment attempt," I prefaced. "We came here specifically to check up on her, but not to use her in any way. We didn't expect you to be here, and certainly not for you to approach us."

"I'm aware. And I'm not asking you to recruit her. I'm asking you to protect her." Triumph looked me deep in the eyes. "I care about my family. More than anything. I heard what you were saying about Coil coming after her. All I'll ask is if she's safe from him."

"She is," Taylor confirmed. "Coil won't be coming for her any longer."

"Thank God," Triumph sighed in relief. "Dinah. I want you to give these two your number. If any trouble comes up, and you don't think I can handle it, I want you to call them for help."

"If it makes you feel better," I spoke, "We don't plan on remaining anonymous for much longer. We're both pretty new to the scene and didn't want to get made forcibly dependent, if you catch my drift."

"It does," Triumph said. "I know it's hard to stay independent, which is why I'm not making a big deal of it."

"Oh!" Dinah exclaimed, smiling. "You're why the numbers suddenly changed!"

"Yeah. There was a dude planning on coming after you and I wasn't a fan of that."

"I know," She nodded solemnly, "The numbers about the last time I'd see my family kept getting higher."

"Yeah. He was the worst. I'm happy to have helped. Might not bring it up around your cousin here, he doesn't look like he enjoys thinking about it."

"Wait, you knew?" Triumph turned to Dinah, clarifying, "You knew you were in danger?"

Dinah nodded, visibly sorrowful, "I'm sorry, Rory. The numbers didn't like me telling anyone about it. I just wanted to enjoy the time I could."

Triumph sighed, pulling his cousin into a hug. "It's alright. I'm just happy you're safe now. I won't tell anyone about your powers if it makes you less safe."

Taylor smiled. I caught it out of the corner of my eye. It was a simple, sweet smile.

I nudged her. "That's because of you," I muttered into her ear.

A hint of regret flashed over her face, immediately overpowered by a proud determination. "Yeah, it is, isn't it? I'm glad I helped," Taylor smiled at me, then turned back to watch the pair's hug.

"Thank you," Triumph said. "I'm going to have to tell the PRT about two new heroes, but I'll leave out any details. The only thing they'll hear from me is that two theoretical people exist. Is there anything you want to tell the PRT about yourselves?"

I turned to Taylor. "As far as introductions to the PRT go, this is relatively favorable. I would have preferred to have a choice of it. Still, 'favorable introduction by an established Protectorate member' is a nice roll of the dice. I say we just give the team name and save our debuts for later."

Taylor nodded at my decision. Then she stopped, a conflicted expression on her face, seeming to have an internal debate. Then, she smiled wickedly and said, "And of no intent of our own, we have run across a Ward acting violently against others in their civilian lives, and suggest looking into the legitimacy of the reports that the schools provide."

Heavy-handed, but it was her call. That's an increased risk to her identity. If the PRT follows through, they'll note she experiences the worst of the bullying, and bullying isn't an uncommon trigger inducer. Nothing definitive, but with Thinkers involved even the slightest details can be damning.

"Alright. Triumph, tell the PRT that these two unknown capes belong to a new independent group known as 'Akatsuki.' Also, deal with your shitty internal reporting services."

Interlude - Cauldron

"What's this emergency meeting for?" Alexandria asked, stepping through a portal into the meeting room. "Additionally, note the appearance of two unknown capes in Brockton Bay. The only details are they go by 'Akatsuki.'"

"That may be exactly what this meeting is about," Doctor Mother informed her. "Contessa has recently registered a new blindspot in Brockton Bay."

"What?" The Number Man cut in. "Why weren't we informed?"

"I discovered this blindspot earlier this morning when I noticed Coil vanished from my paths. Naturally, I took it upon myself to conduct a prompt, personal investigation," Contessa explained.

"So you held a grudge against someone having a counter to your power, and charged in without any backup against them?" Eidolon criticized.

"Should I ever encounter any true danger, I could have simply doored out. Moreover, the investigations I conducted would have been hampered by accompaniment due to the efficiency at which I chose to perform them."

"Hmph." Eidolon grunted, "Even without being able to read me, you always say the right thing."

"Yes, that is her power." Alexandria cut in, rolling her eyes under her mask. "David, stop whining. Now summarize the details, please."

"The new blindspot has made two notable actions. Two months ago, it hit an Empire warehouse. It robbed it for approximately forty-five thousand dollars."

"Ah, I know this cape," Number Man said. "He's one of my customers."

"Will that cause any issues in conducting this operation?" Doctor Mother inquired.

"It should not. Naturally, I will advocate for the benefit of my clients. Should it be necessary to eliminate him, then I will assist you. To begin: he began a laundering service under me to launder looted cash from his heroic life. He has only deposited once, with an initial thirty-thousand dollars. He appeared as a Caucasian man. My calculations implied there would be more money stored at the warehouse he hit, but if he hadn't deposited some of his money, it meant he likely had a use for it. Eventually, I found a new thirteen-thousand dollar order in Parian's books, one of her more expensive cape costumes," Number Man recited.

"The money matches close enough," Alexandria agreed. "And it's unlikely for a recorded blindspot to act that way, which suggests he's genuinely a new cape."

"Thank you, Number Man," Contessa began, "None of the men got any good reads on him, but the one commonality was that he looked like their boss, but did not move or act like him. It also demonstrated feats of minor enhanced strength."

"A potential Master?" suggested Alexandria.

"Unlikely," Number Man cut in. "What Contessa is describing is more likely a Changer that transformed into their boss to hide his identity. It's in line with this new cape's tendency for secrecy. Most likely, the minor super-strength is a result of the Changer power used to emulate identities shifted to provide a physically enhanced musculature. Given his nature as a blindspot and ability to fool identities, I'd presume a Changer/Stranger rating."

"I see," Alexandria hummed. "With only minor super-strength and physical changes, I'd say Changer 2 at worst. Somewhere around Stranger 5, mainly due to precognition blocking. Right now, I'd say Changer/Stranger 4 as an official rating. It also implies that Number Man's description of his appearance is inaccurate."

"Continuing, the second act was the murder of Coil." Contessa.

"I've assumed so," said Eidolon.

"By the time I started my investigation, Coil's Thinker had already begun sweeping up his assets and command structure. I was able to get into her system and the only thing I found was a text and a call from a burner number. The text said, "The snake is down."

"He alerted her?" The Number Man pondered, "That is unusual."

"The burner was a dead-end and my paths failed past that point, so I moved on. And now I am here, informing you. I do have the burner number, should we wish to contact the blindspot at any point." Contessa admitted.

"And now we know of two new capes forming a group in Brockton. Armsmaster mentioned a new female cape that defeated Lung as his only suspect for one of the people in this group. He noted that the majority of wounds were from bug bites, but that Panacea had found remnants of a knife wound to the eye when restoring him from critical condition."

"My paths can't perceive most steps related to discovering details about the Lung battle," Contessa piped up. "I can get the bug-controlling cape to tell me the details by breaking into her home and interrogating her."

"Another hit," Alexandria said. "Most likely, the blindspot is the other cape on this team. We can presume he met Coil's Thinker during the encounter, and we just can't prove it. The knife makes sense if he's limited to minor physical alteration, it acts as a way to enhance his limited strength."

"I can path the other cape to some extent. Her identity is Taylor Hebert; The path to further identifying her without raising suspicion is to interrogate a high school principal about her while threatening legal action."

"I suggest we take a stance of inaction against this new blindspot," Number Man spoke. "Once we discern his identity through Hebert, we will monitor him. Perhaps consider recruitment. His willingness to launder money with my organization suggests a possibility of cooperation with Cauldron. We've already seen how important blindspots are against the Simurgh with David's interference.

"A blindspot in search and rescue operations could greatly reduce casualties and possibly alter Simurgh's plans significantly enough to negate them. There is also a possibility that we've only seen a part of this cape's abilities, considering the tendency for blindspots to be capes of significant ability. Perhaps a more impressive Changer or a grab-bag."

"Blindspots also present a risk to our plans. He has already eliminated Coil, potentially sabotaging our cape feudalism experiment, and therefore the Terminus project," Contessa smoothly retorted.

"You just don't like blindspots. I'm willing to bet that you just gave us the most convincing argument your power could. How about giving us the most convincing argument for him?" Eidolon interrupted.

Contessa frowned slightly but acquiesced. "Blindspots simply being on the field with the Simurgh could cause significant interference, and considering my ability to path him failed at even finding where his phone led, this blindspot seems to make both himself, his items, and his actions impossible to map. Significant interference in a Simurgh fight could entirely negate significant portions of her planning.

"As for Coil, given the blindspot's tendency for infiltration, he may have discovered some of Coil's plans, or perhaps even his parahuman ability, and decided that eliminating him was needed. Perhaps he learned of the Coil's Thinker's situation and was unwilling to let himself or others be threatened by unmasking. One could even argue he was upholding the unwritten rules."

Eidolon nodded. "I agree with Kurt—non-interference policy with monitoring. Simurgh fights have the most civilian casualties and most impactful long-term effects. We should prioritize the Endbringer fights."

"I concur," Alexandria followed. "I suggest the intermediate designation of 'Dolos' until the blindspot self-designates."

"Then I move to designate this new blindspot as 'Dolos,' and assign a non-interference policy. Any objections?" Doctor Mother decreed.

Contessa pouted.

"No objections, then," Doctor Mother began writing something down. "Then this meeting is adjourned. Continue investigations and stick to the policy until further examination.


A/N: I love reviews!