A/N: Posting this a bit early as I'm going to be camping this weekend. To those Guests that said Mak was acting cocky or overconfident, I'd like to point out that A. He'd been drinking and B. He's acting with mostly my experiences and I've never lived in a large, gang infested place like Brockton Bay, so things like territories, street tags, and even just spotting gang members is difficult for him.

Chapter 2

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

I drifted through the infinite expanse of stars, weightless and warm. It was probably the closest I'd ever feel to something like enlightenment. Peaceful. Simply existing.

"Oi, bro. Get your ass up, we gotta have a conversation."

My eyes snapped open and I looked around. The void stretched in all directions, the small twinkling lights of distant stars ever present. By their light, I was able to see a figure in front of me.

It was like looking into a mirror.

"What the hell?"

The other version of me, the guy who could only be the real Mak, gave me a grin. "First night in charge and you already met two superheroes and got powers. Not bad, not bad at all."

"Yeah and got the shit beaten out of me. Really great job." I replied, sarcasm dripping from my words.

"Brockton fucking Bay. It was bound to happen sooner or later." Mak shrugged. "Least you didn't wimp out like I did."

"I hardly fought back."

"They had you five to one and caught you by surprise. I would've been a crying mess, probably pissed myself. You took it like a man. Learn from it. In fact…" He plucked a star from the heavens and presented it to me. "Here you go, hand picked just for you. Something to at least get you started on the cape scene."

"Thanks, I think. But wouldn't it be safer to just… hole up in the Overlook and survive? Earth Bet is a dangerous place."

"That's what I did and look where it got me." Mak said bitterly. "I know that's the way you were headed before too."

I flinched, not expecting to get called out by my doppelganger. "I was doing just fine. And how do you even know that?"

"When you landed in my body, there was an exchange. You saw the important bits of my life, I saw yours. You were always on the knife's edge of doing something drastic. Take it from me: Be more active. Take control of your life. Don't just let it be something that happens to you." Mak urged me to take the star. "Live. For both of us."

"...Thank you. Sorry your life was so much shittier than mine. Kinda gives ya some perspective." I took the power, feeling it course through my soul.

"Ah, don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll make the best of this second chance. See ya around. I might linger around for a while. Lotta empty space 'round here." He drawled before fading away, leaving me to continue drifting….
-+-+

The moment I awoke I felt the power awaken within me. Not something abstract, but a real, genuine power that would at least get me in the door of the hero world.

Swordsman's Scroll (Legend of Zelda, 200 cp): This simple blue scroll might often be mistaken for a map, but inside it lies a powerful sword technique. The great spin attack, though you may also know it as the hurricane spin. Well, I suppose a more strict explanation is that it teaches you how to add in magical energy to your attacks, something that causes the spin attack to evolve into the hurricane spin. I'm sure you can create other techniques with a bit of effort, though that's up to you.

I almost started dancing with glee as the knowledge within the scroll was imprinted on my soul. The chance to be a real superhero. I focused on the power I felt within, a burning fury that had been awakened by becoming a pseudo-guardian spirit, now ready to be unleashed by this new power. I guided it into my hands as I made a fist, energy lighting them up. I experimentally punched outward, but the moment I did so, the power dissipated. Right, it was a specific technique until I taught myself more. For now: I needed a sword.

And I knew just where to get one.

There was a warning letter waiting for me, slipped under the door of the apartment. A strongly worded suggestion to pay my rent or face eviction. I looked around the place that was both familiar and alien all at once and considered some of the things scattered about. Maybe I'd been too hasty in leaving everything except the essentials, every little bit might have had some sentimental value to my body's previous owner, but…

I didn't have time to get too bogged down by thoughts like that. I needed one item in particular or rather, a set of them.

My grandfather had always taken great pride in our Japanese heritage, particularly the samurai bits. He never pronounced it in the English manner, always with an emphasis on the proper way. Ended up getting some grief from my friends because I insisted on pronouncing it that way too for a while. Anyway, he liked to collect swords. Reproductions unfortunately, because it was illegal to remove a genuine Japanese katana from the islands, but what my grandfather collected were still good quality and perfect for me to at least test my new powers. After their deaths in this world, I'd been given one set of them, a longer katana and a shorter wakizashi to go along with it. I stowed both in a long bag that I'd purchased on the way here (just another reminder that I was almost completely out of funds) and then headed back to my true home.

I began to notice with some alarm that when I looked close enough I could actually see the ghostly servants that tended to the Overlook. Doing laundry, running food to guests, operating the restaurant and overall simply keeping the place going. I suppose I didn't notice them at first, but after becoming a guardian spirit my senses had been altered. It was really fascinating, because before the only member of the staff I could see was the front desk, but he must have been more corporeal simply to act as an interface for the guests. The actual running of the hotel…

I love magic.

I stepped up to the concierge and gave him a smile. "Good morning."

"Good morning to you, Mr. Inouye." The dark skinned man returned my smile. "How might we be of service today?"

The fact he knew my name somehow didn't surprise me, but it did make me a tad unsettled. Questions for later. "Is there an area on the grounds where I might practice activities of a physical sort? I need to sharpen some specific skills that I have acquired."

"Of course sir, there is a gymnasium on the premises for all such needs. No need to worry about any other guests interrupting your time there." White teeth glinted in the light and I felt another surge of unease as I realized that this was not a true person. "As the manager of the Overlook, your wishes are law here."

"I thought I was just a guest." I said, shifting from foot to foot.

His eyes took on a dark cast, once again highlighting the lack of true humanity. "This place was formed by your power. You are both an honored guest and the owner of this establishment." He explained calmly, reasonably. "As you awaken further to your true nature, so too shall this place."

"I see…" I was in fully wigged out territory now. "Thank you for the clarification. Good day."

"And a good day to you as well, sir." The concierge gave a small bow as I departed, polite and formal as always.

I stepped into the gym as I had been directed and was forced to pause as I considered that I had walked considerably further than a block to reach it.

Ah. Bigger on the inside. It's fitting into the neighborhood, but remaining it's true size.

Content with my amateur explanation, I considered the space around me. There were free weights, some archaic looking exercise equipment, but no modern machines like you'd expect. Probably an aspect of the Overlook's true nature. I was able to find a suitably open space and drew the katana, the overhead lights glinting off of it's steel blade. The curve in the center was slight, not nearly as prevalent as some blades tended to be, but not completely straight either. I took a few experimental swings, getting a feel for the weight.

Then I attempted to perform the hurricane spin. Power rushed out of me as I spun the sword around, a whirlwind of azure energy emitting from it. Nothing was actually struck, but the fact I'd actually been able to pull it off made me quite happy. It also left me feeling dizzy as hell.

Note to self: Limit speed of the spin.

I grinned like a little kid again and then did the hurricane spin once more. And again. And again. With each use, I felt some magical power leaving me, like a weight pressing on my mind and soul, but not the body. It seemed like my state as a guardian spirit definitely gave me a boost though, because I was able to do it over and over without stopping until my arms were too sore to continue. To be fair I've never been in the best physical shape. Guess I'd need to work on that. Years of physical neglect couldn't be fixed in just a couple of sessions though, so I supposed I'd better start then and there.

One exhausting workout session later, I made my way back to my suite and made use of the large and rather ostentatious tub. It was rather relaxing all things considered and gave me some time to plan my next steps. I had power now. I had to be responsible with it. So I decided to take Crystal up on her offer.

I dialed the number on the card she'd given me and was met by voicemail. After an awkward moment to compose my thoughts, I left a short message. "Hi Crystal, this is Mak. We talked the other night and uh… I could just use some insight if you're available. Give me a call back. Or text. Thanks. Bye."

Good lord I hate leaving voicemails…

That done, I headed to the Boardwalk for a cup of coffee and an overpriced, but delicious pastry. Say what you will about Brockton Bay, but thanks to Medhall and Panacea, the place had a pretty sizable amount of medical tourism, which meant the Boardwalk had some nice spots.

I was only mildly surprised when I spotted the now familiar face of Lisa Wilbourn. She noticed me immediately and frowned a bit, before smiling ever so slightly and not in the 'I've got your deepest darkest secrets' fox smile that I was anticipating. After I'd secured my cup, she waved me down and I saw no reason to refuse the offer.

"Good morning, Lisa," I said cordially as I set my cup down on the table and plopped into the seat across from her. "People watching again?"

"Hi Mak. People watching again. Boss' orders." Her eyes scanned the already bustling crowd as she spoke. "Busy time of year."

"Surprised you don't have to worry about school."

Her eyes narrowed on me for a moment before going back to the crowd. "GED. But you knew that already."

"I did. Just making conversation."

"Well you're not very good at it. Leave that to real Thinkers," she flashed me a smirk. "So, someone's got a skip in their step this morning. Good night?" She asked leadingly.

"Oh yeah, got ambushed by some racist assholes and their neo-Nazi cohorts, then got beat half to death. Quite a lovely evening," I said sarcastically.

Her face fell. "Then why do you look fine? No, don't answer that. Obvious," she shook her head, muttering to herself. "Got rescued by a New Wave gal then, eh? Glory Girl? No, based on what you said to me yesterday you have actual standards when it comes to age. Ah, Laserdream. Y'know word on the street is that she's single," Lisa teased.

"You could tell all that just by how I look?" I asked, blinking in surprise.

"You're looking markedly happier this morning and you strike me as a simple man at his core. Man sees pretty woman, man happy," she explained in a mock caveman voice.

"Well I mean- Yes, you're right, Laserdream did save my life in fact, even took me to get healing from Panacea at the hospital. But whatever you're implying with your comments of her status, I guarantee you that's a dead end. I'm not exactly looking for a relationship, plus Laserdream is like… a million miles out of my league," I protested.

"Sure, sure." Lisa wasn't entirely convinced, based on her tone. "Doesn't mean you still didn't enjoy getting to talk to a pretty girl for the first time in a while."

Dammit. She had me there. "You're pretty perceptive for someone your age."

"And you act too old for yours. So how's the haunted hotel?"

"Comfortable. How's the loft?"

Her eyes widened a fraction. "Are you sure you aren't one of his agents?"

"I'd sooner die than work for that snake," I said honestly.

"Well then whatever Thinker thing you got going on, it is bullshit. To answer the question, no, it isn't at the moment. Some of my roommates are rather annoying to put up with," she lamented.

"Yeah, I can imagine being raised by Heartbreaker isn't conducive to having the best homelife. I'm sure Alec just appreciates having the closest thing he's ever had to a maternal figure around in his own sociopathic way," I commented.

Lisa let out a strangled noise that had me looking a bit concerned. "Raised by who?!"

"Ah damn… You didn't know that already?" I asked with a wince.

"NO!" She hissed angrily, starting to draw some eyes from other patrons. She noticed, because her next words were markedly quieter and filled with forced calm. "I know he has some sociopathic tendencies, but I- I'm not omniscient like you seem to think I am."

"Sorry, I need to get better about making assumptions like that," I apologized. "Look, he's not dangerous, not to you guys at least. He just wants to stay under the radar and away from his father."

"That still doesn't answer how you seem to know all of this," Lisa growled angrily, making her look more like an angry kitten than anything truly scary.

I knew better, intellectually anyway. Beneath the facade of a cute teenager was a vicious mind ready to do horrible things to maintain her power and status. Or at least… The possibility existed. I didn't like looking at the people of this world and judging them based on 'maybes' and 'what ifs'. "I'm sorry. I'm bad at keeping this kind of stuff to myself, just… please, trust that I want to help you."

"You gave me enough info to refine my plans against Coil," she begrudgingly admitted. "And I do appreciate that. You're still weird though."

"I've been called worse," I chuckled.

Just then another ping echoed within my soul. The Grimoire reached out and snagged something. It wasn't the best of powers, but I was still in my ramp up phase. I needed every potential advantage I could get at this point, plus I had the points to burn. No sense in letting them go to waste.

Endless Quiver (The Elder Scrolls, 200 cp): One of the downsides to archery compared to other forms of combat is that you need ammunition. Hopefully this will mitigate that problem, as this quiver creates endless copies of whatever arrow or crossbow bolt is inserted into a slot on the side. Should you decide to not use silver arrows anymore, simply take it out of the slot and have your daedric arrow take its place.

I could definitely see some potential for that. Get a single arrow of some expensive, but effective material and then bam, infinite ammo. I just had to get my hands on a crossbow (I knew already that I would be shit with a real bow) and between this new power and my hurricane spin, I had some real combat options as a street level hero at least.

"Okay that!" Lisa pointed a finger directly between my eyes, her own blazing with curiosity and a need to know. "What was that?! That isn't the first time I've seen you get lost in your own head. It's weird and makes my power scream at me, though I don't know why."

"I'm magic," I said with my best deadpan expression.

She looked about ready to hurl her mug at me. "The fact my power is telling me that you're being truthful makes this conversation even more infuriating."

"I'm sorry that my powers are so cool they give you a headache," I said blandly. "I'll try to stop being so awesome."

"You're just a fat shut in loser who's afraid he's gonna die alone and unloved, not a superhero or a badass, only some guy off the street," she spat venomously.

I flinched at that. Sheesh, I knew that she could be a bit of a bitch sometimes, but that was kinda brutal…

Her eyes immediately widened and what looked like shame flooded through them. "Shit, I'm sorry, that was way too far." Her voice had taken on a slightly panicked tone. "My powers pick up on these things and then when I get pissed off I just start running my mouth and-"

"It's OK," I waved it off, shoving the thoughts that her words had inspired back down into the dark pit where they belonged. "Not like you're lying, though maybe be a bit nicer at how you say it. Yeah, I am just a guy," for the moment, "but I do have powers and I'm aiming to make this city a far better place than I found it."

"You're still only half telling the truth," Lisa sighed. "And seriously, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap like that, so don't go-" she cut herself off.

"Don't go what?" I asked carefully, leaning forward in my seat.

"Don't go downing anymore whiskey and pills," she whispered and I felt the chill of my first death tingle down my spine.

I stayed silent for a long minute, looking down into my cup. "You don't have to worry about me doing that. I was in a bad spot. I'm better now."

"Triggers don't fix our problems," Lisa said bitterly. "They're a band-aid, a consolation prize. Having powers, being a cape… it won't fix the underlying issues you have with your life."

"Maybe you're right," I admitted. "But I'll be damned if I don't at least try to live better than before."

She stared at me searchingly for a long moment before letting out a relieved sigh. "Good. Glad to hear it."

Ah hell.

With how the original owner of this body had gone out, no wonder she'd noticed me right away. I was probably a walking red flag that poked her trigger button every two seconds. I went to apologize, but before I could, my phone went off.

Crystal: sorry just got your vm

Crystal: college hours are wild

Crystal: lunch at Fugly Bobs? On me :)

I was surprised that she'd deigned to reach out, let alone treat me to lunch. I sent her back a message to confirm time and then put my phone away.

Lisa was now staring at me with an undisguised smirk. "So lunch with a cute girl, huh?"

"Pretty sure it's just a recruitment pitch slash check-in," I said with a shrug. "Situation she pulled me out of last night was pretty trigger worthy."

"Well good for you. You planning on going hero then?" She asked curiously, but also with a hint of nervousness. No doubt she was worried about all the knowledge that was floating around inside my head.

"Maybe," I said noncommittally, though we both knew my mind was made up already. "I… I know you guys aren't like the Empire or the ABB, but I couldn't bring myself to do things the way you do. I couldn't work for that snake for one thing and for another… I'm a rule follower at heart. Structure, discipline, it's simply how I'm built. Maybe sometimes I'll play a little fast and loose with those rules, but I still need them there. But I promise, anything I know," I tapped the side of my head. "It stays in here when it comes to things like identities."

"I think even someone like you might find yourself tested by all the inanities of bureaucracy," she said. "And I appreciate the secrecy, even if I have a hard time believing you'll keep it all to yourself."

"Scout's honor," I swore.

"You were never a boy scout."

I gave her a smirk and a wink, then finished my coffee.

Fugly Bob's ended up being half burger joint, half bar, and it smelled strongly of grease and frying meat. I was in love the minute I stepped inside. A place like this where I could get some probably delicious burgers and beers with friends was just my kind of spot. I walked in to find that Crystal had arrived first. She waved me over and we grabbed a table while placing our orders.

Once we had our burgers and shakes, I broached the subject of why I had asked to meet. "So. Parahumans come from trauma right?"

"Yep," Crystal confirmed soberly. "It's not something we like to advertise. Don't want idiots purposefully trying to get themselves killed or otherwise hurt in some vain attempt to get powers, but of course there are always the occasional rumors on PHO that manifest as some cape groupie jumping off a building in hopes of getting flight or whatever."

I stirred a fry around in a puddle of cheese and grease. "Makes sense. Look, I'll be upfront with you: I gained powers earlier that day. It wasn't the beating, it was… something else."

"You don't need to say anything else," she said in a gentle tone. "Triggers events… they're incredibly personal."

"I guessed that."

We sat in silence for a minute and I had to marvel at how such a relatively small woman was putting away such a large burger. I chalked it up to the metabolism of a college student and active superhero.

"So why didn't you use your powers on those guys when they were beating on you then?" Crystal asked once the silence became unbearable.

Dammit. I was afraid she'd ask that. To tell the truth or to lie…

"Because I didn't have any offensive powers at the time." Fuck it. Lying had never come naturally.

"At the time?" She asked it with a slightly confused tone.

"My powers are like a cross between Dauntless and Eidolon. I sometimes just… get new powers." I shrug. "Don't know how long they'll last, I only triggered yesterday morning."

"Holy shit," she muttered. "That's… What have you got so far?"

"First time I got a one shot precognitive vision of the next few years. Highly detailed in some ways, lacking a lot in others, but it's given me some pretty sensitive knowledge." I decided to leave out the Overlook. No need to mention that I could retroactively alter reality. "Then I gained some weird Striker power. The latest thing is a quiver that will give me infinite arrows or crossbow bolts." I held a hand out and produced said quiver, giving it a little wave.

She blinked in surprise, at least convinced by the fact that I just suddenly had an item appear in my grasp that I had some kind of powers. "So then what are you planning to do with these powers? There's no rush or pressure, but just letting you know-"

"I've seen the statistics. Independents don't do great, especially in Brockton. I would probably have it even worse since I'm a minority."

"I don't think that would matter too much, unless you planned on joining one of the gangs," Crystal said wryly. "But… call me crazy, you don't strike me as the villain type. Especially if you wanted to talk to me so soon."

"You're right. I'm the type of guy who always goes the good route first when I play an RPG, cause I don't like even pretending to be a jerk. It's the hero route or nothing for me," I said.

"Wanna join New Wave?" She asked with a small grin. "We're always recruiting."

"Are you really?" I asked skeptically.

"...Honestly, no. We're kind of a family team at this point and after what happened to my aunt, no cape wants to reveal their identity which is kind of our whole thing. Plus we don't really have a salary per se, which is another turn off for a lot of people," she explained.

"I appreciate New Wave's goals and ideology a lot, I easily like you guys more than the Protectorate," I said honestly. "But unfortunately, not going villain means I do have some obligations, like student debt and bills. A steady paycheck… it's tempting, not gonna lie."

"Can't blame ya. We get some money from merchandising and the government, but it's not enough to really finance a full operation, my parents and my aunt still have to have real jobs and all that," she admitted.

"Glad you understand. I've been giving serious thought to joining the Protectorate. They're not perfect, but…"

How could I be so arrogant, so self centered, as to think that I somehow knew better than a national team that was also being backed by what was basically the fucking Illuminati? I had the benefit of hindsight and everything, but… As a teenager first reading about Brockton Bay and the events of Earth Bet, it had been easy to dismiss the Protectorate as an organization of completely ineffectual heroes, either incompetent at best or malicious at worst. However, time, wisdom, and the rather simply realized point of a biased narrator, had eventually led me to the conclusion that the Protectorate were making the best out of a bad situation. Were there things they could have done better? Almost certainly, but for all their awesome might and power, they were still human. To be human is to fuck up and to be frank, the cards were stacked against them from the very beginning. The fact that the Protectorate had managed to keep North America relatively stable was a miracle. One only had to look at how Africa had collapsed into warlords and chaos or China into a parahuman military dictatorship to understand just how fucked the world at large was.

And hey, if they really were as bad as fanon made them out to be? I'd be strong enough in no time to make my own way in this world.

As if the thought itself triggered the Grimoire, power flowed into my soul. An unbelievable investment of magic that would instantly elevate me to a whole new playing field. There was no way in hell I could afford that much power now, but I tucked it away into the 'bank' of my soul, a potential investment for the future. The far, far future mind you. I couldn't afford to just sit on the amount of points that this would require, I still needed to become stronger, give myself the best chance of survival as possible for what I knew was coming.

"... They're a government organization, so I'm sure there will be flaws, but they're still the largest and best funded hero team on the planet. I'd be an idiot to not at least consider them," I managed to summarize to Crystal.

"That's fair and also pretty mature of you. Most new capes want to take on the world solo," she said.

"And how many of those end up dead in a ditch?"

"Too many," she said grimly. "Well if you're really determined to be a hero…" A predatory gleam entered her eyes. "You need a good lawyer to get the best contract possible, don't you?"

"Well… I mean…" I gave a helpless shrug. "I was kind of planning on just taking whatever they offered me, with a clause or something about my salary going up as my powers get stronger. I don't need a lot of money, just enough to get by, you know?"

"And what kind of hours are you going to be looking at to get that? How much vacation time, sick days, not to mention insurance?" Crystal shot out rapid fire. All good questions that I had no answers to. "If you approach this like a rookie, I guarantee that you'll get screwed and not in the fun way. As much good as they've done over the years, the Protectorate is still a government sponsored team, which means things like budgets and in a city like this, they need every cent they can get."

"I thought Protectorate heroes get a pretty decent salary though…" I started to protest, but she was ready for that apparently.

"Good for the average working citizen maybe, but you're going to be risking personal injury and even your life. That deserves more than just an okay salary in my books," she said with a firm tone that told me it was pointless to argue. "I'm going to go call my aunt. Stay put."

She zipped off through the air (literally), already pulling out her phone before she was even out the door. I chuckled to myself as I went back to finishing my food, at the point where I started to dip my fries into my shake. It really was good ol' fashioned greasy American food.

"So, you're one of those kind of people." I glanced up to see a blonde girl that wasn't Crystal, but looked kind of like her, approaching. "Gotta say, I thought my cousin had better taste than that."

"Victoria Dallon I presume?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That's me, but just stick to Vicky," she confirmed with a wide grin, sticking a hand out. "You are?"

I accepted her hand and gave it a firm shake. I felt kind of lucky she didn't try to shatter it honestly. "Mak. What's so wrong with dipping fries in a shake? The sweet and salty is a great combination."

"It's just… wrong. Ugh, you aren't the only one I know who does that. My little sister does it too, the heathen," she complained good naturedly.

"Glad to see someone in your family has good taste. She here? I feel like I owe her a drink or something."

"Oh, are you one of her patients? Amy doesn't like charging for healing or anything-"

"Which is why I'm offering to buy her a drink. Ah, a milkshake or a coffee. Not booze. Unless she asks nicely and promises not to tell your guys' scary lawyer mom," I only somewhat joked.

"Pft, she very well might take you up on that," Vicky laughed. "When did she…?"

"Last night. Had an unfortunate run in with some Empire simps," I said as neutrally as possible.

Vicky made a little noise of understanding. "Yeah, Amy mentioned something about Crystal asking her to take care of a particular patient. So you uh…?"

"Looks like I might be putting on spandex soon," I confirmed wryly.

She blinked in surprise. "Not actually where I was going with that. That's rather… easygoing of you."

Damn. I didn't really give a rat's ass about my secret identity at this point, but I probably should at least make some semblance of effort. "Crystal already knows, she's setting up an appointment with your mom I think."

Stars were suddenly behind her eyes and she was a bit too close for comfort. "So are you joining New Wave?" She asked in an excited whisper.

"Can't. Need the money only the Protectorate pays. Legally anyways," I explained as I put a single finger against her forehead and gently pushed her out of my personal space. "But if possible I'd like to work with New Wave when I can. You guys are some of the coolest heroes in the city. You specifically are easily my third favorite in fact."

She pouted and I had to resist the urge to ruffle her hair like I would with one of my younger cousins or siblings. "Who's first and second then?" She demanded to know.

"Your sister, because the White Mage is an underappreciated role that deserves some recognition, is my favorite in the Bay. Your cousin comes in at number two for saving my life." I pause to consider something else. "Plus lasers. Lasers are cool."

"They are indeed," Vicky nodded sagely. "I love my powers, but sometimes I get jealous of what my aunt and cousins are able to do."

"Hey, at least you can fly. Easily a top ten superpower by itself right there. Anything else is gravy."

"True," she agreed. "Being invincible rocks too, but flying is just… magical. Never gets old."

Ah, the question on whether or not to warn her about the whole 'invincible' line. It was a risky thing to keep boasting about, especially if someone hit her too hard more than once.

I was saved from my dilemma by Crystal's return. "Vicky? What are you doing here, it's a school day! Aunt Carol will be pissed if you're ditching."

"Chill cuz, it was a half day at Arcadia," Vicky said with an easy grin. "Was just grabbing lunch when I spotted you two, so I thought I'd chat your date up while you were distracted, make sure he's on the up and up."

"Not my date," Crystal said with an eyeroll. "But I do appreciate the concern. Amy around?"

"Nah, she had homework. Was gonna bring her some stuff though," she held up a brown bag that was already showing visible grease stains.

"Gimme. I'll take it to her and you can go hang out with Dean or something. Got an appointment with your mom anyways," Crystal offered.

"Sounds great, you're the best, thanks! Nice meeting you, Mak, see ya around!" With as much speed as she'd arrived, she was suddenly gone in a whirlwind of blonde hair and flapping clothes.

Crystal gave me a sheepish smile. "Sorry about Vicky, she's… a lot."

"She didn't threaten to break me in half or anything, so she's chill in my book," I assured her. "Though I think I disappointed her when I told her she was only my third favorite hero in the city."

That got a good laugh out of her. "Good, she needs an ego check once in a while."

I ended up catching a ride with Crystal over to the Dallon home. Funnily enough, Crystal didn't fly everywhere, because while she had a public identity, she still liked to keep a somewhat low profile so that she wasn't hounded by cape groupies or paparazzi 24/7. When I walked with her out of Fugly Bob's and to the parking lot, I'm not sure what kind of car I was expecting. Some kind of luxury car probably. I was surprised to find that she actually had a beat up old VW Bug. When I asked her about it, she grumbled something about stingy parents and good gas mileage. It was a struggle not to laugh at the look on her face.

Less funny, was the trip over. Now my perception of things was still imperfect, I was adjusting to this place as a living, breathing world of it's own. But one thing I do remember vividly: Carol Dallon, Brandish, being a Grade A bitch.

I'll say it once more, my view was perhaps distorted due to the biased narration of a supervillain and the subsequent mountain of fanon that I'd consumed in the years after. I just had to hope that was the case and that having her niece speak up on my behalf would help me out. Or maybe she was just nicer to heroes in general.

We pulled up in the nice suburban neighborhood, the epitome of 'upper middle-class' America. It even had a little fence around the front yard, though it wasn't white or a picket. Crystal led me to the front door and knocked in a distinct, peppy rhythm. After a moment, Panacea (Amy I suppose, since she lacked her costume then) opened the door.

"Hey Crystal? What are you doing here?" She asked with a confused look, though not unhappy.

Crystal beamed at her cousin and stepped in for a quick hug. "Got an appointment with your mom. Can we come in? Oh, this is Mak, you might remember him-"

"Yeah, I healed him last night. Are you going to be filing charges against the guys who attacked you?" Amy asked curiously.

I hadn't really thought about it and honestly, it would be nice to get some manner of payback on the punks who'd beat me so badly. But… Well, I'd just settle for giving them a righteous face punching if I ever ran into them in costume. "Nah nothing like that. I need help discussing a Protectorate contract."

Amy made a little choked noise of surprise, but Crystal quickly rushed to explain on my behalf. "Mak doesn't really care about the whole secret identity thing, he's kind of weird like that."

"I like to show a little trust and who better than the family team of superheroes?" I shrugged and shot her a grin. "Y'all are cool in my books."

"Thanks I guess," Amy frowned, then gave her own shrug. "Come on in. Caro- Mom is busy on a conference call with her firm, but I think she'll be done soon. Do you guys want anything while you wait?"

"Water would be great!" Crystal said as we walked into the living room.

"I'm good, thank you," I replied.

"Gotcha. Mark is outside doing some yard work. Today is-" she cut herself off, probably not wanting to give away private family business in front of a stranger like me.

"Good day, yeah? Remembered his pills?" I filled in the blanks myself. "Don't worry, just a Thinker aspect of my powers, I know about his depression."

Amy gave me a funny look, but nodded curtly in reply before heading into the kitchen.

"That's some weirdly specific knowledge you got there…" Crystal said leadingly. "What else do you have swirling around up there?"

I blinked at her, choosing my words carefully. "Less than I should, more than you'd probably want me to know. I know… private things. Intimate things, some might say."

Crystal shot me a wary look. "Like what?"

"Trigger events. Secret identities too. I can tell you the first and last names of each member of the Wards and Protectorate. I can tell you about your mother and aunt's trigger events. I can tell you who Amy's biological father is," I informed her bluntly.

Her eyes widened in panic and she shot a look over toward the kitchen. "For the love of God, keep that kind of stuff to yourself unless you have a really good reason to share. That's… God, what else do you know?"

"I know most of the Empire 88's identities too," I said with a small smirk. "Good way to even the playing field if they ever start crossing the line. I'll need to inform the Director about Coil's too, ASAP."

"You probably shouldn't go outing a cape so quickly. There's sort of an unspoken-"

"I know about the unwritten rules," I assured her. "Like I said, weirdly specific precog stuff. I don't intend to use my knowledge against the E88 or ABB unless they give me ample reason, but Coil is a different beast altogether. His secret identity works from within the PRT, he's got moles in all the gangs too and he's planning on eventually releasing the identities of the E88 to spark a gang war to drive them out of the city. Not until later this year, so he might not even have all the identities yet, but… Yeah, he's probably the single biggest threat in the city and his power basically lets him bypass the unwritten rules without anyone ever even knowing."

She was locked in now, burning curiosity written across her face. "What do you mean by that?"

"He's a two path precognitive. He sees two different timelines where he can do different things, then when he closes one, his body acts out what happened in the timeline he 'keeps'. For instance, in one timeline he can go to work as normal, have a decent dinner, and then go to bed on time. In the other timeline, he burns the candle at both ends doing research on his enemies, even going so far as to kidnap and torture some of them for the information he wants. Then he closes that timeline, keeping the one where he got a simple good night's rest, but still possessing the knowledge that he gained in the other timeline. That's why his mercenaries are so damn effective, because he plots out the attacks he sends them on step by step and has probably sent them on some variation of the attack multiple times until he's found a pattern or set of instructions that optimizes their victory. It's a pretty crafty power, but especially dangerous due to how smartly he uses it," I explained.

"Well that sounds pretty crazy." I jumped slightly, having forgotten that Amy was lurking around too. She set a glass of water in front of Crystal and then plopped onto the couch next to her. "Kind of glad that you're on our side then."

"How much of that did you hear?" Crystal asked.

"Just the bit about knowing identities and then Coil's power. Was there more?" Amy asked with a wry smile, just the barest edge of sarcasm in her voice.

"...We can talk about it later. You might want to know, but we should do it in a better setting," Crystal decided.

"That bad huh?" Sarcastic became worried. A proper reaction.

"Once he's got his big bad Protectorate contract and his first paycheck, I'm billing Mak for therapy ice cream. He can tell you what he knows and then you can eat your heart out while cussing at him," Crystal told her.

"I suppose I can afford to buy my favorite Brockton Bay cape something as simple as that," I mused.

Amy blinked at me, eyes going a little wide. "Me? I'm your favorite cape in Brockton?"

"Kind of in general really," I confirmed. "Healers are so much cooler than we give you guys credit for, not to mention your self control is amazing. Other capes just fight or help with natural disasters. You can actually help people in a far more direct manner."

She looked far too confused by that, which told me all I needed too about how much actual praise and validation she must get on a day to day basis.

Must resist the urge to adopt.

Crystal's phone pinged right about then. She glanced at it, then rose up from the couch, gesturing for me to follow her. "Aunt Carol is ready for us now."

I followed nervously through the tastefully decorated house, noting the amount of photos featuring Victoria, with only a handful containing Amy, mostly the family shots and even then she looked out of place amidst the blond hair and blue eyed Dallons.

Crystal entered the office with a small knock. "Hey Aunt Carol," she greeted cheerfully. She plopped down in one of the chairs across from Brandish.

I entered at a more sedate pace and offered my hand to Carol. "Mak Inouye, Mrs. Dallon," I introduced myself while offering a smile. "Thank you for agreeing to see me on such short notice."

Carol accepted my hand with a firm shake and a gracious nod. "Please, call me Carol. I'm always happy to help out a prospective hero."

"Ah, she told you about that already, did she?" I sank into one of the chairs myself, finding it quite a bit more comfortable than I was expecting. Probably because this was her home office.

"I put it together myself. Amy had mentioned Crystal asking her to take care of a specific patient last night and the nature of the attack led me to the conclusion that you must have gained powers. Unless you were seeking to press charges on your attackers, but then, there are better lawyers than me for that particular type of work. In addition, while Crystal is always happy to assist civilians that she saves, unless you were a personal friend or acquaintance, I doubt she would have offered to set up this meeting," Carol reasoned. I guess when she had all the information like that, it wasn't hard to puzzle out.

"That about sums it up. I did indeed gain powers recently and I'm looking to join the Protectorate. I was ready to accept whatever they offered me, but Crystal persuaded me to come to you first," I explained.

"Well then let's start simple: What are your powers, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I'm some sort of Trump, I get powers periodically. First thing I got when I triggered was a precognitive vision. Just the one and it wasn't perfect, but it's given me some pretty dangerous information to have, which is one reason joining the Protectorate is a good option. Currently I also possess some sort of Striker energy attack and a quiver that will produce infinite copies of an arrow or crossbow bolt," I summarized.

Carol's eyes went wide at the information. If I remembered right, Trumps were the rarest sort of capes, only beaten out by healers, and ones that got stronger? Dauntless was the only one that came immediately to mind. "That's a good baseline to start, but what leads you to believe you'll become more powerful? You could just be a grab-bag cape."

"I feel a… charge, I guess you could say. It only builds when I'm actively doing stuff. If I just sit around doing nothing, it doesn't build. Once the charge hits a certain point, then I gain a new power." I was grossly over-simplifying the way the Grimoire worked of course, but I doubted they would believe the actual truth of my powers, I needed to at least sound like a plausible cape and I half remembered Dauntless working in a similar manner, though he didn't have to earn his charges. "At least, that's how it's worked so far."

"I see. Well even if you only gain minor powers, being able to gain new ones might make you an incredibly versatile cape, assuming your rate of growth continues. I'm sure we can push for a fairly good contract," Carol smiled at me, but it was the cold smile of a calculating business woman. "Let's talk numbers now."

Carol kicked us out after a bit of number crunching and questions about how many hours I was willing to work, if I was willing to attend Endbringer battles, and a plethora of other questions that just left my head aching and eyes watering. She told me she'd put together as favorable a contract as possible, have me review it, then make an appointment with the PRT to actually get the gears turning. I had stressed that I was basically broke, but she had assured me that I could pay her fees in full once I was settled in the Protectorate.

"Well that was boring as hell," Crystal laughed as we exited the Dallon house. "Want to go patrol? Get your first taste of cape life?"

I genuinely did, but I still hesitated. "You sure that's a good idea? I mean, I'm still getting used to my powers. Plus, I might slow you down, I don't have any kind of Mover powers yet."

Crystal frowned, not having thought of that. "Yeah, I guess it would be kind of tough for you to keep up right now. Alright, we'll put off a patrol for now, but we should still hit the streets sometime. Don't forget about lil old me when you're a Protectorate big shot."

"I'll always have time for my dashing hero," I drawled mockingly while clambering into her car.

We drove in silence for a while before Crystal spoke again. "You don't have any friends or family in the city, do you?"

"Thanks for reminding me how empty and alone my life is," I said sarcastically. "I'll remember you in my note."

"Oh shut up! You and Amy both, I swear." She elbowed me with a roll of her eyes, tone unimpressed. "I just figured with how blaise you are about your identity… Well, most capes keep their i.d secret for a reason, ya know? Even with the rules, it's still a major risk."

"Very astute, Detective Pelham. I have some extended family back in California, who I do love dearly. Parents both died when I was pretty young, passed around the aunts and uncle as kiddo practice, but still missed having a real mom and dad, blah, blah, blah, it's all very tragic," I tried to keep my tone light, but it was a fight to do so. I loved my aunts, uncle, and various cousins, but I had to keep them separate in this new life. "On paper we don't have the best of relationships, so hopefully that, plus the rules will keep them safe. And if it doesn't…" My voice trailed off as I contemplated how far I'd go if someone threatened my loved ones.

"Sorry I didn't mean to bring up bad memories," she apologized. "But seriously, no friends in the city? How long have you been here?"

"Since I was nineteen, sooooo… five years now? Took a couple of years to just kind of kick back right after high school, then moved out this way. My grades weren't the best, so BBU was one of the few places that would take me," I explained. "I've never been the best at making new friends. New city, one with a Nazi gang and a dragon-man that makes people leery of asians, plus my own social anxiety and you have a recipe for a very boring few years at college, plus the last one just working and struggling to try and survive. No real time for friends, just the occasional drink after work with coworkers."

"Shit that's depressing. Well you have one new friend now. And if you ever wanna hang out, just hit me up. I think you'd like my brother too, he's a good kid, even if he can be a punk sometimes," she said fondly. "And hey, you're about to gain some new coworkers. Maybe you can make friends there, eh?"

"Maybe," I said noncommittally, but truthfully I loved the idea.

It never hurts to make new friends in my books.
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