Uptown Brockton Bay
It was a pretty day. The warmth of summer had replaced the chilly spring. The humidity and muggy air from all the moisture Leviathan had pulled in had finally cleared. Now it was a pleasant moderate heat, cheerful sunlight, and blue skies.
Emerson got dressed. Today it was sneakers, running shorts, and a revealing cut of tee shirt (after such success working on the abs it would be a crime not to show them off). After getting dressed it was time for a quick jog.
It was a good day for some self-indulgence. The exercise would be light and the reward tasty The jog would end at a place called Cracked-Up. Stopping there was going to undo the calorie burn of the jog and then some. A plate of the best French toast in Brockton was placed beside the house special. Eggs Benedict added an English muffin-sized crab cake and just a sprinkle of Old Bay.
After that glorious breakfast, Emerson had loose plans to stroll around. There were some jewelry stores to scope out. It might be worth taking a cab downtown and scoping out Medhal. There was an upcoming birthday to consider but what did you get a man who pre-ordered everything he was truly interested in?
Something collided with Emerson. It was multiple things. It happened fast, and the objects had to be controlled. They were pushing, not impacting. Left foot and lower leg, the left side of right leg and foot left mid-torso, and the left shoulder. The particulars worked out Emerson used inhuman internal balance. The body shifted and muscles pushed against slick surfaces.
Launching into a careful spinning jump Emerson impacted a wall. Then pushed off to change direction, ducked into a roll, and sprung up again. That was just in time to see the offending objects change direction.
They were smooth thick discs of glass each shattered. They then whirled through the air to show off their new cutting edges.
"Up here Circus, or would you prefer Emerson."
The stream of light between the buildings scintillated the colorful glass panels that made up Shatterbird's costume. She floated down closer to eye level. A spray of broken glass fanned out to each side of her shoulders like stained glass wings.
Emerson started to run down the items contained in extra-dimensional storage. While an extensive list nothing was standing out. None were fast enough to use and powerful enough to cause a long enough distraction. Not enough to gain a lead on such a swift-moving cap.
"I've watched most of your tricks. You need not panic. If I were here to kill you would already be dead. You have caught my eye. You are a more powerful Cape than you pretend to be. This city has limited opportunities for someone like you.
Your opportunity is not only limited as a Cape. Do you really think a misogynistic asshole will not eventually turn on you?
If you are too much a woman he will lose respect. You will be a toy, not a companion. If you are too much of a man he will recoil from the relationship for being gay.
You exist in a very narrow slice of delusions. Once you get tired of trying to balance within that strip you will fall."
"You are wrong!" Circus screamed. It was a cover for pulling some small objects out of extra-dimensional space. Hidden in the palm of the hand they might be weapons of last resort.
"Am I? Do you have some group you can count on to support you with friendship and comradery? I haven't seen any gay pride events here in Brockton. Even if there were how many
a misogynist would be hiding among the homosexual males? How many hateful remarks would the bisexuals have to ignore about their being fake or indecisive? How many would whisper behind the backs of the transexual that they weren't really members of the community?"
"Less than you would find insulting Irish or Italian or Catholic among the Skinheads." Circus rebutted.
"Different clan, same poison. In the end, you either are delusional or realize there are only two classes. The abusers and the abused. Which one will you be when the crisis point comes? Victim or victimizer? Think carefully the Nine welcomes one and is merciless to the other."
"I won't play your games!"
"Then you made your choice and will die," Shatterbird said as she sent her glass shards forth.
Circus brought hands together. A small orb in the right burst, scattering dust into the air. A second later the lighter from the left hand ignited the powder.
Circus was running up the wall finding toe holds in unlikely places among the bricks. A window unit AC gave a few seconds of purchase. Circus evaluated the situation.
The explosion was more light and noise than force. Blinded Shatterbird had sent her shards striking the wall where Circus once was. She turned up and saw the AC unit falling towards her as Circus lept away.
The glass blades knocked the air conditioner away and sped on after the escaping Cape. Shatterbird gave a shriek and the glass ahead shattered and flew at Circus. A mid-air twist saved Circus from being blended into a mist.
Landing on a rooftop Circus launches into a full-speed dash across the rooftops. The sprint wasn't enough. Shatterbird rose out of the alley and swooped forward.
Some caught Circus' attention, a plastic prism that was from Leets' lab. Diving down again between the buildings Circus grabbed the object. Then came a one-handed fumble for the switch in its base.
With a flick, it engaged. Optical camouflage enhanced the escape attempt. Circus grabbed a fire escape bar and used it to force a twirl that redirected momentum. Seconds later Shatterbird shot by. She started whirling in circles looking for the clown.
"You have to be close. Very clever to escape. Let us see if you have the fortitude to stick to your chosen path." She called out as she sailed away.
Quietly heart still hammering Circus crept in the other direction. Unsure of if the pursuit had stopped, the cape continued until the camouflage hologram ended.
She now had some questions for Leet. How had he known? If he did why didn't he say anything? Was that delivered by one of his drones?
Circus shook her head too many questions not enough answers. The old man would have the same. She would have to answer his questions first. He would ask for every detail of this battle and every nuance he could eek some advantage out of. Reporting in would be hell but she trusted that old bastard would make a solid analysis of it all. He would give them better answers than they had now. That would tell them how to deal with these psychos.
Circus put away her weapons. Centering himself as Emerson he returned to jogging at a pace that would draw no notice or alarm. Word had to be sent out. The Nine were here. The time to prepare was gone. It was time to go to war.
Anders residence
"Theo sit down, you must listen to me." Max's commanding tone brooked no argument.
"Dad I'm sorry but I really don't want to do this. I have to go home soon. You don't want me to know anything that could be used against you."
"You completely misunderstand me. I am signing over the Anders business interests to a Trust you will inherit when you turn eighteen. You can either know what is going on or be surprised. They will not be good surprises."
"Why-" Theo stopped and ordered his thoughts. "Why do you think I want any of that?"
"You know I don't care about the cause. Deep down I never did this all of this is about power and money. If you won't take up the cause, fine. There are other ways. It will be up to you to keep yourself and your sister safe."
"How can you divorce the source from the stream? It's tainted water all the way to the sea."
"By taking the poison with me. I am going to prison. Everything I can decouple from the cause I have. You don't have to follow in my footsteps, you can pick a better path. I have struck a plea bargain. Even so, I have a fear that the hate I put into the world will follow me. Without protection even the reduced sentence might not be enough there is a chance I could be killed."
"I don't want to think about that. Surely they will make sure you're safe. You are famous and it would look bad for them if something happened, you're high profile."
"You have to be ready regardless. Your family is counting on you, Theo. Without money and some strength, the enemies I made will crush you. Let me help you, Theo. I may not be a good man but I will be a good father. Let me do this one last thing to protect you and your sister Aster."
"What is it you want?"
"I have lawyers and accounts that you can depend on but oversight is what makes them trustworthy. You must learn to read them to see between the spoken words and the lines in print. You have to learn to see the reality of what is so you can be sure they are still working in your best interest."
"How do I do that?"
"Each time you come over until the trial, sit with me and listen to what we do. After each meeting, I will help you learn how to read the room."
A slow clap started. Both Anders looked about trying to determine where it was coming from. The closet door slowly swung open. A man in brown leather pants, a white silk shirt, and a leather cord necklace with a wolf tooth dangling from it by a silver clasp. He was smiling a brilliant joyful smile.
"Masterful simply masterful. Little Theo came in here self-assured he wouldn't get involved in any illegal entanglement. You turned him about and aimed him straight at your desired objective." Jack exclaimed.
"Theo run," Max ordered.
"If he runs he dies. If he stays you might both live. For now at least." Jack said, flicking out a butterfly knife to punctuate his statement.
"What do you want?" Max said. His voice was different than before. Filled with a carefully contained anger, it was darker and deeper. It was his Kaiser voice.
Max put his hand on Theo's shoulder. Theo could feel a slight prick of a needle. It was an old truck his father had used for years to pass messages in secret. Morse code simple letters standing in for a word. SQ, stand quiet. PTR, prepare to run. When his dad saw an opening he'd give a signal.
"I had Mannequin slip in and record your stand-in over in Boston. He lacks your presence and charisma. All pre-written speeches and canned responses. Too easy to see he isn't a leader, he's a product being produced."
"Of what concerns is that to me?"
"Tarnishes the brand you know. Kaiser quickly became infamous. The leader of armies, a general over both parahuman and mundane. Other capes led gangs, but you led campaigns. The power of the Empire Eighty-Eight didn't come from its capes, it came from how you kept them focused and on task. Something your father never managed.
Even the old Butcher couldn't displace you. You held off the Nine and held your gang's position against a raging dragon who could take on the entirety of the local Protectorate.
Now some hack is taking your role? A talentless clown who has to read off cue cards? No that simply will not do."
"Then go deal with him. I have a family to look after. You aren't one to do anyone any favors, Jack. I tire of the games what do you really want from me?"
"I sent my hounds after that trash in Boston. My hounds are why I decided to come to you. New paradigm you see. The Nine are like the wild hunt. The Teeth are like hounds the hunters set on their prey. However, hounds need looking after. I need a tenth one who works for the Nine without being of the Nine. I need a hound master. And you have experience wrangling wolves and the like. You would be a natural to keep the lessers in line. Even if you don't truly hold the Nazi ideology close to your heart you still believe in that part. That some people are more worthy than others? A bit of social Darwinism I expect."
"Call it whatever you want some people pick themselves up and keep going others stay in the dirt. Some even take refuge in their insanity and pretend that inflicting it on others is some sort of noble cause."
"Ooh, catty barbs! You listen up Theo. That is how the upper class put people down. Common cursing and disparagement just won't cut it in their world." Jack said eyeing Theo.
"So you went to evaluate Kaiser in Boston and found him lacking. Then came to find me. Your powers are frightening Jack and your control seems strong. You don't fool me however, I've studied the butcher and see through you. They all start with some measure of control before the voices start to degrade their will. Deep down you know this only ends when you're dead. Perhaps that is even why you came. You must know I would never submit to you."
"Everyone has levers, Max. You pull them on others enough. You must realize you have your own and one is standing right there. Your shield against the meaningless of existence is the idea that your life continues via legacy through him- and the girl. What happens to your vaunted Will when that shield is broken?"
Several things happened at once. Theo dashed away. Jack Flicked his knife in a broad slash. Quarter-inch thick steel poles shot out of the floor and ceiling. Both sets were set in opposing forty-five-degree angles. The poles braced each other in X's Seven of the pairs deformed a bit with a gouge mark on them but the others held firm. New poles started branching at ninety-degree angles from the originals.
The poles had blunt ends Jack teleported away. Vague memories of fights with Kiaser from the previous butchers made him let loose of the voices to advise him.
"I fought the Butcher for years both under my father's command and as his heir. I will not run scared from the likes of you Jack Slash."
The poles were filling space so that Jack couldn't teleport into it. The other Butchers warned him. The pathways through would see him pinned by new poles that would then sprout twists, loops hooks, and plates to restrain him. Kaiser knew how much connection was needed to flesh to make the teleportation power try to move the entire mass of metal.
Jack gave a smile he could see the kid running for the car. Open ground would nullify his father's advantage. Crossing it on foot would be impossible but with the speed of one of Max's toys, he might get away.
Max meant to drive him. He was taking a different route to the car. Theo would be passing the servants Jack had set out for Max to find if he made a retreat.
Theo entered the hall he swallowed several times to keep from throwing up. He knew these people. The maid Emily the gardener Jack. They were hanging like cuts of beef at a slaughterhouse. The hooks that held them to the wall were the Z shape of wolfhooks.
"There is a Butcher in the Slaughterhouse now," Theo said aloud in shock.
He felt laughter welling up at the thought. Not at all because it was funny but because he was about to lose control. He rushed forward closing his eyes trying not to think about what he had just seen. Trying not to think about the smells of blood bile and offal mixing in that hall.
He slammed into the door and wrestled with getting the knob turned. The warmer air of the garage flooded in. Theo fell forward landing on his hands and knees as his stomach's contents flooded out onto the concrete floor. Theo absently rose then grabbed some shop towels and wiped his hands. He tossed the roll away in disgust at the automatic nature of the action. He couldn't afford to go into shock. He couldn't run on autopilot. His dad was counting on him. He had to keep it together.
Rushing again he squatted between two cars. He put his hand on the passenger door of his dad's Porsche.
The other door into the garage flew open. Max made a crouched dash for the car. Poles emerged blocking off empty spaces above the cars, along the workbench area, and back into the house.
Just as Max's hand touched the driver's side door the air shrieked with metal being torn and shredded.
Jack stood arms outstretched between two large stone blades flanking him. Each was just a bit taller than himself. The projected cutting power struck out the attacks crossing the Porsches engine. Fragments of body and frame were like twin shotgun blasts. The vehicle was shoved back until it impacted and partially caved in the back garage wall.
Max rolled over and attempted to stand. His body was bleeding from multiple wounds but still alive. Rips in his clothing revealed the armor he had formed beneath them. Theo was lying in a heap but there was no blood. Max had armored him as well.
Jack walked forward a few steps and gave a theatrical bow. "A merry chase but futile. Are you going to play my game now or shall we continue this farce? You are in the end just as much a monster as we. You sought power and control and were willing to sell your soul for it, Anders. Don't tell me you won't sell yourself again for your kids."
Max snarled, "Tell me your damn terms."
"You come with me and take charge of the Teeth. You forge them into a proper fighting force in Boston the rest of the Nine will stay here. If you renege on the deal, they kill Theo and Aster. If not they just continue wiping the insufferable amount of hope in this shit city."
An engine cranking caught Jack by surprise. Theo was in the driver's seat of the Mercedes. He gunned the engine and launched the car straight through the other garage door. Jack spun to slash the tires Max's power shot spears and hooks out of the ground to shield the car. Jack's blow made a streak of damage along the fender and down the doors to the rear quarter.
The damage didn't stop Theo. Max rushed out of the garage with more armor and weapons forming. He lunged forward with a spear, stretching for Jack's chest. Max's nearby constructions were branching out a cage heming Jack in and pushing him towards the spear tip.
Jack teleported up appearing on top of the house he lept down swinging his knife in an overhead downward slash. The force of the projected cut worked as a pole to vault him over the maze of spears Kaiser had made.
The additional force and unexpected angle broke enough poles to slice into Max's upper right shoulder where it joined the neck. Jack spun as he landed. The blood spray was impressive but Riley could easily fix him. Jack didn't have time to think of more before the impact.
Jack was forced through the broken bars he'd damaged. His momentum only stopped when his abdomen struck one of the concrete blades he'd called up to destroy the Porsche. It wasn't feeling good, massive internal bleeding. His Butcher brute power and Riley's little tweaks meant he could still move.
Jack spun his head like an owl. He saw the driver's airbag deflating. Theo's dazed face looked out from the ruins of the Mercedes. Jack gave him a very unnerving grin that promised a future return with interest for the pain. Jack pulled his chest around to match his head and reached for a handful of shattered glass from the windshield.
Theo only knew Jack was coming for him. Only feet away his Dad was gushing blood into the driveway. He was trapped seatbelted into a car that wasn't likely to ever move under its own power again.
Something was swelling inside Theo. It kept growing beyond his physical body. Jack looked away just in time and teleported as far as he could. He was stuck on a roof a few blocks away. He was dealing with the after-effects. He had seen the show before even if he never remembered the details. Kaiser's last thought was 'he did it.'
Max Anders died proud of his son's bravery, hopeful that his powers would give him a chance, and remorseful that he couldn't find a way to remain with him longer.
PRT vans swarmed the scene. They talked down, a confused, devastated boy.
Aberrant Universe
The opposite side of the Galactic Core.
An oblong hunk of rock nearly three kilometers across hung in orbit around a planet designated Terminus. The people who had named it were from Earth. This is odd as the planet could not be observed from Earth. Terminus was nearly directly opposite Earth along a path striking through the core and out to the outer edge of the galactic accretion disk.
The orbital path of the asteroid would have any astronomer who did see it scratching their head. It was rotating north to south around the planet at odds with the rotation of the planet and the rest of the star system.
A much smaller metallic object on the opposite side matched the larger object's rotation. They remained on opposing sides of the planet. That would confirm the unnatural nature of these orbital bodies. However, someone would have to be relatively close to see the second object. It was only eighty feet by forty-six.
If someone was very close they could see a painted image on the side of the object. It was a near but legally distinct work from the famous Swan Song Records image of Icarus Falls. Which never actually graced an album cover but was long associated with Led Zeppelin.
How a ship that was commissioned to scout the three Centauri stars ended up here was a tale of chicanery and sleight of hand for the ages. Marcus Hightower had never lied that it was a scout probe. He had simply refrained from revealing everything it was scouting.
Some people would think going to such literal and figurative lengths to hide your new address was insanity. Marcus called it prudence. It was never paranoia to be cautious after all it was more than the humans of Earth he sought to avoid. It was the Abberants and Novas who fled their birthworld he feared.
Hightower made his way to the meeting room. The luminaries in the various groups he had offered escape to had formed a guiding council meant to give a voice to all. It relieved any fears of tyranny while helping the visionaries among them from drifting too far into the clouds. It told them what was bothering those more grounded.
Icarus had found a place to establish a human colony. It had been seeding the planet with Earth-based life for five years previous to the Othyrs arrival. Terminus had previous to that held only the remnant of life. Microbes that survived the meteor impact that darkened its sky. The same sort of thing could have happened to Earth. If life had been a little less tenacious or if it had been unlucky enough to have happened during a more precarious timeframe.
Drones were already harvesting planetoids and assembling orbital support for their mission. Passengers from Othyrs would soon be disembarking to start new lives among the orbitals. Factories production and defenses would be layered on in space. They would leave the sweeping vistas of the planet itself. They would be used for natural perseveres, farming, husbandry, and eventually housing.
The plan was working. The only hiccup so far was who was missing. While they had some Psiads and Mentalists aboard they had very little of the Psionic technology Doctor Bhurano had created. It left them in a tight spot. They were far more dependent than originally intended on the Islington Tea Society. Rodger Wellington's group of covert Psyads and Novas. They specialized in Neotic and enhanced interrogation and intelligence operations.
The Koltsov Avademy was the only counterbalance among the Neotic users. Ludmilla Zhdanov had a seat on the council. Despite his disinterest in politics, Grandfather Monkey was granted a chair. He seldomly occupied it and even less frequently voted on any issues.
The Daoist-based spiritual pursuit of the Academy clashed with the Temple of Inner Light. Its philosophy rubbed many even among the Novas in the refuges the wrong way. Hightower had vetted them carefully, however. Its current leader Cassy Jackson headed the remnants of the church with a mix of her good judgment and a a book of prophecies from its founder.
The survivors of the Daedalus League were the most pragmatic voices in the group. They were far more concerned about infrastructure and safety than the governance of the people who made use of the structures. Janice Karagian sat on the council for their interests. She sought to wipe away the stain of those who had not joined Hightower. They had gone rogue and forcibly taken the colony on Luna.
Andy Vance led the escaped members of the Queer Nova Alliance. They had given the group a demographic strongly weighted toward their constituents. Husbands wives children parents friends and simple allies of Queer Novas had joined the egress from Earth. Escaping fascist dictatorships was a matter of life and death for more than just the Novas among them. The QNA had built the skill sets needed for an underground railroad. Born of their facility for working under repressive governments. With the fall of the USA and its rechristening to the FSA, there were plenty among their groups who were eager to retreat from Earth. Hightower had simply given them a safe destination.
Marcus strode into the low-gravity meeting room. The sections of the ship with higher gravity were reserved for more important tasks than meetings. He smiled at everyone.
"Freinds Jason has reported the wormhole is stabilized. We have a path back to the Lagrange point between the Centauri stars."
"Are the sabotage devices secure?" Andy inquired.
"Very much so. Jason was thorough." Hightower reassured
"We all know there are people who we would like to go back for but Andy is quite right to value our security first," Janice said to the table at large.
"An interesting way of phrasing that. Do you perhaps think that the risk is too great for returning?" Rodger inquired with the maddening calm tone he used when dissecting someone's motives.
"Don't engage with that. We all agreed having eyes on Earth was necessary for security. The idea of stealth missions was expanded out of that as a natural evolution. Given how narrow our escape was, it is only natural to question our risk level." Ludmilla answered.
Mateo moved his arms in a way that while subtle gained everyone's attention. "Like the Foundation conceived by Asimov, we have placed ourselves as far from the fallen Empire of our past as we can. We have brought with us knowledge skills and people from nearly every corner of the globe. Yet our security is largely illusionary.
What one Nova built another can replicate. Even without an example to copy. The only way we will know we are safe is by monitoring our potential enemies. Knowledge is power. We must set up monitoring to report on the actions of those we can not trust. We might as well carefully look for those we can trust. Then help them to evacuate."
Hightower gave a nod. "Emphasis on carefully. There are many I wish had chosen to join us or who we could not manage to make it to in the chaos."
"Not to mention the other volume of the German diaries" Rodger added a twinkle of mirth in his eye. Chasing the secret of the Diaries was what first brought Marcus and the Islington Tea Society together. Allies of convenience morphed into something else. They were not exactly friendly rivals but something more than they'd started.
"We are of the opinion that the German diaries are relics worth seeking. They may be unclear but they are inspired." Cassy added.
Hightower drummed his fingers. The diaries of the unknown and unnamed German were one of the greatest prizes he had gained. Carefully maneuvering around existing groups he sought them out.
The German had been a Squire. A figure who could use the mysterious power of Aether. He had been a young adult and documented his experiences. The protection he put over his diaries preserved them against the unwinding of the Aether Age.
More to the point he had studied the technology of the so-called Martians. The alien empire known as the Ascendancy. When his powers faded he continued work with mundane technology. His work was based on what principles he could make sense of with an unaugmented human mind.
After the Hammersmith incident, he was empowered once more. His age tempered his reason. He revisited his previous work of deciphering alien power and Aether itself.
As one of the Inspired Daredevils. He turned his augmented creativity back to his old journals. He had divided them into three portions. First, the inspired technology of the Ascendancy tech priesthood which he largely understood. Second, the Quantum technology he did not fully understand. The scientist Stalwarts of his age seemed to be able to make some progress with that. The last volume was Neotic Technology. What his Mesmerist associates had been able to come up with building on the groundwork of the rest of the guide.
Marcus Hightower had the Quantum and Neotic portions of the guide. On Earth, he was often given scraps of the Inspired guide to work with. Its keeper had never trusted him with the entirety of the work. They were filled with a mix of blueprints, notes on experiments, observations, and odd prophecies. They were also the first volume nothing in them was repeated but was often referenced. The structure limited how much of the other volumes could be understood. Without the first some parts were indecipherable.
"Finding that would be awesome. More awesome than that would be finding lost friends. Friends like Mateo's brother Aram, Old Lady Freeman, or some of Doctor Bhurano's group. Jason of course is interested in Justin and his family, " Hightower admitted.
Mateo gave a solemn nod. "Let's put it to a vote it will be a volunteer mission but I know plenty of people who have volunteered. Samuel Rodrguez was eager to go back and see what's happening back there."
The votes were cast and the measure passed. Standing naked in space the metal body of Jason Danger paced the outer shell of the wormhole generation ring. He checked and double-checked the drone's work.
When the news popped up in his awareness he stopped to focus. He clenched his fist in an all too human gesture. Holding it in front of himself he stared into space.
"Hold on Father. Help is coming! We will find you I swear it!"