A/N: Thank to Two Pence for beta reading. I've written but not edited up to 3.13, so hopefully I'll have a better release schedule going forward.
ooOoo
"You've convinced me to stay," said Alexandria, her nostrils flaring, holding out her hand. "I'll even call in the rest of the Triumvirate. Conditional on you and your Undersiders joining the Protectorate."
"And what happens if I say no," said Everywhere, staring at Alexandria's hand. Bleeding flesh slithered around the girl's skeletal figure.
"Then I wish you luck," said Alexandria. "I suggest you kill Noelle immediately. With her gone, the Slaughterhouse will grow bored eventually. It's even possible that some of you survive."
"I could teleport you to the Siberian," said Everywhere. "Take my friends and leave before you get back."
"You could," said Alexandria. "You won't. Brockton Bay is your home, you won't leave it at the Slaughterhouse's mercy."
"This isn't right," said Flechette. "I get why you want her on our side, but this isn't the way to go about it. How can you live with yourself?"
"28 times I've run from an Endbringer," said Alexandria. "28 times I've let entire countries fall. An estimated 1.34 billion people have died as a result of my failure. I've felt guilt over their lives, but never regret. Because the alternative, getting myself killed for nothing, is far worse. Letting one city fall is nothing compared to the end of the world."
"The end of the world happens one city at a time," said Everywhere.
"Is this about Shadow Stalker?" Asked Alexandria. "You seemed offended by her presence. Has she wronged you in some way? Accept our offer and she's off the team. Depending on her transgressions even the birdcage is a possibility."
Everywhere's laughter was bitter and humorless.
"There are some commercial ventures we'd like to continue," said Tattletale. "We were working on a joint venture with medhall to modify livestock with human organs and blood. Saved lots of lives, made us lots of money. Brockton Bay's problems are a lot deeper than criminality. If we could get some capes using their powers commercially we could save the city economically. We'd also like to reform the courts, education, and the police system in Brockton Bay. Just as a test case? That's my price."
"No," said Alexandria, frowning. "I have no more time for this. Will you save the city, or let it burn for your pride?"
"Fine," said Everywhere, the contempt, the hatred was clear in her voice. "You win. I'll become a 'hero'. Let's save the world together."
"You hate me," said Alexandria. "You believe that I'm evil, corrupt, power hungry. That's fine. You will give me your full cooperation when it comes to the Endbringers and Slaughterhouse. Aside from that, you may act as you wish."
"I stay in Brockton Bay," said Everywhere. "So do Tattletale and the rest of the Undersiders. I want Glory Girl and Clockblocker on my squad. I want Armsmaster leading the branch, and I'm not going to have any part of that Wards bullshit."
"Done," said Alexandria. "Let us go to the local director. There can be no misunderstandings. Everywhere, Tattletale, please join me. Weld, Flechette, Glory Girl, Regent, Grue, you're to make sure that Panacea stays safe. Her capture is one of the Slaughterhouse's win conditions, but remember, they do not need her alive. If they close in on you, run. Grue, send your darkness in the sky if you need reinforcements. Legend will be able to get to you more quickly than the Slaughterhouse."
Alexandria, Everywhere, and Tattletale took their leave. Two villains and a hero. Which was which, Flechette could no longer say.
ooOoo
"It was commendable to sacrifice the possibility of assassinating Coil," said Alexandria, as soon as we were out of the room. "The Slaughterhouse was the greater threat. However, I will not offer him to you as easily as Shadow Stalker. He is far too useful."
"He kept secrets from you," said Tattletale. "He's collecting capes… Noelle… Dinah Alcott. He's keeping them in horrible conditions, creating enemies that we don't need."
"Disappointing," said Alexandria. "You have one of the most extraordinary powers I have ever seen, but you use it for petty provisional squabbles. Do not disappoint me again."
"He shoved a gun in my face and forced me to work for him," said Tattletale. "He sold out me and my squad to the ABB. He's a fucking cunt."
"Mannequin attacked Armsmaster and left him in critical condition," said Alexandria. "This was ten days ago. I believe Jack Slash's intention was to lure Eidolon into Brockton Bay. We are playing into the hands of a man who has stated that his intention is to end the world. I find you repellant, disrespectful, and dangerous, but also extremely intelligent when you choose to get out of your own way. Your presence in the strategy meeting may be the difference between victory and defeat. Whether your contributions are positive or negative is up to you."
"I know Director Calvert better than you," said Tattletale. "He's a selfish, paranoid coward. I'll help you with the Endbringers. He won't. And he'll kill me before I can-"
"Tattletale," I said. "Stop. Alexandria's right. Coil takes a backseat to the Slaughterhouse."
Not that I liked Alexandria. She was everything I hated in a person. Yet another authority figure obsessed with holding onto their power. Justice was unimportant to her. She'd been as ready to sell out Sophia as Principal Blackwell had been to sell out me, and for basically the same rationale. To gain the favor of the stronger cape. Sure it was the right decision, but for the wrong reason. Justice shouldn't have been about how popular or powerful you were, it should've been about figuring out what actually happened and delivering appropriate punishments.
More than that I hated Alexandria because she was a bully. Probably worse than Emma and Sophia, because I really doubted they'd have held all of Brockton Bay hostage to force me to do what they wanted. Not that it would stick. I had no intention of staying with the Protectorate once I'd taken care of Jack and his merry band of murderers. Although before I left I'd share all the bullshit she'd done to me, try to save as many of the capes who actually wanted to make a difference as I could. Hopefully enough capes would pull out to kill the PRT. Then I could replace it with something new, something better. If I had access to their resources I'd have created order through overwhelming force. We'd take down the disorganized parahuman gangs around the country one-by-one, and then everyone would work together to end the Endbringers. Even if it didn't work, the PRT was on a 55 game losing streak against them- well 31- it probably wasn't fair to count the losses before they formed. The point was that what the PRT wasn't just morally reprehensible, it was ineffective. That, more than anything else, was why it needed to be replaced.
"Director Calvert," said Alexandria, as we finally entered Coil's lair. It was a mostly ordinary office. A desk, some stationary, four filing cabinets, two drawers, and a few portraits of what were presumably his wife and children. He did have an advanced looking computer. The man himself was tall, even sitting in his padded chair he was almost eye level with me. "Everywhere and Tattletale have joined the team."
Beside Coil were four capes. A man with a tophat and a full suit. A lonely looking redhead in a wheelchair. An attractive woman in a black bodysuit emblazoned with red suns, Sundancer. The pacifist whose reticence to do what was necessary would surely cause all sorts of problems. There weren't any openings in her costumes, I wasn't sure whether I'd be able to paralyze her with a sting. Last was a not bad-looking man with a build like a football player. He wasn't exactly my type, but he wasn't exactly not. Maybe a little too muscular, but nothing grotesque like a bodybuilder. His arms were defined, a couple veins bulging out from his skin naturally. I probably wasn't giving him enough credit, if he were to ask me out in some world where Emma hadn't turned on me, I'd have probably said yes.
He shuffled behind Sundancer, likely intimidated by Alexandria.
"So our game is over?" Coil leaned back in his chair, and shot Alexandria a smile. "And after all that work setting up a body double for them to chase? A shame."
"He's lying," said Tattletale wildly. "There was no body double. You should be thanking the Slaughterhouse Coil, without them you'd be dead."
"Not a chance," said Coil. "I was given orders not to kill you. The game within the game. Just as your place was meant to train heroes, my place was meant to train villains. If you were truly my enemy, Tattletale, I'd have buried you."
Tattletale scoffed. "Oh please, you didn't have a clue. I already turned Jackson, and it was only a matter of time until I got Lamont on the payroll too."
"I revealed my power to Lamont," said Coil. "He knew better than to betray me."
"Bullshi-"
"Enough," said Alexandria.
"Wanna spill about Noelle?" Asked Tattletale. "Or do you want me to explain why you've been hosting a proto-Endbringer? Short answer, it's megalomania folks. He wants as much power as possible, and he's perfectly willing to risk the Protectorate for it."
The man in the tophat glared at Tattletale. She seemed oblivious to anyone but Coil.
"A fair starting point," said Alexandria. "Once we know Uaine is out of range, our first priority is Noelle's elimination. What will it take?"
Most of Coil's capes seemed resigned to the fact, but the man in the tophat looked furious. I stamped my lycra suit just in case. Panacea's flesh bodysuit was almost dead, having given its life in our first battle against Siberian. Coagulating blood trickled down my back, feeling like a skittering cockroach.
"If Noelle is saved she will be a greater asset than Eidolon," said Coil, smirking. "Tattletale is right. I dream of conquest. I want to rule the city, maybe even the world. Noelle makes that possible. She can create and control clones which approximate the powers of their originals. Imagine the possibilities if she cloned Eidolon or yourself. Not once, not twice. Ten times. A hundred. Nothing could stand in my way, not even an Endbringer. Of course I understand the risks. Without my precog they would be unacceptable. But with her… With her I know that should I survive, the chances of Noelle's compliance are 95.3%."
"What are the chances we defeat the Slaughterhouse?" Asked Alexandria, biting her lip.
"My precog's power has been countered by the Slaughterhouse," said Coil. "But with my own power, I can say with certainty that immediately executing Noelle ends with all of us dead."
Tattletale sighed. "Fine."
"You're damn right, it's fine," said the man in the tophat. "You said you'd be able to heal her! I trusted you!"
"I said I'd try," said Tattletale.
"We should leave," said Tophat.
"Trickster," said Coil. "Enough. If I didn't think I could fix Noelle, giving her asylum on my base would be suicidal. I'm a man of my word. Tattletale and Panacea will attempt to make Noelle human once more. Failing that, they'll at least see if they can improve her condition."
"I'm telling you it's not possible," said Tattletale. "Noelle is gonna realize that, eat Panacea, and then we're all fucked."
"Try," said Alexandria. "That's an order."
Tattletale glanced at me.
"Bring Sundancer," I said. "If things turn south, incinerate them."
Tattletale nodded.
"I'm not going to kill my friend," said Sundancer.
"Mars," said Trickster slyly. "Just follow along. This is our best chance."
The rest of his team didn't look happy.
"That leaves the rest of us to fend off the Slaughterhouse," said Coil. "But first we need reinforcements. Alexandria, you must issue an S-class response immediately. Glaistig Uaine must be dealt with using an elite force. Eidolon, you, Legend, Chevalier, Dragon. The Siberian and Crawler can be stalled with simple numbers.
"Until we have the necessary reinforcements," said Coil. "We will seek to harass and deflect. Capes will be assigned where they can be most useful. Everywhere, can you teleport the Siberian?"
"No," I said.
"But perhaps Ballistic can launch her. Failing that we'll focus on evasion- Battery, Assault, Shadow Stalker, Clockblocker, Grue, Weld, Rune- with a strategy of limiting losses. Any cape we lose will be turned against us."
I almost liked the idea. But it would be better if instead of focusing on harassment, we had Shadow Stalker take up the Siberian's focus, while the rest of them looked for the Siberian's master. Even if they couldn't find them, it would be a better distraction. I also hated the idea of splitting up Vista and Clockblocker and Rune. In contrast, Battery and Assault served the same function and would be better split. And maybe see if Leet or Kid Win had x-ray glasses or anything.
Coil continued. "Against Crawler we place our heaviest hitters and our blasters. Genesis, create a construct large enough to fight him. Miss Militia, Vista, Trickster, Glory Girl, Triumph, Sere, Othala, Uber, Leet, Kid Win, Bitch, and eventually Sundancer. Alexandria, until Eidolon arrives, I want you working on Siberian."
Vista, Clockblocker, and Rune needed to fight Crawler. With their powers working in unison they could spread strings throughout the battlefield, restrict Crawler's movement. Then hit him with the big guns.
He turned to me. "Everywhere, you will have the hardest job of all. Keep Glaistig Uaine busy until Eidolon arrives."
And just like that, all my complaints fell away.
"Yes sir," I said.
"Thomas," said Alexandria. She almost sounded sullen. "I didn't force her to join the team to throw her away. An attack on her is an attack on me."
"I have no quarrel with Everywhere," said Coil. "But putting you up against Glaistig Uaine is an unacceptable risk. She can break your invulnerability with a touch or with Gray Boy, and your offensive potential is limited against her. If she defeats you and claims your power for herself, she may have enough firepower to defeat Eidolon."
"48 times I've fought an Endbringer, and every time I've survived," said Alexandria. "Glaistig Uaine is perhaps the most dangerous parahuman on the planet. She's no Endbringer."
"Perhaps," said Coil, he closed his eyes for a moment. "I've split the timeline. In the other, you fight Glaistig Uaine. In this one, you fight Crawler. Humor me."
Alexandria glowered and stalked out of the room.
Before I left, Tattletale grabbed my arm. "I could join you against Glaistig Uaine… Maybe give you the information you need to take her down. You don't have to do this alone."
"She does," said Coil. "Your presence, even Alexandria's presence will only harm her chances of survival. Her best chance is to stall Glaistig Uaine alone."
Tattletale shot him an angry look.
"It's not like I'd be much safer fighting Crawler or Siberian," I said. "All the options are bad. If I get outmatched I'll just teleport away. Any other cape we send at her will just make her more powerful, so I've got to do this alone."
"Remember that promise I made about making you stronger?" Asked Tattletale. "Your powers get stronger the more strongly your emotions match your trigger event. You can second trigger if things get bad enough, if you experience something even worse than the worst day of your life. That's how Narwhal went from a pretty run of the mill cape to one of the strongest in the world. I think you may have put it together on your own, and now you're taking crazy risks to try and make that jump."
"I… I will pursue it," I said. "But not now. I'm not crazy. I know who I'm up against."
She hugged me then. Despite all that she'd done, I hugged her back.
"We're going to win," I said.
She smiled. "Of course we are."
If I didn't know her so well I might have been fooled. She was scared. Not of dying.
I hesitated. Tried to help her the way she'd so often helped me. "You're not going to end the world. I know you better than Jack. You'd never do it."
"You wouldn't say that if you really knew me," said Tattletale. "I don't care about most people. My powers make it hard. I see all the pettiness, all the selfishness, all the hypocrisy. I see the ugliness in everyone all the time. Panacea said I was incapable of love, I think she's right."
"She was just fucking with you," I said. "You showed me how to use my power to help people. Same with Panacea."
"For money," said Tattletale. "Because I could feel my power steering me away from it and I don't like being told what to do. But not because I cared. I don't. I don't give a shit about most people."
"But you've still got your morals," I said. "Your unwritten rules were bullshit rationalizations, but you still needed them. You'd never willingly end the world, and you're too smart to be tricked into it."
She looked away. "If you knew the truth you wouldn't say that."
"Then tell me," I said.
"I knew my brother was suicidal," said Tattletale. "And I let him die. I don't know why. Maybe Amy is right about me, maybe the part of me that allows me to care about other people is just missing. I can feel Jack's fingerprints in everything I do. Calling in Eidolon, gathering all these capes in one place, letting you go up against Glaistig fucking Uaine."
Bonesaw had said as much.
"I don't think he's going to try to trick me," said Tattletale. "It's a game to him. He wants me to know that I'll end the world, and get me to do it anyways. If that happens… Give me the same deal you gave Panacea."
I nodded. "I thought you were a monster once, someone who hurt others for their own amusement. If you actually become that person, I'll kill you myself."
I waited for her to make a joke, to lighten things somehow. She just nodded, left with Sundancer, leaving me with a stomach full of worry and anxiety.
I tried to get my mind off it, force myself to think of something light and fun.
How was I going to take on Glaistig Uaine? The stingers hadn't worked on the Slaughterhouse, but when I'd aimed them at her ghosts she'd used shields to deflect them. The stingers were worth keeping, but I'd need a portal in the Atlantic for Gray Boy. I teleported the stingers to me and connected them with some string a PRT officer had given me. I'd need to give the stamp to a flier, maybe Glory Girl or Aegis, and have them drop it off in the ocean.
Halfway to the infirmary, one of the screens lining the hallway turned on.
"Everywhere," said the television. "Can you hear me? This is Dragon. I was listening in on the meeting."
Dragon? As in the strongest tinker in the world, that Dragon?
"I've got a dragon suit in Buffalo, and I'll be on my way as soon as we're done talking," said Dragon. "When I arrive, I'll help you with Glaistig Uaine. In the meantime, the code to Armsmaster's laboratory is 91-12-13. Before he was… We were working together on a project. He had a stockpile of Bakuda's bombs. I've lit up the light nearest the compartment, tap the second then third button of the fourth halberd down on the rightmost wall to reveal it. I've printed a paper in his office with a description of what they do. He modified them to trigger upon sudden deceleration. They're yours."
I stared at the screen. "What do you want in return?"
"Survive," said Dragon. "You can help a lot of people if you don't throw your life away."
I didn't have time for this. "Just tell me what you want."
"If these bombs even help slow down the Slaughterhouse a little they will save countless lives," said Dragon.
What? That didn't even make sense. It made me uneasy, agreeing to an exchange of favors without knowing what would be expected in return, but I was about to fight one of the strongest parahumans on the planet. I had little choice but to accept the deal Dragon had forced onto me.
"Fine," I said, through clenched teeth. "You win. I'll take them."
"Good luck," said Dragon. "I'll assist you as quickly as I can."
Did her good girl act ever actually fool anyone?
Yet another authority figure who'd let me down. At least it wasn't a surprise anymore. To her credit, the bombs were exactly where she said they'd be, packed neatly inside a large steel crate along with a can of containment foam. With it, I could spray the box, and secure all my stingers and bombs, making everything stable for transport to the bottom of the ocean. I stamped the outside of the tinker container and filled it with containment foam. I noticed a little gap between the bombs and stingers, large enough to fit a person. A place to store prisoners? No, a place to run to if the fighting got too bad. I owed Dragon and Armsmaster a hell of a favor for this, they'd built me the ultimate portal.
Now I just needed a fast way to transport it.
"Taylor," said Victoria. "Dragon briefed me on the plan. Fly as far as I can, and put this as deep into the ocean as I can."
"It's Everywhere," I said. "Or Squirter. Whichever you prefer."
"Actually it's neither," said Victoria. "You agreed to join the Wards, so you're going to need to come up with a new name."
I frowned at the pettiness. We didn't have time to get into an argument about something as pointless as names with the Slaughterhouse minutes away.
"I know a place which makes great lasagna," said Victoria, her voice just a little too casual to sound natural. "I'll take you and Ames there some time. Be a good chance for everyone on the new team to get to know each other."
I held out a penny. "I'll send this at your face if I have to teleport one of Glaistig Uaine's ghosts early. Get the fuck out of there or you might get Grayboy'd."
"Next Tuesday?" Asked Victoria. If I didn't know her so well I probably would have bought her act. "Your schedule should be clear now that you've joined the PRT."
"Once you've set my stamp," I said. "Your first priority is Panacea and Tattletale. We're too focused on the Slaughterhouse's big hitters. Bonesaw is going to go after Amy while everyone's distracted. Let Aegis and…" I didn't like it but no other cape really matched up well with Jack. "Shadow Stalker know that they're being pulled back from the frontline. They're better utilized securing our flanks."
"So," said Victoria. "You know about Sophia. I wasn't a part of the Protectorate."
"They're gonna go ahead with the plan to heal Noelle," I said. "Find Coil. He's already split the timeline, he's vulnerable. Threaten him and he'll squeal her location."
"Coil the supervillain?" Asked Victoria. "What does he have to do with anything?"
"He's my new Director," I said.
Victoria sagged. "It's all rotten. What's even the point anymore?"
"I'd recommend the burgers," I said. "Their fries aren't great. I'll bring my Dad, you bring Amy, get everything straightened out. See you on Tuesday."
Victoria shrugged, and picked up the two ton steel crate of explosives, palming it like a basketball. "Why is the world like this?"
"Let's change it," I said, shielding my head from falling concrete. She'd flown straight through the ceiling. Did it signal to the Slaughterhouse what we were planning? No. We were dancing in Jack's palm. That was fine. Beating a bully wasn't about surprising them. It was about fighting and fighting and fighting, no matter what it took.
Capes and PRT officers bustled past me, setting their battlelines. I got a few nods from Miss Militia, from Assault, surprisingly even from Battery.
"Good luck," said Battery. "Do your best to distract her, but Assault and I will keep an eye out, and if you can't contain her we'll be ready to break off and give you support. Whatever anyone else thinks, I'm glad you're on the team."
"Siberian's got a master," I said. "A controller. If there's a range, there's a way to beat her. Lure her into an isolated area and kill all the bystanders in the vicinity. Maybe an airstrike?"
"We can't do that!" Said Battery.
"You're right," I said. "She'd probably catch on if you tried to minimize civilian casualties. It's an unacceptable risk. Take the shot at the earliest opportunity."
Battery gave me a strange look, and shuffled off. Really? I knew she was naive, but this was Siberian, this was literally a battle for the end of the world.
Their little mascot Vista turned her nose up at me, and Kid Win gave me an accidental shoulder check, but for the most part I was ignored. Despondent expressions, drooping shoulders, eyes on the ground. Uber and Leet were retching into a garbage can. Rune was curled in a chair, comforted by Othala. Triumph and Clockblocker were staring at the cracks running along a concrete wall, completely still. Most surprising was Sophia, pacing back and forth, hugging her crossbow like it was a teddy bear. For some reason, I thought she'd be stronger. I understood, objectively, that it made sense for them to be scared. It was still irritating that my tools were becoming dull when I needed them most. They needed to refocus. Prepare. Concentrate on their opponents, the possibilities, what good would being frightened do?
I sensed my stamp moving away from me faster and faster. Once the portal was in place I'd be an order of magnitude more powerful than I'd ever been before.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. How many heroes had waited their whole lives for a chance like this? A battle for the world, against a truly evil opponent when I was at the absolute height of my power. It was a dream come true.
I grinned and walked out of PRT Headquarters. It was disguised as a parking lot Downtown. Air raid sirens wailed around me, and in the distance I saw civilians skittering from the area, like a horde of terrified bugs. I walked a few blocks until I was surrounded by empty high rise skyscrapers.
There would be no spinning a victory over Glaistig Uaine as a bad thing. She was a cape so scary even Eidolon wouldn't touch her. If I killed her, I'd be universally beloved. Not that I gave a shit about fame or any of that popularity bullshit, but it would be nice if Dad loved me again.
Who was I kidding? It would be the same old story. The only question was who would take credit for my victory. Would it be Eidolon? Alexandria? An irrational part of me suspected Shadow Stalker… Aww, so that was it. It would be Dragon. That was why she'd given me the bombs. And you know what, fair enough.
I sensed the different bombs from my collection, selected the appropriate one, and spiked it into the middle of the street about a block from me. For a second, the entire city was illuminated, and then the pressure wave from the explosion swept me off my feet, and sent me tumbling.
I picked myself up with a smile. A cloud of smoke was rising from the crater I'd made. Glowing clouds from the explosion formed a giant middle finger in the sky.
In seconds, dark figures descended from the sky like angels.
I was ready for the serial killing cunt. She'd made a fucking mistake thinking she could strut around in my fucking city! Come and get some!
"Beware, Administrator," said Glaistig Uaine, her voice like a chorus, a legion of the dead. "I will not accept you into my court until you find your crown."
I'd already lost.
My powers were gone. I couldn't sense my stamps. One of the capes under her control must have been a power nullifier. Obvious in retrospect. Tattletale had even said she'd lost her power when we'd first faced the Slaughterhouse. I should've seen it coming, should've…
Done what?
Glaistig Uaine was the most feared cape in the world for a reason. Even at my strongest, she was in a completely different weight class. No amount of preparation was ever going to change that.
I wasn't Everywhere anymore, I was only Taylor Hebert.
And I'd just thrown my life away for nothing.