Chapter 12

Director Piggot sat in silence, reading the file I had produced after receiving my verbal report, which gave me time to contemplate the power that the Grimoire had offered me this time.

To my surprise, it was an artifact this time around. One that I needed at that.

Tier Two Rings (Endless Legend, 100CP): A magical ring that provides a bonus depending on the material used. Limit one ring per hand.
Titanium: Greatly increases the wearer's overall strength. If you could bench 50kg, you could bench 75kg.
Glassteel: Greatly increases the wearer's agility and reflexes. Go from juggling apples to chainsaws.
Dust: Fortifies the body even further with Dust, helping them absorb a tremendous amount of damage without perishing.

I selected Dust, seeing as the thing I was lacking most right that minute was durability. Sure I was well protected with reinforcement magecraft, but that couldn't protect from everything and a lucky shot to a piece of exposed flesh could still kill me. The ring appeared upon my right index finger and I felt my body become more… solid. Hopefully I wouldn't need to actually test out the ring's limits for a while.

"Why are you bringing this to me only now?" Piggot asked finally after a few quiet, tense minutes. "Three different bodies buried in shallow graves or thrown into the Bay… Jesus, this is more than off the books vigilante work, we have a murderer in our midst with access to children."

"Because my vision has been wrong before and I didn't want to condemn a possibly redeemable girl on the off chance that I was mistaken." My voice was quiet and professional, but there was no mistaking the disappointment in my tone. "Shadow Stalker has an impressive record in terms of raw numbers, but in many ways she's a loose cannon, just waiting to blowback in the PRT's face."

Piggot pinched the bridge of her nose, looking like she was trying and failing to stop an oncoming stress headache. "It was a PR victory bringing her into the fold and gaining us an anti-Brute weapon at the same time.. We knew that she nearly killed a man, but actual murder… We thought we had her- God, leashed is a horrible term, but if the boot fits."

"You were trying to channel her hatred of Nazis and the gangs for the PRT's benefit?" I suggested.

She chuckled bitterly. "I suppose that's a better way of putting it. What would you suggest?"

"Ma'am, I'm not qualified for that kind of decision…"

"I'm not asking you to make it, I would like to hear your opinion though. Think of it as a test."

I wracked my brain and considered how things stood. Brockton Bay was a mess, we needed every hero we could get. But Sophia as she was, couldn't truly be called a hero, just someone who liked to beat up criminals.

"Could we propose a trade with Boston perhaps? Take on one of their Wards and in return, send them Shadow Stalker? With a clear warning that we know about her parole breaking shenanigans and if she tries something, anything else, then it's juvie," I added.

"Not a bad idea, though I doubt my counterpart in Boston would be so eager to trade one of his Wards for someone like Shadow Stalker, especially with the evidence you've put together. I have half a mind to send her to one of the containment zones where she won't cause any more trouble and still be somewhat useful."

"Where she'll be under a microscope under the eyes of one of the more hardline PRT Directors?" I asked with a small raise of my eyebrows. "I imagine she'd get the boot rather quickly."

Piggot gave a mildly amused look. "Magus, do you realize that most consider me one of the hardliners?"

"You strike me as very reasonable in the time I've worked here."

"You haven't been here long and you're quite reasonable yourself, especially for a new cape."

"My mother taught me to have manners before she passed."

That made Piggot's eyebrows raise. "I wasn't aware. How?"

I felt something twinge in my gut, a feeling of old rage that wasn't all mine. "Offshoot of the E88 in California. Initiation to blood a new member."

"Hell… My sympathies."

"Thank you ma'am, but it was a long time ago. I've made my peace with it, you don't have to worry about me throwing myself at the Empire recklessly."

"I hadn't thought about it until you brought it up."

Oops…

I shrugged lightly. "I hate Nazis, but I know we can't exactly start a war with them in the streets."

She let out a short breath that might have been a laugh. "Once again, you're smarter than most new capes. The casualty rate amongst independents who thought they could take on an organization as large as the Empire is… staggering."

"How do they get away with killing so many capes? 'No killing' is practically a central tenet of the unwritten rules, else we could just have Legend come down for a weekend or hell, just camp Miss Militia somewhere Downtown with a Barrett and wait…"

"Oh they don't necessarily kill all challengers, but roughing them up badly enough that they never want to go out on the streets again or leave the city… that's another matter. In addition, Kaiser always likes to keep a few killers on his roster to use as scapegoats that he can then 'banish' if they go over the line and kill. Of course, those that are killed are usually powerful new independents who are actually a potential threat, so…"

I felt sick to my stomach. "And the PRT really can't fight against something like that?"

"Kaiser has connections and always has a rather large number of capes to call upon," Piggot shook her head. "Plus suspected ties to international criminal enterprises. The PRT is outgunned, we're only holding on thanks to government backing and some rather heavy hitters of our own." She shook her head as if to banish a thought. "Regardless of all this, I expect you to maintain the current rules of engagement when you find yourself pitted against any of their members. Except Hookwolf, Night, or Fog. Those three are all confirmed murderers and Hookwolf is already Birdcage-bound, so if you find yourself against any of them, be prepared to fight for your life."

"I'll keep it in mind ma'am. Now about Shadow Stalker…?"

"Ah, yes, we got rather sidetracked," Piggot smiled humorlessly. "We most likely can't trade her for another Ward, a containment zone would either be a death sentence or a straight ticket to juvie, and just throwing her there first would be something of a waste…" She rubbed her temples. "I'll think about it. But rest assured Magus, I'll see to it that this behavior doesn't continue, no matter what and she will answer for her crimes, both civilian and as a cape. Thank you for bringing this to my attention," she held up the file. "And in such a thorough manner. Most Thinkers would have just expected their abilities to be all the proof needed."

"Even Thinkers can be wrong, ma'am." I threw a salute. "I'll return to my other duties."

She gave me a nod of dismissal and set the file back on her desk. The last thing I heard as I left her office was her on the phone demanding that Sophia's handler be urgently brought to her.

My next destination was the cafeteria for some plain slices of bread and then I headed up to the roof. I made a small, specifically pitched whistle, then sat back and waited, idly circulating my mana and trying to work out a new spell.

It was about ten minutes later that a pair of small pigeons landed in front of me. "Guardian! We have spread word through the city. We even enlisted the aid of the small rodent folk in this endeavor!"

Had they done that because my magic was somehow making them more intelligent? I chalked it up to that, rather than the more disturbing thought that maybe animals were smarter and more aware than we gave them credit for. "Thank you for your help my friends." I offered the bread. "Here, to share with all your kin. I appreciate even the attempt at finding him."

"Your generosity is appreciated, Guardian." The pigeon pecked at the bread and cooed softly, which I somehow still heard normally. "The latest word is that the one you are searching for is in a large cave, a mile north from the tallest building."

I narrowed my eyes in thought. The tallest building in the city was Medhall… Was Coil hiding in the Empire's territory to try and prevent me from attacking him? I guess if I did go in force it might look bad and cause some friction with that gang.

Like I give a flying fuck about those Nazis' feelings.

"Thank you again. I'll bring some more food up here from time to time. Stay safe."

"The Guardian's generosity knows no bounds!"

The pigeons each picked up a slice of bread and somehow took off with them despite the large size. I suppose that bread wasn't very heavy.

"Since when could you talk to animals?"

I flinched and glanced around until I spotted Victoria Dallon hovering a few feet above me. She smirked at my reaction and then floated over so that we were closer, but she was still noticeably higher than me. A purposeful positioning so that I had to look up at her or just a flier liking to naturally be using their power? I decided that I was spending too much time in an office with very annoying politics and just wrote it off as a teenager being a teenager.

"Hey there Vicky. Since uh… actually a while now. One of my first powers. It just doesn't come up very often." I shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal. Truthfully I had sort of just… overlooked it when doing my power assessment, thinking that it would never come in handy. A rather dumb opinion on my part, seeing as even in an urban environment, animals abounded, especially a decaying one like Brockton Bay. "What brings you here?"

"I wanted to bug the Wards, see if any of them were up for patrolling," she said easily, finally settling down onto her feet. "And you… Your voice is familiar." She tilted her head thoughtfully. "Oh right, Crystal's new friend. You said you'd be putting on spandex soon when we first met. So you're Magus, huh?"

I took off my mask (after throwing up a quick illusion around us) and sheepishly scratched the back of my neck. "That easy to recognize, eh?"

"Nah, I just remembered our first meeting. Not really hard to put two and two together when you're the only new cape in the Protectorate." She gave me a speculative look. "Since I got you here, I've got a question."

"Shoot."

"What exactly did you say to Amy?" Something of my surprise must have shown, because she crossed her arms thoughtfully and studied me. "She doesn't exactly get along well with most people, but she's been… content I guess might be the closest word for it.""

"Talked with her about some more… private things. You could just ask her."

"I tried, but she just kind of gave me a sad little smile and said I wouldn't get it." She actually stamped her foot and huffed a little bit and I had to remind myself once again that this was a teenager, still a child in many ways. One with superpowers at that, which probably didn't help with the ego and being told 'no'. "She's my sister, I would totally get it!"

"Even siblings have different types of struggles. You two are two very… unalike, in many ways."

"I guess, but I just… I hate it! We were so close when we were little. Still are, but there's just little things like this that just- I don't know why I'm telling you all this. Do you have a secret Master power?"

"Yes, but I wasn't using it for this conversation," I said with a straight face. "People have a tendency to spill their guts to me. I've just got one of those kinds of faces."

"Yeah I guess you do." She studied me for a moment and nodded to herself slightly. "Ernest. Friendly. Is that real or is that just another mask you wear?" Her body language shifted ever so slightly and I felt the hair on the back of my neck tingle. I had a suspicion that she was starting to use her aura. "Because I swear if you're trying to earn Amy's trust for some sick reason then I'll-"

"Whoa, whoa, easy there." I held up my hands placatingly and took a deliberate step back, a sign of de-escalation when coming from a Striker. "Damn, you do worry about her, don't you?"

Vicky huffed out a breath and the tense feeling of potential violence faded. "We're child celebrity capes. People are weirdos. Of course I worry. But I don't really think you're trying anything. And if you do…" She gave me a sweet smile that promised blood. "Well then I'll beat the shit out of you. All right?"

"Yeah… yeah you got it."

"Good. Glad we understand each other." She smiled brightly in an impish way. I didn't take her for a prankster, but I guess flexing her power and status wasn't above Glory Girl. "Good talk. Say, since you're here…"

"I'm not going to go on any unsanctioned patrols with you GG." I rolled my eyes. "I'm not even on the duty roster today, I'm supposed to be on call in case there's an emergency."

"You're no fun…"

"It's called being 'responsible', you should try it sometime."

"I'm plenty responsible." She paused. "Most of the time," she corrected.

"Uh huh…" Best not to mention the Nazis she'd almost left nearly crippled or killed. Not that I was against such things, because screw Nazis, but more because I thought the hypocrisy coming from the super team who touted 'accountability' was ironic as hell. "Catch you later. I'll tell Dean you're here."

I stepped into the shadows with a small snicker at her indignant squawk. When I reappeared, it was within a small office that had been set aside for my use when I was at PHQ. It was simple, just a desk, couch, and spare costume, but it was enough to make my time stuck here bearable, if not even a little comfortable. Before I started on my paperwork of the day (government organizations love their bureaucracy) I sent a message to Gallant via the internal PRT system on our work issued phones. One benefit of outing Coil's agents was that Armsmaster had gone through our systems with a fine toothed comb and gotten rid of not just Coil's bugs, but also a few that had somehow gotten in from the Empire and third faction that was still unknown. My bet was Cauldron or someone working for them. Maybe internal plants by the PRT to keep another eye on the heroes.

I was partly through an important document that was a revisement of the PRT's stance on Rogues when my phone's emergency alert went off. I scrambled up and donned my mask before once again walking through the shadows to reappear in the underground garage beneath HQ, the general rally point when preparing for deployment.

I was still fussing over my coat and making sure it was straight when my communicator beeped and Armsmaster's voice filtered into my ear. "Magus, I hope you're ready." There was a thread of tense excitement in the senior hero's voice. "Dauntless and Assault are facing down Hookwolf, Stormtiger, and Cricket down off of Third Avenue. BBPD was doing a routine drug bust and accidentally discovered one of Hookwolf's arenas. We have multiple officers down and two on three isn't the best of odds."

Technically I was still supposed to have a senior hero accompanying me, but in an emergency situation, all kinds of protocol went out the window. "Understood. I have a jump point near there."

"Then go. I'm deploying from the Rig, but they caught me working on an improvement to my armor and my bike is only so quick."

"You mean the Armscycle doesn't have a teleporter array?"

"Not yet." His tone made it unclear if he was joking or not. "And don't call it that ridiculous name. You've clearly spent too much time around Assault. Get moving, lives are at stake."

"Sir."

I took a deep breath and then allowed my mana to flow throughout my costume, reinforcement magecraft making simple cloth into something more akin to armor. Hopefully that, combined with my new ring, would keep me alive.

"I really gotta get around to making this outfit into a proper Mystic Code one of these days," I muttered to myself.

I stepped once again through icy darkness before reappearing on a rooftop just a couple of blocks away from where the fight was supposedly going. The sounds of gunfire, crashing debris, and what sounded like a chainsaw grinding against metal came from nearby. I leapt through the air, wind whistling in my ears as I got a brief bird's eye view of things.

They weren't going the best. Dauntless and Stormtiger dueled in the sky, the hero striking out with large sweeping blows of his Arclance while Stormtiger hurled blades of cutting wind at him. On the ground I could see Assault bouncing around the field, keeping well out of Cricket and Hookwolf's reach, turning simple debris into shields and projectiles with his touch, skating across the ground like it was slick ice. Hearing about how good he was and then seeing it in action were two completely different things.

And yet…

I'd seen Assault move quicker. Dauntless too for that matter. His Arclance was a lot more versatile than it looked, yet I could see how easily Stormtiger dodged it. I'd had the chance to spar against both of them and that's what it looked like they were doing: Sparring.

Right, cape fights aren't supposed to be lethal, so both sides are sandbagging…

I felt a surge of anger when I spotted a couple of overturned patrol cars hiding a huddle of police officers that were under fire from almost a dozen thugs sporting swastika tattoos and shaved heads. I could see blood amidst the officers' and one was clearly being shielded by his comrades. The volume of gunfire was such that they weren't even shooting back, just keeping their heads down.

I decided that Assault would be fine for a couple more minutes.

I descended like a wrathful god, the air screaming around me as I punched it to send me blazing toward the ground quicker than gravity could carry me. I landed in a classic three point pose among the thugs, magic flaring out from around me as power lanced out and sent them scattering like a bunch of bowling pins. One particularly enterprising man raised a pistol toward me, but I flared Lunatic Eyes and filled his ears with a screeching white noise to stun him, then stepped forward and punched him hard in the chest. The particularities of my powers let me do it without fatally injuring him, but the blow still sent him tumbling down the street with far more force than an ordinary punch.

I felt the air whisper behind me and then something deflected off of my outer coat. I spun and lashed out with my cane, the head of it striking another brave goon with enough power to leave him choking for air and clutching at his gut, a switchblade clattering to the ground. I heard the clicking of more guns being readied to fire and sighed in exasperation before making myself invisible. There was a brief moment of confusion before one by one I began striking them in the temple, a strong blow reinforced with magic being more than enough to knock them out simply and nonlethally.

I was about to go check on the regrouping officers and offer my services as a healer when a blast of wind struck me in the chest like a hammer blow and sent me sprawling. Lines of hot pain went up and down my torso and I sucked in a breath reflexively, something feeling not quite right inside. It was enough for my concentration to drop and I was rendered visible as Stormtiger began to float towards me, small flickers of air marking a sort of field around him.

"You might be able to make yourself invisible dumbass, but you still make ripples in the air around you," the neo-Nazi supervillain taunted.

The air began to visibly condense around his hands into distinct claw shapes and I quickly leapt up and out of the way as he sent them at where I'd just been, the aerokinetic blades shredding the asphalt where I'd just been standing. I landed a good distance away, heart pounding as I searched around for Dauntless. I spotted him pulling himself out of some debris, blood leaking from underneath his helmet as he woozily tried to stand.

"Is it everyday that the Empire gets this violent or is today just special?" I muttered over the comms to Assault.

"Nah, this is normal for Hooky's crew," Assault tossed back light heartedly even as he immaculately dodged a charging Hookwolf and somehow kicked the whirling blender across the street and into the side of a brick building. "They're a little rougher than most."

I grunted in acknowledgement and rolled to the side to avoid another air blast from Stormtiger. He was definitely moving with feigned slowness. I had a feeling that if he was going for real kill shots, he'd be a lot quicker with gathering the wind around him.

"Slow heroes usually end up dead," Stormtiger laughed darkly as he gathered more air about him. "You're new, so you get a pass, but you should reconsider your line of work before- Shit!"

He jerked to the side as I hefted up a rogue manhole cover and punched the thing straight at him, the spinning disk of metal being deflected just enough by his air bubble to avoid decapitating him. "You fucker! You almost killed me!"

"Nah, I knew you could dodge it. Just like you 'knew' I could live through your first attack. 'Oops, I didn't mean to kill the new hero, he was just so weak.'" I scowled at him and gathered my mana. "You're lucky I'm a Brute you asshole."

"Hey now, it wouldn't have killed even a non-Brute, just fucked'm up a bit," Stormtiger protested, but I was done hearing out a Nazi.

Between one word and the next I leapt behind a downed cop car, flared my reinforcement from both magecraft and general mana manipulation (not to mention HERO PUNCH) and uppercutted the vehicle right Stormtiger's face. With a panicked yelp he lashed out with a considerably more powerful windblast, sending the car spiraling off to the side to crash through a storefront.

Which was fine. I just needed to distract him for a second. As he was busy with his eyes drawn to the car, I made myself invisible and then shadow jumped up and above him onto a nearby rooftop. I wasn't sure of his range, but I doubted it was super far and hopefully he wouldn't be looking overhead. Not to mention he still needed to breath, so I was sure there had to be some chinks in his armor. I projected a crossbow with a scope and carefully pulled out one of Armsmaster's special sedative bolts. I made sure my actions were smooth, deliberate, and careful. Then I took careful aim and-

Something slammed into my chest. The breath left my lungs in a massive rush and I'm sure I felt my ribs creaking. I blinked and was suddenly no longer aiming at anything, just flat on my back on the roof, the sound of a massive rifle report lingering in the air, eyes staring up at the big blue sky.

"-gus! Magus!" Armsmaster's voice was firm and lacked true panic, but there was worry in there.

I blinked stars out of my vision and hit my earpiece. "Here," I managed to wheeze out.

"Good. I just pulled up with reinforcements. Coil's mercenaries have entered the fray, at least twenty of them with tinker-tech weaponry. We think they're trying to grab territory or perhaps just hurt the Empire. Snipers just began firing from unknown positions, you were hit, but so were Stormtiger and Cricket. Stormtiger will live, probably, but Cricket is down for the count by the look of things." Gunfire echoed over the radio and I heard a grunt effort over the comms. "Hookwolf is going ballistic. We're pulling out and letting the villains have at each other."

"But sir-"

"Fall back to base, now. That's an order. I'm performing a fighting retreat with the others, but it's clear that you're a target to these mercenaries. Get to PHQ and prepare to treat the wounded, there are several officers and civilians that won't survive without parahuman healing, we'll be diverting some to Panacea and some to you."

"Yes sir," I begrudgingly agreed, then retreated from the field.

/
"You're lucky young man," Doc commented as he inspected my bruised torso as well as the large deformed object I'd found stuck to the front of my costume. "Fully jacketed round with a pointed tip and the size of the thing… That's an anti-material round if I've ever seen one." Doc nodded, seemingly nonplussed at the extremely lethal weapon that had been used on me. "You're lucky you're only a little bruised, rather than facing internal bleeding or worse."

"Yeah, lucky," I grumbled, wincing as he prodded one of the bruises that had come from Stormtiger's wind blades. "That's exactly how I feel."

He prodded another bruise just a little harder than necessary, earning a small yelp out of me. "Be grateful for what gifts you do have, youngster," he said sternly. "Ninety-nine percent of other people would have been killed by stuff like this."

"And they wouldn't have been in danger in the first place," I snarked back.

"You're making six figures boyo, I don't need no lip from ya," Doc snorted. "Now put your clothes and your medic hat on, there's some folk who need your powers now."

"Yessir…" I shrugged my battered costume back on, the front of it a messed up and frayed and shuddered thinking of what would have happened without my magecraft or the new ring I had on.

Fucking Coil…

I entered the infirmary as the first cases began to be brought to me and I got to stress test my healing for the first time beyond just minor scrapes and bruises. A basic tracing established where the patient was injured, followed by either impromptu magical surgery (psychokinesis came very much in handy for removing bullets or other shrapnel) or simply using magic to seal internal injuries. I moved as quickly as I could, quickly establishing a system of just patching the patient in front of me enough to survive, then moving onto the next. Hours passed in what felt like mere minutes, my magic not being as quick or efficient as Panacea's abilities. My gloved hands were soon covered in gore and the faces all blurred together as I did my best to save them all.

I tried. I really did.

One was just too far gone, his injuries beyond my skills and abilities to heal. Maybe if I had hours to come up with something or Panacea was there…

But Panacea had her own problems, her own patients.

Two more died because I was simply too slow, one bleeding out on the table as I tried to extract a bullet from his chest and the last one passing before I could even get to her. There were multiple laser burns on her chest.

Coil.

I felt numb as I sat in the still bustling infirmary, mana drained, body and mind exhausted. I had done my best and people had still died.

"You can't save everyone, kid."

I blinked as Doc sat down next to me. He brought out a flask from a coat pocket and took a pull before offering it to me. I accepted and took a swig. Scotch. Not my favorite, but at that moment I didn't care. The burn of the alcohol down my throat and the warmth in my stomach at least let me feel… something.

"I've seen even Panacea lose people before," Doc said, voice still gruff, but… comforting. "Parahumans ain't gods, son. You're all still people and people have their limits."

"I failed. Three people died."

"And fifteen more lived thanks to you. They might have died or been left crippled, but you gave them a real shot now." Doc shook his head and took another sip of his scotch. "Not to mention however many lives you saved just by being there."

"I have a feeling I might have caused more harm than good in that department."

"Is that right?"

"Coil has it out for me. I think his mercs just showed up because I was there."

"Ha! You've got a high opinion of yourself."

I squinted at him, not sure if he was joking or not. "I'm serious, Coil hates me. I outed his secret identity and everything."

"Yet despite that, he still holds onto a sizable territory in the city and commands Lord only knows how many mercenaries armed with tinker-tech. You're a pain in the ass, sure, but still just one new hero. Nah, Coil was just establishing that he still has fight in him to the other gangs. That sniper taking a shot at you was probably just a good opportunity. My bet is that the mercenaries would have attacked either way, PRT or no." Doc's voice was clinical in it's analysis.

"You've been doing this a long time, haven't you?"

Doc smirked ever so slightly and gave a small nod. "Since the PRT was young. I could've retired by now, but after a few months of sitting around and seeing the world keep going to shit…" He sighed and shrugged. "I decided I might as well keep helping 'til these old bones give out."

"...Thanks, Doc."

"Don't mention it. Even heroes need pep talks every now and then." He stood with a grunt and rubbed at his back. "Now get the hell out of here before someone sees you looking all gloomy. It'll hurt morale and you're just taking up space now. We'll take care of the rest, get the civilians to proper hospitals and leave the troopers here to recover."

"Sure."

I managed to make it back to my office to strip out of my bloodied and ruined Magus outift and slip back into my civies. Then I managed to hunt down Cole and Smith and get them to drive me home.

/
I was on my third glass of whiskey when the door to my suite was practically battered down. I blinked in surprise as Crystal stalked in while wearing her Laserdream costume which had soot and bloodstains on it. She took one look at the straight liquor in my hand, crinkled her nose in distaste, then found a Coke in my fridge to add to her own glass, along with a helping of the aforementioned whiskey.

"Don't know how you do that. Tastes terrible." She laid out across my couch, taking up the whole thing. She looked dead tired.

"It's an acquired taste. I also find that the more you drink, the easier it goes down." I pointedly finished my current glass and poured another. "Please don't tell me this is another one of those 'Why didn't you message us?' talks, because I'm fine, really."

"No, this is a 'you just had a bad day in the field and in the hospital, so I'm here to hangout' type of talk. I've seen Vicky and Amy have both. Actually, Amy is with Vicky right now. Couple of her patients today had head trauma that she couldn't fix. She's… distraught." Crystal rubbed her eyes tiredly. "Eric is with Mom and Dad doing some kind of family movie night and I just couldn't stand to be in the house for that."

"Looks like you had a pretty active day yourself."

"Coil's mercenaries struck all over the city today, not just where you were. It was a coordinated strike, military precision. A lot of fires to put out."

"Sorry." I still felt guilty. Because I had been the one to back Coil into a corner and make him desperate enough to need to prove his strength.

"What, did you think rooting out villains was a painless process?" Crystal snorted. "Things are going to get worse before they can get better, but I guarantee that getting rid of the gangs will be far better in the long run for this city."

"I know, it's just…" I stared off into space. "Three. Three people died because I was too slow or too incompetent with my powers to save them."

"Yeah and take a guess on how many bodies the gangs produce annually."

"A few hundred?"

"We don't even know. So many people just go missing or end up floating in the bay that we don't even know the exact amount of casualties. Somewhere in the triple digits, maybe even four." She let out another sigh and finished off her drink. She held up the glass expectantly and I did as a good host does and made her another drink. "Thanks. My point is, don't blame yourself. Yes, people got hurt and some even died, but what's the alternative? Just let villains run roughshod over everyone? I don't think so. We fight because we want to protect people and because the villains sure as hell aren't going to do that or they'll be like the Empire and ABB and protect only those they want to and oppress the rest."

I listened to what she said, nodded in agreement, then decided 'fuck it'. "I'm going to attack Coil tomorrow. I know where his base is. I know what his powers are. I've been holding back and I'm done. You want in?"

Crystal's grin was downright vicious. "Oh hell yes."

/
Saturday, February 19, 2011

The first thing I did that day was tell Lisa to find a safe place and hole up there til I gave her the all clear. She hadn't asked any questions, just agreed and hung up. Then I called Crystal, made sure she was still OK to assist, and began to direct her to a suitable rally point.

Part of the reason I'd requested Crystal's help was that I was more than a bit tipsy. Another reason though was that I knew I wouldn't have a full tank of mana once I cast my final curse upon Coil. Having backup would be crucial.

The morning of the assault I placed both of the remaining hairs I'd acquired from the villain and mixed it with a generous helping of my blood. I began to chant and magic made the air heavy with my power as I readied my curse, Coil's image firmly in place within my scrying pool.

Then I unleashed it.

The thing about (most) magic is that it's guided by both intent and emotion. I hated Coil by this point. More than just the impersonal hatred of someone not liking a character for their actions. By this point I'd spoken to Coil, I'd seen the damage he could do, the people he'd hurt. I hated him on a personal level to the point that I wanted to wrap my fingers around his scrawny throat and squeeze the life out of him personally.

Such intense emotion reflected in my curse. Every piece of glass within my suite cracked as the magic flew and began to track down Coil via the connection of his DNA and mine. I honestly had no idea what the end result of the curse would be, just that it would put him in a world of hurt and improve our odds significantly.

I closed my eyes and focused upon the familiar shadow of Laserdream. I stepped out of her shadow, right where I'd asked her to get ready, right outside of the bunker that I was sure Coil was hiding in. It looked nondescript, a rather empty neighborhood full of construction signs. A good cover for a villain's lair.

"Are we ready?" I asked as I allowed mana to crystallize around me into a new costume.

"Yeah. I also might have hinted to my mom that something might be going down around this area, so we might have reinforcements." She shot me a side-eyed glance. "You aren't going in as Magus, are you?"

"No. Magus is meant to be a proper hero. The kind who does things by the book." My voice became a distorted, growling mess. "But sometimes, villains can't be brought down like that. Sometimes, you need a monster to fight a monster."

Crystal had the audacity to roll her eyes at me. "You're a drama-queen. Try not to kill anyone."

"Oh I don't care about the mercs. I just want Coil and death is too good for that scum."

Darkness danced around me and the oppressive weight of my power choked the air. I could literally feel as the curse I had sent reached us and flew down underground.

No better time.

"Let's do this."

I threw myself off the rooftop in an arcing leap that brought me down almost directly in front of the gates that led down into Coil's bunker. They were well hidden and secured by guns. Lots of guns based on the noises I began to hear. I didn't give them a chance to fire though.

I pulled back my fist, flared my mana, and punched.

Hardened steel and concrete, meant to withstand or at least stave off an Endbringer attack, shattered like cheap glass. Debris flew and I heard men screaming as I breached their fortress.

/
Thomas Calvert was already not having the best of weeks. A bout of food poisoning in both of his timelines had led to a rather embarrassing moment while talking to some of his subordinates, which he'd only made it through by sheer force of will, sitting in his own filth. Then there was that damn itch that just wouldn't go away. The reports from his officers that the men were beginning to feel antsy and that the Empire Eighty-Eight were beginning to make moves on his territory were not very welcome. After some careful planning and a few false starts with his power, he'd managed to conduct a series of attacks across the border of his and the Empire's territory, stealing or destroying thousands of dollars worth of product, remove a few skinheads permanently, and even score a kill in the form of Cricket. He'd also had a chance at that bastard Magus, but one of his few remaining sources at PHQ confirmed that the upstart hero had managed to survive being shot in the chest by a fifty-caliber round.

Magus' strength seemed to only be growing. Coil was in the middle of going through the assorted information he had on the man, preparing something, anything to deal with the hero. He was pondering the merits of hiring parahuman assassins when two things struck at once.

First, something hit the front entrance to his base. The noise wasn't as ear crashing as it would be there, but the small rattle of his ceiling and a nearby water bottle tipping over was enough indication. He began to split the timeline when something struck him.

Pain wracked through his body, intense enough that his other timeline immediately fell apart, leaving him to bend over and cough blood across his desk. He crossed the room to the nearest reflective surface and clinically noted the blood coming from his eyes, mouth, ears, and nose.

Not good.

He hissed out a breath and hit a button on his earpiece. "Status report!"

"Capes sir, a few by the look of them." The voice of Alpha squad's leader wasn't particularly strained, but the sounds of gunfire and tinker-tech lasers was distinct over the channel. "One Brute, a hidden Shaker and one of the New Wave kids, the one with red lasers and shields."

Laserdream? Why the hell was Laserdream with unknown capes, attacking his base? "Can you eliminate them?"

"...No sir. Too many unknowns. The Shaker is putting out illusions to protect Laserdream and the Brute is too tough for conventional firearms. We tried the lasers, but he has some kind of field around him, they just bent away."

Shit. Why couldn't these capes have just waited a few months or even weeks?!

He contemplated calling the Undersiders, but dismissed the notion. Knowing how eager she was to slip her leash, he had no doubt that Tattletale might use this opportunity to either escape or turn the Undersiders on him while he was already under attack.

"Keep them busy as long as possible while I ready the other squads. Shoot to kill."

"Yes sir!"

Coil ended the call and then tried to split time again. Once again he managed to get two timelines going, only for one to collapse as pain wracked his body. He coughed wetly again and spat the blood to the side. What was causing this?! Some kind of poison? Or was it a parahuman ability?

Another blast of pain lit his nerves on fire and another boom echoed through the bunker. He hit the command channel. "All squads form up and converge on the entrance. Use whatever means possible to kill the intruders."

He ignored the response, instead tossing aside his earpiece as the blood coming from said ear began to clog.

"Cauldron!" He rasped, his voice beginning to lose strength. "Door to Cauldron!"

Nothing. Then there was the click of a pistol behind him. Cold metal against the back of his head.

"What do you want, Calvert?" A cold, toneless voice asked him.

"I need…" His operations within Brockton Bay were clearly over. It was time to cut his losses. "I need a safe haven. To start over somewhere else. I know I owe you and am willing to, of course, extend my debt."

He waited in tense silence, more pain continuing to course through his body, sweat beginning to trickle down his back.

"We shall retrieve you before you are formally sent to the Birdcage. Your attacker shall not kill you."

The gun was removed and Coil spun around only to see empty air. He grimaced, but slowly stood, donned the hood of his costume and sat at his desk.

He could at least take his defeat with what dignity he had left.

/
The final mercenary was thrown back into the side of the tunnel with a burst of pinkish energy. Laserdream hadn't chosen her name without good reason and it showed with how accurate and controlled her beams were. I kind of wanted to see what she could do when fully unleashed, but figured that such a situation would be FUBAR and thus take any satisfaction from such an experience. With Lunatic Eyes providing illusory copies to keep gunfire away from her and also redirect laser blasts (light waves counted to it and while I couldn't make my own lasers, controlling them was a different matter) we had stomped through the surprised and off guard mercenaries. They still hadn't made this place their primary base yet, it was new, they hadn't known or been ready to take advantage of the best defensive points or have any extra gear beyond their own kit.

Basically, we got lucky. If this had been Coil's original base with all it's layers of defenses, things might have gone differently. Doubly lucky that I had struck before he'd ever hired the Travelers and their rather diverse and tricky set of abilities. Plus… I really didn't want to deal with Echidna.

I pushed my way through the final door, the one that the mercenaries had been guarding fiercely and was met with a rather surprising sight: Coil, sitting at his desks, hands clasped before him patiently.

"Hello, Ma-" He paused. "You aren't Magus."

"I am the shadows that have come to claim you, Coil," I hissed, darkness beginning to coat the walls.

Laserdream rolled her eyes and stepped forward. "Coil, you're under arrest. Come quietly and I'll keep the big guy from doing anything too nasty to you."

Coil began to shake slightly and I quickly realized that he was laughing. "Not even brought down by the thorn in my side, but just a fresh trigger off the streets… Oh how fate loves to play it's games."

He was still laughing hysterically when two more figures burst through the door behind us, both of them familiar in the sense that I'd heard of them and seen photos, but had yet to meet.

Manpower and Lady Photon.

"Laserdream, we heard the police scanners, what's-" Lady Photon stopped when she saw me and then Coil. "Crystal Pelham. I believe you have some explaining to do.

A/N: I hope that almost 8k words makes up for my absence last week.