Chapter 14

Luck was on Taylor Hebert's side that night. Or maybe it was karmic balance considering what she had just been put through. Amy was already in the hospital as Panacea and hadn't had any pressing cases. The minute Taylor had been wheeled in, Amy was there with a hand on hers, muttering details that her power fed her.

"Second and third-degree burns across the back and shoulders. Costume fabric melted into the skin. Dislocated shoulder, fractured ribs- What the hell happened to her?" Amy demanded as flesh began to shift and regrow under Amy's guidance.

"Lung."

Amy sucked in a sharp breath and turned away to keep focusing on her patient.

I sat at Taylor's bedside as Amy finally finished healing her. The fact that it had taken almost an hour spoke to the intensity of the injuries. "Thank you."

Amy gave me a tired smile. "Glad to help, especially a new hero. She really fought Lung?"

"Made him ramp up pretty far too from what Armsmaster said," I confirmed.

"Brave girl…"

"Damn straight."

"Will she be joining the Wards?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. That will be up to her."

"Think this will scare her out of being a hero?"

I looked speculatively at the sleeping Taylor and then shook my head. "She was brave enough to throw herself at Lung despite knowing what he's capable of. I don't think even an Endbringer could stop her from doing what she thought was right."

Amy gave me a speculative look. "Could you beat Lung?"

"If I blitzed him hard and fast, but that's true of most capes," I shrugged. "If he ramped up? Maybe." I looked at Taylor's peacefully resting face. "She did way better than I would have as a fresh cape though, I'll give her that."

Amy scoffed slightly. "You still are a fresh cape you doofus."

"Oh… yeah…"

We shared a brief laugh born of hysteria rather than humor before lapsing back into silence.

"I think this might be my fault," I confessed to Amy. "The old butterfly analogy, you know?"

"And how exactly did you flap your wings?" Amy asked, taking a seat near me and using the opportunity to begin scarfing down a power bar.

"She wasn't supposed to go out as a cape for a couple more months. Something I did also had the benefit of helping her civilian life and I think the improvement of her situation gave her the confidence to try out the cape thing, rather than fully prepare like she did before. Also last time she was saved at the last minute by a team of teenage supervillains, the Undersiders, but the timing was different this time around and so they weren't active tonight. That's my running theory anyway."

"So wait, she still fought Lung in your original vision?"

"Yeah. From what it looked like at the scene, things went similar enough. She drove off his thugs, did a lot of damage to him, but in the end, he just got too ramped up and she doesn't have the raw strength to push him over the edge and win the day." I shook my head wearily and rubbed at my eyes.

I heard a rustle of fabric and then there was an energy drink under my nose. Amy gave me a small smile. "I usually keep a couple of these on me in case I need a quick boost."

"You're a saint." I downed the drink, barely pausing to breathe. "Those are really bad for you though."

"Eh, they're for emergencies only. Or when I need to calm Vicky down." Amy rolled her eyes. "Teenagers love their energy drinks."

"You are a teenager."

"I'm an old soul."

"True enough." A beat of silence passed before I broached a topic that had been eating at me. "So, Friday…"

Amy's face fell. "Yeah, Friday was a bad day."

"I can try and take a look at some of the patients you couldn't heal," I offered. "My healing power isn't as strong as yours, but I'm confirmed to be able to heal brains."

"That would be… nice." Amy sighed, placed a finger on Taylor's hand to make sure her biology was still stable, then leaned back and seemed to curl in on herself. "Whenever there's a big gang fight, there's a bunch of injured people. Not just gangbangers, but civilians caught in the crossfire too. There's always a person or two that I can't save."

"I'm surprised you even treat gangs."

"Eh, I just stabilize them, make sure they won't die. It would be wrong to just let them bleed out, but I'm not going to heal all their injuries either. The rest, they can walk off or spend weeks and months healing naturally, which I'm sure their bosses just love." The smirk on Amy's face was downright sadistic.

"Oh absolutely," I agreed with her. "That would be enabling them to go out and do more harm. Practically breaking the Hippocratic Oath."

"See, you get it! I always have the occasional doctor or nurse, usually blond and blue eyed if you catch my drift, trying to get me to heal them completely."

"They have members working in the hospital?"

Amy let out an amused snort at the panic written across my face. "No you doofus, but people who sympathize with them? Oh yeah. People see how neat and clean the E88's central territory is and think that means maybe they've got a point. They just ignore the drugs they peddle, the livelihoods they destroy, and the people they kill, because they can't see it."

"Oh… hope you reported them to HR or something at least."

"There have been a number of anonymous reports to HR," Amy confirmed. "A couple of terminations due to investigations turning up malpractice even."

"Sounds like they got what they deserved then."

"Almost certainly." She sighed and lowered the hood of her costume, her hair a bit of a mess. It was pretty late and a school night at that. I was glad she was here, but also felt bad for adding to her workload. "You going to be here for a while?"

"That was the plan."

"Would you mind hiding me for a few minutes? Unless there's an emergency or something, but I just-" Her mouth split open into a jaw cracking yawn. She blinked at me and my rather amused expression. "Shut up."

"I didn't say anything."

"Just… shut up."

I chuckled and made a vague motion in her direction. "No one will know you're there."

"Thanks…"

She slumped in the chair, using her arm as a cushion. Soft snores soon filled the air.

Poor kid is still overworked. Fuck this city.

My phone rang and I erected a sound veil to keep it from waking either of the sleeping girls in the room. "Magus."

"Armsmaster here. New orders from the Director: We're going on a 72-hour S-class alert." Colin's voice was curt and sounded rather annoyed.

I racked my brain for the term. "I don't think that was covered in my briefing paperwork…"

"Page 23, section 4, paragraph 8," Armsmaster grunted. "Essentially all heroes without Mover capabilities are to remain on the Rig at all times and be ready for deployment within ten minutes."

"Sounds like something you'd love, boss. Plenty of time to tinker."

"While normally I would enjoy some uninterrupted time like this, I need to be ready to be deployed within a short period of time, something I can't do if I go into a fugue or have important equipment disassembled." Armsmaster sounded frustrated. "I have some… alternative projects to work on, but 72 hours isn't a lot of time in the grand scheme of things."

"Nanothorns, right. Or was it the Endbringer prediction software?"

A long beat of silence passed. "Both. I guess I shouldn't be surprised you know about those things. Indeed, the data you have provided has helped the prediction software tremendously. If you know about the nanothorns… do they work?" There was a yearning in his voice, a hunger to know if his project would win him the victory he craved so badly.

"...If used correctly, they could potentially deal more damage to an Endbringer than almost any other cape, even the Triumvirate. But the cores of an Endbringer require more than what the nanothorns are capable of to truly damage. Dimensional shenanigans. Sorry, but they couldn't truly kill an Endbringer. However, it is my opinion that they are still a very worthwhile tool to add to your arsenal. There are more monsters out there than just Endbringers," I told Armsmaster the honest truth, despite it not being what he probably wanted to hear.

"I'll keep what you've said in mind." There was a faint edge of something unknowable in Armsmaster's voice. Or maybe I was just bad at reading people. "Thank you. Take the time to rest or train, but be ready to deploy."

"Endbringer?" I asked nervously, hand tightening around my phone at the mere thought of fighting one of those things.

"I am not at liberty to say," Armsmaster replied. "However, I'd advise you to be ready for anything. Armsmaster out."

He cut the call before I keep asking questions, leaving me to grumble to myself about annoying bosses and the lack of information. Then again if the Simurgh was attacking soon… massively powerful precog. I guess it made sense if they played things close to the chest. It wasn't as if I had anything in my arsenal that could do anything against that Endbringer… or any of them really.

Yet.

I waited quietly and tuned out the drone of the medical equipment and the general hustle and bustle of the hospital. A nurse peaked her head in, scanned for Amy (hidden under an illusion still) and left. Another nurse stopped in just to do a quick check on Taylor and drop off a tray of food.

I used the time to check the Protectorate files I had access to on the Simurgh's exact capabilities. What I found was far from encouraging. Macro-telekinesis, a psychic scream that drove those who heard it too long into insanity, Tinker abilities, precognition. Things I already knew, but I also remembered from my own foreknowledge that the Endbringer was sandbagging, her true destructive capabilities even greater than what she had displayed. I studied all of the first hand accounts of her battles- most of them had been hidden from the public eye due to morale concerns, but at least the Protectorate was more honest with their members- and began to formulate my own plan to fight. Probably a support role, seeing as I lacked a flight ability, though if she ever set down to do something, my close range Striker powers might come into play.

Maybe I could counter her scream?

I toyed with some ideas, typing notes on my phone, until Amy stirred, sitting up with bleary eyes. "How long was I out?"

"An hour or so judging by the snores. Feel better?" I asked teasingly.

"Fuck off," she muttered sleepily. "I gotta go finish my rounds before I head home for the night. She wake up at all?" She gestured toward Taylor.

"Nope."

"Mm. Should be soon then. You got a pitch ready?"

"Something like that," I confirmed.

She eyed me suspiciously at my tone, but shrugged and left.

I kept myself busy for a few more minutes before Taylor began to shift. Her eyes didn't open, but I noticed that her fingers dug into the sheets a bit and her breathing changed ever so slightly.

"Alright Miss Bug, you don't gotta pretend, I know you're awake. Have something to eat and some water, then let's talk about what happened tonight."

Her eyes opened suddenly and her hands immediately went to her face. "My mask-"

"Was partially melted to your face," I said gently. "Had to remove it so that Panacea could heal you up."

"Panacea healed me?"

"And fixed your eyes judging by the lack of squinting." I held up the remains of her mask, specifically the lens. "Clever, incorporating old glasses into the costume. This is a good piece of work for a first timer."

"Thanks? It wasn't finished, but I uh…" She trailed off, as I gestured with my hand and floated the tray over to her. "You're Magus."

"That's what my name tag says," I said dryly, then gave her a small smile. "And what should I call you for the time being?"

She pondered as she ate some applesauce and shrugged. "Don't have a name yet. They're all too girly or just creepy. Bugs are tough."

"Miss Bug it is for the moment. As you've noticed, I am Magus." I removed my mask, much to her surprise as she jolted in place. "But you can just call me 'Mak', Ms. Hebert."

"How did you find out my name so quickly?" She asked warily. "I don't exactly have much of a presence on social media or anything and you just saw my face."

"Ah." I projected the image of the shadowy cape known as Kage. "We met once when you were a civilian. Since I know your name and face, it seems only fair you know mine." I let the illusion drop.

Taylor's face had gone ashen. "What did you do to Sophia Hess?"

I grimaced and glanced away. "I honestly don't know. The Director must have had her transferred or sent to juvie."

"Why would the Director-" Taylor's eyes went cold. She wasn't an idiot. "She was a Ward, wasn't she? Shadow Stalker."

"Yes."

"Is that why…" Her hands balled into fists and I swore I could hear something beginning to buzz in the air. "Is that why no one at school would do anything? Because they just wanted their pet Ward to be happy?"

"No. I assure you, no one amongst the PRT knew what Shadow Stalker was doing. If we had, steps would have been taken far before they had escalated into your trigger event."

"Trigger event…?"

Right, new cape.

"Capes gain their powers through trauma, usually the worst day of our lives," I explained. "We tend to not talk about them except with close friends. However, I am a Thinker, not to mention I can make basic deductions, so seeing as how Hess threw you into a locker full of God only knows what and now here you are with superpowers, I can only assume that was your trigger."

Taylor absorbed the information in silence before giving the slightest of nods. "Lets say I believe you. What's next? Are you going to try and force me into the Wards to replace the one you lost?" There was an edge of bitterness to her voice. Not that I could blame her in any way after all that she'd been through.

"No. In fact, no one amongst the PRT or Protectorate will even know your name, aside from myself. Capes try- keyword being try- to hold ourselves to a certain code of conduct. Secret identities are to be respected, meaning if you see me on the street or I see you, we ignore each other or at least pretend we don't know the other is a cape. Another tenet to this code is no killing, but some capes play looser with that rule than others." I gave her a knowing look. "Like Lung. Armsmaster managed to drive him off, but you were very badly injured. I'm an okay healer on top of my other powers, so I was able to keep you alive until we were brought to Panacea."

I saw her seem to curl up into herself at the reminder and a shudder passed through her. "It was horrible," she whispered.

I nodded sympathetically. "What made you try and take on the damned Dragon of all people, on your first night out?" I kept my tone carefully neutral.

"...There was a van full of girls. He was trafficking them."

Oh.

I let out a slow breath, counted to ten, then opened my eyes again. "Were you able to help them?"

"I-" Taylor faltered. "I don't actually know. I just sent my swarm to try and overwhelm his guys and then it was just me and him and-" She cut herself off and shuddered again. "Fire. Lots of fire."

"Lung is an animal," I growled to myself. "One I wish we'd put down years ago." Damn Cauldron and their meddling ways. "You were brave to stand up to him though."

She hesitated, trying to judge if I was being genuine before giving a small smile. "Thanks."

"What made you come out tonight anyway? Not that I mind another hero patrolling, but-" I waved a hand at the pile of burned scraps that was in the corner of the room. "That didn't exactly look finished."

Her face closed off. "It doesn't matter."

Shit, what did I do?

"Does it have to do with those girls giving you trouble? I thought Hess was one of them. Wouldn't her being gone help some?" I asked carefully, knowing that I was stepping into a land mine.

Taylor laughed bitterly. "I would have thought so, but no, it just made Emma worse. She's unhinged. Sophia being gone has made her just…" She shook her head, unable to find the words. "I don't know what to do at this point."

"I'll have a word with someone I know. A lawyer, who I think works with Emma's father. I doubt she acts the same way around her parents."

"...Thank you for even trying." Her voice was quiet, defeated. Resigned from one too many failures.

"Here." I projected a copy of her mask and costume. "This should last to at least get you home. I advise you to choose your fights more carefully in the future."

"Still surprised you haven't pitched the Wards."

"They're nice enough kids, but I don't think you'd mesh well with our command structure. If you ever did join, I'd want it to be because you were ready and willing." I rolled my wrist and produced a card from seemingly nowhere. "My card, if you ever want to talk or need anything. You did good work tonight, even if it was over your head. Our world needs more heroes like you." The small smile that blossomed on her face made something in my chest hurt. Seeing such a young, decent kid in such pain and turmoil when she was supposed to be in one of the better periods of her life… God I hated Earth Bet. "And I'd suggest a cellphone. Even just a burner. Could save lives in the future. Catch you later, Miss Bug." I stood to leave.

"I'll have a better name next time!" She called after me as I walked out.

The smile in her voice made me want to scream. The girl had just been viciously injured, but was smiling at the smallest of kindnesses thrown her way.

Seriously, fuck this Earth.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

I accidentally crossed a wire and the small project I'd been working on sparked and went up in flames.

"Goddammit!" I hurled the contraption against the wall of my small workshop. A naturally skilled Tinker, I was not, and while I had the magi-tech in my head now, that didn't make it an easy process to learn. With the S-class alert having us all on standby, I figured I could get some practice in with the ability I'd barely touched.

"Having trouble there?"

I whirled and then relaxed at the sight of Armsmaster. Or rather, Colin as he'd told me I could use his real name when we weren't in the field. "Tinkering isn't as easy as the movies make it seem."

He grunted and walked over to pick up the device I had been working on. "Decent work. Your power should be doing most of the heavy lifting though. Just let it guide you and before you know it, you'll have something built. What was this supposed to be?"

"Ah, trying to replicate my healing. Figured that would be the most useful thing in the long run," I said.

"Indeed, that would save a lot of lives," Colin agreed.

"What's a fugue like anyway? I don't think I've ever gone into one properly, the way real Tinkers do."

Colin considered for a moment. "It's like the entire world fades away and all there is, is the project you're working on and your tools. Truth be told, I don't typically remember everything I do during a fugue. Time seems to kind of slip away. It's almost like you've been Mastered."

Mastered…

I nearly slapped my face in realization. I had a work around, just one that I hadn't considered. "Thank you. That just gave me an idea."

"A safe one I hope." The smirk on Colin's face was small, but still there.

"Not all of my ideas are bad!"

"No, they just end with you sidestepping the law and causing a great deal of headaches for myself and the Director," he said dryly. "I came to inform you that we're due to leave in twenty minutes."

"Leave…?" I felt my stomach clench.

Colin nodded, face turning deadly serious. "We have very strong reason to believe that the Simurgh will be attacking soon. You aren't the only Thinker in the Protectorate. We aren't calling an official attack yet, in case it's a false alarm, but we're still assembling and preparing as many capes as we can spare." His face turned sympathetic. "Mak, you've been a cape for less than a month, none of us would fault you if you wanted to stay back, but I for one would welcome having you with us."

It was a tempting offer, but… "What kind of coward would I be if I just sat back? I doubt I could fight her directly, but I can help in other ways. Count me in."

A knot of tension eased in his shoulders. "Top of the Rig in twenty. Bring whatever you might need. All limits are off, this is an Endbringer, we have to be ready for anything."

"Will do."

Colin gave me one last nod and strode away, no doubt to begin donning his armor. I put on my own outfit, one of my standard Magus costumes, but this one heavily infused with defensive magecraft to the point that it might be considered a proper Mystic Code.

That done, I stared at my phone. I had no guarantees that I could survive an Endbringer fight. I dragged a file out of the depths of my computer and sent it to Lisa, with a strongly worded note to only open it in the event of my death. All of my foreknowledge of Worm and what bits of Ward I'd heard or read about. How to kill Scion. What capes would work best. That kind of thing.

Then I called up Crystal.

"What's up?" I heard the rustle of papers. "I'm in the library studying for a test, this better be important."

"Do I strike you as the sort to just call because I'm bored?" I asked innocently.

"You definitely do."

"Caught me. But no, this is serious." I took a deep breath. "Thank you for saving my life, Crystal. I quite literally wouldn't be where I am today if you hadn't dragged me to the hospital and scared away those Nazis."

"You're welcome? You've already thanked me for that."

"I know, just… reiterating. You were the first hero I'd ever met, extended a hand of friendship to some random nobody just because you could, and then you helped me take down Coil. You're one of my best friends, I hope you know that."

"Mak, where is this all coming from?" Her voice sounded tense. Worried.

"Expect to hear the sirens soon. Tomorrow at the latest. I'm tough, but not invincible. Just wanted to let you know in case… Just in case."

"Jesus, Mak you're-"

"A powerful Trump and a member of the Protectorate. This is quite literally what I signed up for." I forced some levity into my voice. "But I ain't planning on dying. And hey, I'll treat you to that fancy sandwich shop on the Boardwalk that you like when I make it back. You know, to celebrate."

"You are such an asshole, you can't tell a girl that you're going off to fight a kaiju and then ask her on a date," Crystal grumbled, though it was half hearted at best. "You better make it back goddammit or I'll find a cape that can raise the dead and then beat the shit out of you myself."

She hung up, leaving me standing there blinking at her response.

A date huh? I didn't mind the idea of that.