Interlude 4
Colin pulled up to the crime scene at the same time as the first three PRT squad vans. Even with the speed of his signature motorcycle, the PHQ was inconveniently placed.
A flying motorcycle would fix that problem. He made a mental note to discuss a possible collaboration with Dragon when he had time.
'Crime Scene' really didn't do this massacre justice.
The wall of the warehouse looked like it had been hit by a bus, although the piece of crumpled metal on the far side of the carnage showed an impact point less than two feet wide. Twisted metal littered the ground from where the overhead catwalk had been broken and scattered across the arena.
And then there were the bodies. So many bodies.
And the blood.
Colin barely knew where to start.
Was this Carpenter again? It seemed likely, given the wanton murder, but… even when compared to the carnage that she left in the Oakland warehouse, this was a serious escalation.
It might not be her. He didn't immediately see any wounds that matched her sawblade or pistol, and whatever hit the door wasn't necessarily part of her previous M.O.
But what were the odds that there were two different murderous vigilantes targeting the Empire?
His mind drifted back to Shadow Stalker.
They still hadn't found any sign of her. From what he could put together, she finished her patrol, stayed the night at her friend's house, then disappeared.
Emma Barnes had been cooperative and appropriately distraught. Whatever happened to Sophia Hess, he doubted that she was involved.
He personally subscribed to the theory that she had run away to avoid the terms of her probation. Shadow Stalker had always chafed even under the most basic restrictions. A Cape with a different name and a similar power set would probably pop up in another city in a few months.
Would she be brazen enough to return to vigilantism in the same city and stage a massacre with new weapons?
Maybe. Sophia Hess wasn't known for her caution or self-preservation.
He doubted it, though. Still, he would keep an eye out for the molecular distortion caused by objects fusing when she exited her Breaker state.
The head forensic agent on the scene waved to get his attention, and Colin shook himself from his thoughts to go and assist with the processing.
…
Max stood at the head of the table and surveyed his forces.
There was something deeply satisfying about bringing the army of the Empire together, even under these circumstances.
In the main conference room on the top floor of the Medhall building, he gathered his parahuman soldiers. The righteous and powerful, those who were blessed with supernatural gifts and chose to fight for a better world.
On the right side of the table, Krieg sat next to the pale and withdrawn form of Othala. They never had found Victor, and she wasn't taking it well.
Down the row, Crusader stood behind Rune, his shining armor contrasting nicely with her black and crimson robes.
To Max's left, Hookwolf bounced on his toes with restless energy. He was dissatisfied with the outcome of the evening, and Cricket's failure was harder on him than he would admit. Next to him, Stormtiger mirrored his anxious frustration.
His faithful Valkyries stood at the end of the table, one on each side. Perfection.
Alabaster looked bored, but then again, he always looked bored. It was something of a default setting, for him.
And finally, most notably, Kayden had decided to join them. Unofficially, and only on a temporary basis, but she was here nonetheless. It was only a matter of time before Purity took to the skies under the Empire's banner once more.
Max had lots of practice finding the correct buttons to push.
"Ladies and gentlemen," the room quieted at his words. "Thank you for coming on such short notice. We are here because we have… a problem."
Hookwolf grumbled unintelligibly next to him.
"This evening, the new vigilante calling herself Hunter killed thirty-six of our members and kidnapped Cricket. She is also responsible for the assault on the Oakland warehouse and the kidnapping of Victor," Max said.
The Empire capes looked around the table at each other with varying levels of uncertainty.
"This, obviously, cannot be allowed to stand unaddressed. Hookwolf, what is your assessment of our enemy?" Max glanced at his lieutenant.
"That little bitch is a fighter, for sure," Brad said. Max didn't bother to chastise him for his crudeness. It was a lost cause. "And that big fuck-off hammer hits hard."
"A big… hammer…" Justin said sarcastically. Max got the impression that he was raising his eyebrows behind his helmet.
"She's fucking fast, too," Brad continued as if Justin hadn't spoken. "I only got a hit in on her because she fucked up and let me chew on her leg. Even running around on one foot, she got in a good hit. Didn't expect the bitch to teleport."
"A concise assessment, please," Max said.
Hookwolf glared at him but refocused regardless.
"Hunter's some kind of grab bag. Moves faster than she should, hits harder, jumps higher. On top of that, she's either a weird-ass Tinker, or she's got one stashed away somewhere. Carried a huge hammer that was also a sword. I didn't see exactly how it worked. She used a drug or something to heal herself after she lost her foot, slammed a needle right into her leg."
Brad was getting into it now, leaning forward onto the table as he recounted his brawl.
"She's a hot-blooded killer. I swear she was having the time of her life slaughtering our guys. Busted down the wall and started cutting her way through anything she could get her blade into. Didn't matter that they were running scared, she fucking hunted them. I'm pretty sure she hit one guy so hard he exploded like something out of a fucking Tarantino movie. I called her out and she told me she was gonna drink my blood. It was fucking awesome."
"Not to sound ridiculous, but do you think she does drink blood? Maybe that's why she kidnapped Victor and Cricket?" James asked levelly. Othala paled even further.
The idea was absurd, but stranger capes existed.
"It's not impossible, although I think it's more likely that she is keeping them for leverage in case we retaliate," Max said.
Either that, or they were already dead. He didn't say that part out loud though. No need to lower morale further.
"You said she teleported?" Max asked, bringing the conversation back on track.
"Yeah. Turned to smoke right when I was about to hit her and popped up beside me. Didn't see exactly what happened, but next thing I knew I was half a block away," Brad said.
"She teleported you?" James asked. Any cape that could teleport others over distance was a powerful force multiplier.
"Naw, she hit me really fucking hard with that hammer of hers," Brad laughed darkly.
Rune snorted under her hood.
"So, in summary," Max took control of his meeting. "We have an actively hostile enemy who has no issues with killing our forces, kidnapping our capes, and generally making a nuisance of herself. We need to respond soon, and decisively."
"What do you have in mind?" James asked.
"We will need a general, unrelated showing of strength, to ensure our unpowered forces do not lose faith. In the meantime, we may not know where Hunter operates from, but we know that she's been in contact with Bitch."
Max hated Rachel Lindt for picking a name like that. It made him sound unprofessional anytime he was forced to discuss her antics.
"If she wants to take our people, maybe it's time we took some of hers in return."
…
"What the hell were you thinking?"
Lisa Wilbourn, also known as the villain Tattletale, paced back and forth across the Undersiders' lair, pinching the bridge of her nose and trying to stave off the beginnings of a headache. She legitimately couldn't tell if it was from her power or from her teammate's overzealous stupidity.
Rachel stood casually against one wall, arms crossed and looking at Lisa as if she was the one overreacting.
"Fuckers were hurting the dogs. Decided to do something about it," Rachel shrugged.
"You killed thirty-six people!" Lisa yelled.
Considers the death of animal abusers to be morally justifiable. Did not personally murder anyone. Does not consider resulting deaths her fault.
Like she couldn't have figured that out on her own. Fucking power. It always slipped the leash when she was agitated like this.
Alec whistled appreciatively from his recliner.
Asshole.
"Thirty-seven people. And Hunter killed them," Rachel said, staring at Lisa like she was stupid.
She wasn't fucking stupid.
"You partnered up with a mass murderer and tossed them into a crowd of unpowered spectators! I saw the PRT evidence photos; it looked like Jack Slash went to town in there!" Lisa exclaimed.
Brian sat hunched over on the couch, rubbing his forehead. Lisa could tell that he was just as irritated as her, he just couldn't decide what to do about it.
"Hunter used a sword, not a knife," Rachel said.
"Badass," Alec said, booting up his latest gaming acquisition.
Several injuries in PRT documentation incongruent with bladed weapon. Large blunt object. Hunter uses multiple different weapons, or one weapon with multiple forms.
"It doesn't fucking-" Lisa cut herself off before she made the situation worse and started pacing again.
"Rachel, we can't afford to draw that kind of attention, from the Empire or the PRT. You know that," Brian said sternly.
Rachel stuck her chin out and glared at him.
"Not gonna sit back and let them keep doing that shit," she said.
Brian sighed.
"We're a team, Rachel. That's why we're here. We could have helped. Made sure it didn't become a bloodbath," he said.
"Would'a tried to stop me," she grunted.
"You should have been stopped!" Lisa couldn't help herself. "We're going to have the Empire breathing down our necks for the next year unless we hand you over to them on a silver platter!"
"Which isn't happening," Brian said quickly, giving Lisa a look while Bitch growled at her, "But this is a tough situation. Has the boss called yet?"
"No," Lisa said, her headache spiking. "I honestly don't know what he's going to say about this."
Lisa looked over at Rachel again.
"Where did you even find Hunter, anyway? I've been looking all over for her, but aside from a few random pictures of her running over rooftops and robbing hardware stores, I haven't managed to pin anything down," Lisa said. "I don't even think she has a phone, let alone a computer."
Rachel glared at her.
"Not my shit to tell."
Feels a sense of kinship with Hunter. Considers willingness to kill one's enemies to be a sign of strength. Is impressed with Hunter's power and attitude.
Lisa wanted to scream.
Her phone rang.
The one she kept specifically for talking to Coil.
Fuck.
She mouthed 'Boss' to Brian and strode into the kitchen.
"Hey, Boss," Lisa said into the phone. She didn't even have the energy to annoy him with her usual snarky facade.
"Tattletale. I assume you've heard the news?" Coil's smooth voice was as unconcerned as ever.
"Yup. Do you have any plans or are we on our own?" Lisa asked. She didn't need her power to tell her that they were out in the cold on this one.
"In a manner of speaking," Coil said. He might have actually been smiling. That didn't bode well for her. "Miss Lindt has succeeded in something that I have been working towards for some time, entirely by accident."
Oh no.
"Your new assignment, Tattletale, is to recruit Hunter."
I'm going to die.
…
Emily resisted the urge to throw her desk computer across the room.
Barely. And only because she had a video call with the Chief Director in three minutes.
This was the last thing she needed.
It wasn't enough that the city was carved up into barely controlled cape fiefdoms which included both neo-Nazis and Lung. No, on top of being understaffed and outgunned by any and all of their opponents, they now had some unholy combination of Shadow Stalker and Gavel running around massacring unpowered criminals.
Emily hated her job, some days.
Not to mention that Shadow Stalker herself had flown the coop. Or possibly gotten herself killed by Carpenter. Emily didn't really have any evidence for that, but it seemed fitting. Sophia Hess was insufferable. Carpenter might have just shot her out of sheer irritation.
Good riddance.
The incoming call alert popped up on her screen at the exact second the clock rolled over to 11:00.
Emily took a breath to steady herself, ignored the constantly-present pain in her side, and answered the call.
"Good morning, Chief Director," she said.
"Hello, Emily," Chief PRT Director Rebecca Costa-Brown's face appeared.
Talking to the Chief Director was always a nerve-wracking experience.
Not because she was overly antagonistic, but because Rebecca was the single most competent person that Emily had ever met.
The downside to that competence was a complete and total lack of authenticity.
Every single thing Rebecca did was intentional. It had taken a long time for Emily to realize it, but the Chief Director's every word and action were calculated and planned. Her expressions, her tone, her appearance, everything. If Rebecca smiled, it was purposeful. If she let a tiny bit of irritation leak through her supposed facade, rolled her eyes, scratched her nose, blinked, shifted, pursed her lips, tensed her shoulders, anything and everything, it was undoubtedly a calculated gesture to ensure a certain outcome was achieved.
And she knew that Emily knew it. And Emily knew that Rebecca knew that she knew it. All of which didn't make it any less effective. It was infuriating.
And Rebecca knew that, as well. Because of course she did.
"Brockton Bay is as lively as ever, I see," Rebecca said.
A casual opening, reassuring her that some level of irregularity is expected in the ENE while also drawing attention to the current issue and subtly reminding her that she had allowed the status quo to become disrupted.
She really needed to stop analyzing. It was distracting, and unhelpful.
"Yes. I just emailed you the documentation and several release forms that require your signature to be validated," Emily said.
"I saw that. I think we should discuss them further before I give my approval," Rebecca replied. "A Baumann request without prior convictions?"
"A potential Baumann submission, pending conviction. Just to impart how serious the offenses are. If Carpenter is captured and found guilty of the suspected offenses, it would greatly speed up sentencing and processing," Emily reasoned.
It would also lower the chance of the Empire attacking the PRT directly in retaliation. Not by much, but it would help sway public opinion if they did. After all, Hookwolf had his own Birdcage order.
Rebecca pursed her lips as if she were considering it. Emily knew she had already made her decision before the call started.
"We have the three strikes convention for a reason. Both vigilantes and villains don't respond well when backed into a corner," Rebecca said.
Damn.
"By that logic, Carpenter has forty-eight strikes," Emily said.
"Even if the strike system were actual policy, it isn't one strike per crime. Regardless, I am reluctant to determine sentencing prior to even coming into contact with the parahuman in question," Rebecca idly tapped her finger on the desk like she was conflicted about the situation.
Bullshit. Emily knew that Rebecca would happily throw an innocent child in the Birdcage if it served her larger goals. Which meant that she wanted Carpenter to remain a low priority, in the grand scheme of things.
But why?
Emily sighed. She highly doubted that she would be getting any additional support on this issue.
"If we aren't going to prioritize our pursuit of Carpenter, what other options do you think would be beneficial?" Emily asked dully.
"We stay the course, Emily," Rebecca said. "Carpenter hasn't shown any inclination to hurt innocent people or heroes. The situation may still be salvageable."
Emily didn't roll her eyes, but it was a close thing. Rebecca probably knew it, too.
Any inclination aside from the forty-seven brutalized bodies in the morgue.
"The Empire won't stand for this insult. They'll be out for blood," Emily said.
"I trust that you and the Protectorate ENE will handle any alterations admirably, as always," Rebecca said, her lips curving up at the corners.
Damn her.
Emily desperately wished that she could just hang up, but that would be uncouth. She tolerated a few more platitudes before officially signing off.
Maybe next time (and Emily knew there would be a next time) Carpenter rolled out the body bags, she could get some actual help.
…
The air pressure changed by a minute degree, and Rebecca knew that she was no longer alone in her office.
"Are you sure about this?" She asked the silent room.
She knew that it was an unnecessary question. Contessa was always sure.
"Yes. It isn't time, yet," a low voice answered.
Rebecca Costa-Brown, Chief Director of the PRT, the hero Alexandria, second-in-command of the Protectorate and executive member of Cauldron, turned to face her uninvited visitor.
"Am I allowed to ask why?" Rebecca asked the woman in the fedora.
"The Hunter is an unparalleled weapon, but she must be forged before she can be sharpened," Contessa said.
"Should I guess, then?" Rebecca said dryly.
"The Terminus project remains unchanged," Contessa said. "It just won't be Thomas holding the reins when the dust settles."
"I thought the whole point was that we weren't going to interfere?" Rebecca asked.
"The point is to determine whether parahuman feudalism is a viable societal structure under the right circumstances," Contessa said. "I am simply setting the optimal dominoes upright."
Rebecca narrowed her eyes.
"I think you're up to something," she accused. "Something else, that you're not telling the rest of us."
"I am 'up to' a great many things, at any given time," Contessa said. "It's my job, after all."
…
"Team meeting, living room," her mother yelled up the stairs. "Now!"
Victoria groaned and pocketed her phone.
Mom was using the Brandish voice. That was never a good sign.
She floated out the door just in time to see Amy coming out of her room with a similarly annoyed expression.
Then again, Amy's expression was annoyed most of the time.
Victoria couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something had been off about Amy since Friday night. She wasn't moping or anything, but just… stuck in her head, or something.
Maybe having to deal with actual relationship drama wasn't good for her after all.
Part of Vicky wanted to pop over to the hospital to find Anne and see if she could chat with her about it, but Amy would probably never forgive her if she did that behind her back.
Still, there had to be something she could do to help.
"Wonder who pissed in Carol's corn flakes this time," Amy grumbled as they headed down the hallway.
Victoria laughed. Amy might be prickly, but she was creative with her snide commentary.
"It could actually be important," Vicky offered.
Amy rolled her eyes.
It was usually important… Well, sometimes.
Sometimes their mother just got a bit… overenthusiastic. But, better safe than sorry, right?
Victoria landed on the floor at the bottom of the stairs. She didn't want to get in trouble for flying in the house when Mom was already in a mood.
She heard the front door open as she walked into the living room.
Huh. If Aunt Sarah is here, then it must be something actually important.
Sure enough, the rest of the team filed into the room through the kitchen.
Vicky grinned at Crystal and Eric and went to sit on the couch beside them, shifting over so Amy could tuck in with her.
Amy looked uncomfortable, but she always looked like that at team meetings. She still felt like the odd one out, no matter what Vicky did.
"Do you know what this is about?" Victoria asked Crystal quietly.
"Yeah," Crystal looked troubled, which didn't bode well either. "I'll let Mom explain, though."
Uh oh.
"Alright everyone," Aunt Sarah, known to her adoring public as Lady Photon, stood in front of the fireplace. "We've finally gotten some official updates that everyone needs to be aware of."
Brandish sat in the nearest armchair to her sister, leaving Manpower and Flashbang to sprawl on the other couch.
"There's a new villain running around, designated by the PRT as Carpenter. They are now confirmed to be responsible for a large number of recent robberies, stealing everything from medical supplies to candles,"
Amy snorted quietly from beside her.
"They are also, as of last night, suspected of a total of forty-seven murders."
Holy shit.
"What?" Vicky and Amy exclaimed at the same time.
Victoria glanced over at her sister. She didn't usually talk during the meetings, but she was focused on Aunt Sarah with unusual intensity.
"Last night, Carpenter assaulted an Empire gathering and killed thirty-six people. That's in addition to the eleven she killed at a different Empire warehouse last week," Aunt Sarah continued. "The PRT is still keeping everything close to the chest, but at least they confirmed that the killings were both done by the same cape."
Amy met Victoria's curious stare and seemed to shut down, her face going blank as she leaned back into the couch.
Weird.
"We don't know all the details, but it goes without saying that you have to report any sign of Carpenter immediately. She wears a flat brimmed fedora, a scarf, and a long coat over black and white formalwear."
"What's the game plan if we do run into her?" Victoria asked.
"Carpenter is currently rated as a Mover 6, Tinker 4, Brute 2, and Thinker 2. I am reasonably sure that the PRT inflated her threat rating on purpose to avoid any of their squads getting killed unnecessarily. So far, she has only killed suspected Empire members. However, she is obviously dangerous. She uses tinkertech weapons, including firearms, so don't ever assume that you're out of range," Aunt Sarah said.
Well… at least Carpenter was just killing Nazis…
Victoria pushed down the memories of their bones breaking under her hands.
"We should try to bring her in though, right?" Victoria asked, even though she already knew the answer. Her mother shot her a look.
"Not without backup," Aunt Sarah said seriously. "Even a two hero team might not walk away from a fight with her unscathed, and we can't afford to underestimate her. Tinkers always have tricks up their sleeve, and Carpenter has that on top of her other abilities. The photos from the crime scene last night were… unsettling."
It took a lot to shake Lady Photon, but thirty-six bodies was a lot.
"What kind of weapons does she use?" Eric asked.
"Armsmaster said that the majority of the victims last night were either killed by a long bladed weapon or massive blunt force trauma," Aunt Sarah said. "Whatever she was using, it was strong enough to break down a metal wall. I don't know if it would knock out our shields or not."
Victoria glanced over at her cousins. There was a mix of nervousness and excitement on their faces.
Victoria knew the feeling. Any time a new villain showed up, it was always a new challenge to face. But… this felt… different. Carpenter had already killed a lot of people. Most villains still nominally played by the rules, even if they broke them occasionally.
She looked back at Amy.
The flat mask was still in place, but her sister's eyes were more tumultuous than ever.
Was Amy worried that she would get stuck healing Carpenter's victims? Or that the murderous villain would hurt one of their family?
Amy glared at her when she saw Victoria staring.
Touchy.
"Just… be ready for anything," Aunt Sarah continued. "Things are going to get worse before they get better. The Empire is out for blood, and they'll probably find it."
Damn right they will.
Victoria would make sure it was their own, though. Them, or Carpenter. Whichever she found first.
…
Thomas Calvert sat in two different offices, in two timelines, and pondered.
He steepled his fingers thoughtfully on the desk before him. The gesture was unnecessary, but it helped him think. The power of the placebo effect was not to be underestimated.
The game was officially afoot. Carpenter was aware, on some level, of his interest.
Or someone's interest, at least. According to his decoy team, she believed that the Empire was watching her father. This was further corroborated by her violent attack on Hookwolf's dog fighting ring.
But she could have been already planning that. He still didn't know how Bitch had located her.
He would have to bring Rachel in for questioning, and soon. Not that she would remember.
Thomas wasn't entirely sure that he believed his men. Taylor Hebert may have let them think that she fell for the ruse, but she was more than canny enough to lie by omission.
It hadn't been difficult to put the pieces together, once he had a string to pull. Daniel Hebert went to live with friends. Friends who weren't quite as frustratingly stubborn as he was.
They may have been loyal to him, but not more loyal than they were to each other.
Everyone had a lever that could break them, and Thomas had infinite chances to find it.
He had found Kurt's. He had finally found Daniel's, not that it mattered.
Daniel didn't have any powers at all. Thomas felt a bit silly, after expending so much effort barking up the wrong tree.
At least no one else knew about that.
Taylor Hebert was very much alive.
The puzzle came together quickly, with that revelation. It was easy to research a supposedly dead girl.
Taylor Hebert triggered, and Daniel covered for her while they set up her lab. Through unknown and ultimately irrelevant circumstances, Taylor killed her long-time bully Sophia Hess, who was also Shadow Stalker, and then blew up the house to obscure her tracks.
She set up a new lab, which Thomas hadn't yet located, and began her nightly work. At some point, she met Rachel Lindt and agreed to help her fight the Empire.
However, he still hadn't found Taylor Hebert's lever. In every timeline where he kidnapped Daniel, she somehow learned his name, located his base, and killed him. Sometimes in especially creative and painful ways. It didn't matter what he did to Daniel.
It was irritating. This family was ridiculously tenacious.
Maybe his Tattletale would have better luck. It was supposedly her area of expertise.
And if Taylor Hebert killed her, too…
Well, at least he wouldn't have to listen to her speak ever again.
Always a silver lining.
…
