Chapter 37

Colin wasn't expecting much when the tip came up the ladder. A call from a burner phone claiming that there was a parahuman conflict in the Trainyard. It wasn't really any territory that had been officially claimed, as there was nothing of value there, but with the volatile nature of Brockton Bay's cape scene, it was necessary for Colin to investigate even a minor report if there was a chance it involved villains.

Speeding through the night on an optimal route that had already been traced out for him on his HUD, he finally came to a stop once the smell hit him. The stench of burning plastic and oil was overpowering in it's intensity and he fought the urge to fully seal his armor. That was for emergencies only.

He dismounted from his bike (it was not called the Armscycle, whatever Assault and strangely, Magus, insisted) and pulled his halberd from the magnetic clamps on it's side and began to silently approach the source of the smell. The sensors in his helmet picked up multiple heat signatures rather quickly, several of them in a prone position while three were in various poses of relaxation.

The tip off had said they'd be waiting for the authorities… It still stank of a trap to Colin, so he keyed his communication channel to Console.

"Console, Armsmaster here," he said.

"Go ahead, Armsmaster," Kid Win's voice answered him.

"Send two containment vans, a clean-up squad, and have Dauntless and Velocity ready to back me up on short notice," Colin ordered.

"I'll get right on that. What's going on?" Kid Win asked nervously.

"Parahuman fight. Looks like the winners are going to be saying hello, but I don't know their intentions or allegiances yet. I'd rather not get into a three on one fight if I can help it."

"Right. Orders are sent."

Colin eyed an icon within his HUD and noted with approval the moving dots already. "Confirmed. Thank you," he remembered to say.

Kid Win sounded notably more confident. "Not a problem, sir. Console will be on standby."

Colin grunted as the line disconnected. Affirming words had such a small, but noticeable impact on performance. He had to remember to use them more often.

He rounded the corner of one train car and stepped into what looked like a warzone. Scorch marks littered the metal walls, bullet casings lay scattered everywhere, and right in the center of what looked like an improvised courtyard were a dozen men in ABB colors. They were in a neat row, all with their wrists and ankles bound, three separate piles of weapons nearby. It seemed that the new capes had sorted them based on firearms, explosives, and melee weapons. Separated to the side was the demon-masked Oni Lee, but a thick layer of duct tape was covering the eyes of his mask and his wrists and ankles were also bound.

Colin then noted the capes. One was familiar. Her costume was in better shape and she had added a golden shield that had to be tinker-tech of some kind, but it was clearly the bug girl who had taken on Lung her first night out. She was looking far more confident and completely unharmed as she stood almost at attention, clearly waiting for him. Leaning against a box car nearby was a woman in street clothes, the jeans torn in the artful sort of way that hipsters seemed to like and her dark coat littered with small decals and images. Her appearance was hidden behind a red scarf and beanie, leaving only her softly glowing eyes visible. The final member of the group stepped out of the box car as Colin approached. He looked like a ragged, homeless version of Eidolon. Similar green cloak, but frayed at the edges, little tears apparent as well. Rather than the blank mask with glowing green eyes that Eidolon favored, the newcomer's eyes were a burning red that seemed to emanate from pure darkness beneath the hood. Colin couldn't see anything beneath the cloak so he couldn't judge any more of the costume than that.

Colin gave them an A for effort. They obviously were a new group without any professionally available resources, so they leaned into the dark look of their costumes to make it look purposeful, a stylistic choice. Except for the bug girl. Other than the dark colors, her outfit looked like it could have been designed by the PR team, but she was still darkly dressed to match her two teammates. Though she was mismatched with that golden shield. It was probably a valuable tool, but the lack of color coordination would hurt her overall image in the long run.

To be fair, vigilantes didn't often need to worry about those kinds of things. They usually didn't stick around long enough for it to matter, either being killed off or absorbed into a larger organization before they could gain too much ground.

Normally he'd call out a challenge, but it was fairly clear that the individuals in front of him had been the ones to call. If they wanted a fight, they'd have waited in ambush. This was an introduction.

"Hello," he called out, approaching slowly. "I'm Armsmaster, with the Protectorate." They'd know who he was of course, he was a hero with national levels of fame, but following social rituals usually set people at ease and helped de-escalate situations. "Miss Bug. I see you're in good health," he said with a small amount of warmth. He had to lean on his PR training to actually make the voice, but not the feeling. The girl had done good work on only her first night out. Colin would have preferred to see her properly trained and thriving in the Wards, but being an independent hero was better than a villain or rogue. "Though perhaps by now you've come up with a different name of your own?"

"I go by Arachne these days," she confirmed.

"A good name," Colin said. Solid and memorable, but also just hinting at only one aspect of her powers. Clever. "Your friends?"

"I am called Kage," the Eidolon knockoff said, his voice a reverberating mass of overlapping tones as it came from his hood. It reminded Colin eerily of the Faerie Queen, what little footage there was of her speaking anyway. "Greetings."

Colin's translation software told him the meaning of the cape's name. So a cape of Japanese heritage, actively resisting Lung? That was a good sign. Shadow… Probably a hint as to his abilities. A sudden realization lit up his thoughts as he contemplated the name: Kage had been the cape to take down Coil. Interesting…

"Hey there," the final member gave a small wave. Flames suddenly appeared on the tip of her finger as she used it to light a cigarette. A deliberate demonstration of her powers. "They call me 'Firestorm'."

More of Colin's PR training came flooding back as his HUD gave him a brief overview of the name. "If you ever plan on making it big, you might want to change the name," Colin warned. "DC Comics published a character with that name in 1978."

Firestorm let out a bark of laughter while Kage palmed his face. "Like I give a rat's ass 'bout that kind of crap. I'm just a gal with real fire powers, they can suck my nonexistent dick, if they even care about a small-time vigilante like me."

He eyed the thugs and restrained Oni Lee. "You aren't going to be small-time for long. Lung won't take this kind of attack lying down," he warned them.

"Oh we know," Kage said with just a hint of smugness in his voice. "This was a trap he set up for Purity. I thought she was trying to be a hero, so Arachne and I helped her with a large ABB operation not long ago. Lung tried threatening us into helping him ambush her, but we ambushed him instead." Kage flicked his wrist and the shadows boiled before spitting out Lung himself, his body a mass of purple and yellow bruises, thick chains binding him completely. "I trust in the PRT's ability to hold onto a cape with literally zero accomplices on the outside to try and break him out."

Colin held back his shock. Lung wouldn't be the first nor last parahuman to go down to a weaker opponent due to surprise and good tactics. The three vigilantes went up a notch in his estimation, even if they had forgotten or more likely, never considered, an important thing. "With Lung gone, the ABB will fracture into a plethora of smaller gangs," Colin said. "There will be an uptick in crime and a void for another parahuman gang to move in."

"The Empire has been left weakened after their latest ploy for power," Kage said with a scathing tone. "Their ability to wage war is neutered for the time being while Kaiser seeks to replenish his numbers, either from out of state or out of the country. Coil is gone, I saw to that myself. As for an outside power moving in…" Kage's eyes seemed to darken beneath his hood. "That is what we three shall be here for. We shall rally the other independents of the Bay and make it clear that we are throughwith the gangs. Brockton Bay belongs to it's citizens, not the whims of men granted powers through sheer dumb luck and circumstance."

"That sounds dangerously close to forming a gang of your own," Colin said neutrally.

"No gangs. Just us and any willing to join us in keeping the Docks safe again," Kage said firmly.

"You could be a lot more effective with PRT assistance," Colin tried for the soft sell. "Not saying you have to join us, but we have various programs that could perhaps get you funding and assistance…"

Kage glanced at Arachne and Firestorm, then gave Colin a small shrug. "We will consider it."

He didn't say anything else, so Colin gave a slight nod. "That is all I ask."

The trio of capes all gave signals of farewell, a small wave from Arachne, a two-fingered salute from Firestorm, and a bow from Kage, then all just seemed to vanish between one blink and the next.

Colin sighed. He'd probably get at least a day in Master/ Stranger confinement for that little trick.

"Console, this is Armsmaster…"
***

"That was awesome!" Taylor pumped her fist in the air as she pulled off her mask, eyes glittering with excitement. It was easy to forget that beneath the serious face she wore at school, she was kind of a dork at heart. She rapped her knuckles against Auriel's shield. "This thing came in real handy. Thanks, Mak."

"Sure thing," I said easily. "Just keep using it well." I stretched out my back and felt a rather satisfying pop. Going hand to hand with Lung hadn't exactly been fun, even if it was easier than I'd been expecting.

"Armsmaster wasn't as much of a dick as I was expecting," Mimi commented as she unwrapped her scarf. "I mean, I see so much online about how he's such a robot, but he was… kinda nice almost?"

"I think he's been working on his PR skills," I explained. "He knows that 'people' aren't his thing, so he works extra hard on correcting his deficit. He's still just as human as you or me though, just bad at showing it."

Mimi grunted to acknowledge what I said, but then glanced around our new location. "You brought us back home?"

"Yeah. Wanted to celebrate our first major success as a team." I walked over to the cupboard and pulled down an expensive bottle of bourbon that I had bought just for tonight. I poured three glasses, handing one to Mimi and then offering Taylor the third. "You don't have to drink if you don't want to, but I figured I'd at least offer-"

Taylor threw back the drink without batting an eye. She smirked as Mimi and I blinked in surprise. "Oh please, I've been sneaking sips of my dad's booze since I was a kid. I'm a teenager, we're practically expected to drink."

"True, but only an irresponsible adult would let you," I said innocently as I used my psychokinesis to pour her another drink without touching the bottle. "Thanks for having my back tonight, both of you. This was way more successful than I expected. To our first victory as a proper team, may there be many more to come!"

We clinked our glasses together and drank. It was some damn good bourbon. I'd have to give my regards to Ethan later, he was the one who had recommended it.

"So this is where you live?" Taylor asked curiously as she looked around the apartment. "I'm surprised you trust me enough to show me."

"Why wouldn't I?" I smiled. "You're a friend and I trust my friends."

Her face took on the impassive expression that I associated with her dumping her physical reactions into her bugs. I hadn't said anything wrong, had I?

"Thank you," she finally said after an uncomfortable moment. "It's been a while since I've had friends."

"Psh, well now you got at least two," Mimi said while throwing an arm around the younger girl's shoulders. " 'Bout as many as I have."

A smile played across Taylor's face. "I think I have three now. So that means I got you beat."

Mimi gasped and clutched her chest at the betrayal while I laughed.

It was a good night.

Too bad work had to go and ruin it.

My work phone went off with an emergency alert, the kind I legally couldn't ignore, so with a grumbled curse I pulled it out and checked the latest news.

And suddenly my blood felt very, very cold.

All PRT operatives, be advised, full Master/ Stranger protocols in effect. The Fallen have been sighted in Brockton Bay.

Shit…
***

Saturday, March 12, 2011

I was largely immune to Valefor's powers, partially because of protective wards I'd woven around myself and partly because I had placed a special enchantment upon my glasses that would stop his powers if he tried anything. And I wouldn't be stupid enough to cut out his eyes to let him get a siren voice either, that was an entirely different nightmare scenario. But every time I walked by someone, a little part of me tensed up. Were they under the Master's influence, without even knowing about it? The PRT had stricter protocols in place, since I'd revealed to them the full scope of Valefor's powers, but I wasn't certain they'd be effective or not. With what I could do against the Simurgh, I was sure that I could prevent his hypnosis from working if I was there, but could I find and erase implanted commands?

Too many questions, too many possible answers.

So it was with a great deal more security in place that I finally managed to get onto the Rig and into the morning meeting with the Protectorate, Wards, and Piggot. All hands were on deck for this, the Fallen had been responsible for too much bullshit to not be taken seriously and with the anti-Thinker effects they had, we couldn't pull too much information. Even I didn't really know what Mama Mathers was capable of and I cursed myself for not reading Ward.

"Thank you for coming everyone," Piggot addressed as we all sat. "First order of business: Oni Lee and Lung are both in custody as of last night. That's the only good news we have for this morning." She hit a button and a display showed Valefor and Eligos. "We believe that we have at least two members of the Fallen within the city. Police encountered a ritual killing last night that had their calling card. We have no idea how long they've been in the city, but for now we're to operate at the highest levels of security until we know they're gone."

Dauntless raised a hand and Piggot gave him the nod. "Ma'am, how do we know it's these two specifically?"

"The way the killing took place… investigators determined it was self-inflicted. Thanks to Thinker support, we know that Valefor's previously unknown powers are actually much stronger than suspected. He's a Master who can implant commands and paralyze someone when he meets their eyes. He isn't to be trifled with. Eligos is more of an educated guess, he seems to be Valefor's bodyguard of sorts or perhaps his muscle. He isn't anything special, a decently powerful aerokinetic, dangerous, but nothing we haven't seen in the Bay before. Valefor, as a high-level Master, is a much greater concern." Her eyes flicked over to me. "Magus, can you protect against his abilities?"

"Of course," I said without hesitation. "I've already put measures in place to protect myself, but if I can block the Simurgh, I'm sure that I can block his powers from affecting other people as well. What I'm more concerned about is pre-existing victims."

"Go on."

"We have no way of knowing how long he's been in the city, how many people he's put under his sway. He could have theoretically put commands into the minds of any of us here at this table and any number of PRT personnel too. All they need is his order and they'll carry out whatever command he's implanted." I glanced nervously around the room. "I don't know if I can root out his commands. I mean, I probably can, but messing with the human mind is a delicate thing. I'd need to see one of his victims along with a control subject in order to determine if I can do anything about it if he's already implanted the command."

Piggot considered what I'd said. "You can create empowered items, correct?"

"Yeah…"

"Do you think you can create an anti-Master item?"

I opened my mouth to refuse, but then thought about it. "I'll… have to do some research."

"Do that. In the meantime, let's go over our strategy for containment of the Empire and making sure we don't get screwed over by the Fallen in the meantime." Piggot poured herself a glass of water and hit a button on the intercom. "Bring in some coffee. We're going to be here for a while."

There was some collective grumbling, but we were (mostly) adults. We set our jaws and got to work. We had a city to protect.
***

A/N: Sorry for the delay, was on vacation. Things should be back to normal from here though. Hope y'all enjoy.