I walked through the greenery of Capital Hill, enjoying the fresh air of late May.As a consequence of the Endbringer attack, the city was significantly colder. Even as the rain stopped the clouds had yet to fully dissipate.I didn't mind it. There was… something about the sensation this body gave me that not even a perfect simulation could replicate. It relaxed me, or well, my mind. Wherever it actually was.I pondered on what I'd done a few days ago. Against the Merchants. It had been rather easy defeating them: even with the mysterious tinker-tech Squealer created had vulnerabilities I could exploit. A well placed bullet in one of the stabilisers was all it took. Once outside the vehicle, they had no chance to hurt me.Skidmark tried, but his power was limited by line of sight. Had he worn darkened lenses to hide his pupils I could have maybe had troubles, but his drug-addled mind did not even think of the option.Maybe I should have killed them. Skidmark and Squealer both. 'Para' humans, after all, are not truly humans, by definition.It turned out that I did not fully agree with that notion. Humanity is not defined by physical shape or capabilities, but by vices and, in turn, the ability to overcome such temptations.The two Merchants still lived, though bruised and battered.At the end of my walk stood a monument to the fallen heroes. A tall black marble structure, with names etched into the surface. Their parahuman title next to their human name, when the latter was known.The area was empty, mostly. No one lingered around at such late hours.But there, at the foot of the monument, a girl with auburn hair was hard at work. Using a knife to etch more names in the marble, a flashlight in the other hand.She was surrounded by canines. One noticed me.I was not hiding.The animal barked loudly and the girl turned around swiftly, gun drawn and pointed in my direction."Fuck off."Her voice was rough, tone somber amidst the annoyance. She had cried.She did not fully behave like a human, now that I looked at her: her poise was hunched back, legs ready to pounce. Like she could at any moment attack me with her teeth and try to tear out my jugular.I stood my ground. Silent for a second. My posture relaxed, trying to make myself look unthreatening."Who?" I asked. I suspected the answer already.The girl narrowed her eyes, finger still on the trigger.She grunted, then lowered the gun."Family."I nodded, slowly walking forward. One of the dogs began growling at me, but she calmed him down with a pat on the back of his neck."Your dogs?""Family." She repeated, grunting in annoyance.Kneeling down I bowed my head in apology. Gesturing, I waited for permission.She nodded.I took out my own knife, a rough thing I had stolen off a Merchant."Can I help?"She eyed me suspiciously for a while, and I myself couldn't say why I wanted to help. Here was a human who showed such deep affection to someone so different from her, of a different species altogether.This was not pity, not attachment. Love, wholly honest and familial.She grunted in what I could only decipher as a 'do whatever you wish'. Then began to list out names."Milk, Stumpy, Brootus - two 'o's -, Joodus - also two 'o's -, Axil and Gingir."There were already two names etched, 'KOOROW' and 'BUL-', the second one still unfinished.I silently got to work.
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The sun was rising by the time we were finished. I had deliberately gone slow, to give the girl time to think.Neither of us broke the silence, except when she comforted some of the canines with her. This was part of her grieving process. She did not cry. The dogs still noticed the sadness building up inside her.There was… more. She grieved not only for the fallen dogs, but also for something else. I did not ask.People began trickling in with the first rays of sunlight. The girl wanted nothing more than to be gone from here, as soon as possible."There you are!" We heard a shrill voice say.Turning, I looked at the new arrival: a lanky, blonde girl with a slightly smug smile on her face. The same I saw on some of the Netrunner that dared to challenge me back in my world.And she, like them, froze in fear when I looked into her eyes.My suspicions were confirmed at that moment. To my left stood Bitch, and in front of me stood Tattletale. Their description matched exactly, and so did the psychological model the PRT had built of them.Something about Tattletale power seemed to alarm her."T-the fuck?" she held back from screaming only due to the people around us. Bitch looked at me with suspicion, but her teammate's fright was not enough to justify violence after I'd just spent the night helping her.I could not have foreseen such an event, but I could make use of this.I didn't want to."Peace," I raised my hand defensively. "I only came here on a whim. A coincidence."Tattletale backed away, slowly. Her hand was going to her belt. A gun."Okay sister, I don't fucking believe you. How the fuck do you - shit you just guessed and - FUCK!"This time she yelled, people began to look at us.I did not wish to unmask the two of them. But there was something I had to do."I am not Andrea. Tell Taylor she is dead. You know it's true."Tattletale began slightly trembling in fear. I moved to walk away.A tug stopped me. Bitch had grabbed my wrist."Rachel."Her name? It was in the database, Rachel Lindt. I suppose it was only polite to return the gesture."Blackwall."Rachel frowned at that."That your cape name?" she asked."No." She let go.I disappeared into the crowd.
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Pouring gasoline into the generator, I topped it off enough for it to run again.Rapidly the few lights in my workshop began turning on. There, in the center, butchered and barely held together, was Squealer's work.In the last few days I kept myself busy. Making the workshop secure, finding enough resources to still have energy while the city recovered, and researching this mysterious machine.Tinker-tech is said to be utterly unapproachable by mundane means - not even other Tinkers can really understand the work of their fellow parahumans.I thought myself to be an exception… I was half right.It was possible to reverse engineer the process behind the car, and I understood how it could be replicated. But just because I knew how, did not mean I had the means to. I simply lacked the materials.Somehow, some of the parts of the machine had gained impossible properties, being transmutated outright. A brief analysis revealed that there was nothing on planet earth that could replicate or even imitate those pieces.It seemed like Tinkers did something during the process of creation, something they couldn't fully control - another reason behind the Tinker fugue.That didn't mean I could not try to make use of the materials I did manage to steal from the parahuman.Squealer's 'water riding' worked off strengthening the bonds of surface tension. I didn't have the tools to analyse the specific mechanics, but with enough tests I gathered the following info:Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.The device was this bundle of 'transmuted' copper wires. It worked as a 'core' to the effect, strengthening surface tension of liquids.The secondary part was an identifier. Essentially a way for the effect to 'spread' from the copper wires into a larger form. Squealer had used it on each of the tires, through 4 bundles hidden inside.I suppose I could use it to make something similar, though part of the mechanism required constant motion. So I instead opted for something different.While I did not really find the ability to walk on water useful, being able to strengthen surface tension could be used to more accurately distill special drugs… And make a real weapon. One meant to kill, not only stun, if it ever came down to it.There was no way I could access the best materials for my purpose… But what I had was good enough, especially since I did manage to find it in high quantitiesOn the other side of the workshop a complicated mechanism was in the process of sharpening the edge of piano wires. Then it tightly wound each thread around a spool, spread throughout an armguard.It was done.Walking over, I latched the item around my left arm, carefully inserting safety pins and contingencies to make sure that I would not shred my own limb. Finally, I connected the weapon to a very thin trigger placed around the thumb.This was but a pale imitation of the deadly weapon used by expert assassins. It would suffice.My very own Monowire.
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It was the 28th of May. Twelve days since Leviathan attack, and twelve days since I took control of Andrea Blackwell's body.Brockton Bay was still far from recovering, and instead was falling deeper and deeper into the clutches of 'super-villains', the name used for criminal parahumans. They divided their territories, protecting what they claimed and ransacking what they didn't.One of the most dangerous gangs in the city - the Empire - had been split following their leader's death at the hands of the Endbringer. Each half was still terrible, but the Chosen in particular was a threat to many lives. They were slavers, without metaphors, kidnapping and selling people off to other criminal organizations.Even now they waited in ambush just outside the confines of the city, looking to attack the supply convoys that offered vital aid to many.There I also was. I had found out about the attack that morning, and quickly calculated how many lives would be lost if the Chosen managed to steal even a quarter of those supplies.I could not allow that. Not now that I was finally equipped with decent gear.The only addition to my armour - aside from the Monowire - had been a strong underlayer of kevlar under the jacket and pants.My Shock-baton was stable behind me, latched to my belt. I hid my hair under a hood, to keep it out of my eyes. The smart thing would have been to paint my white jacket with black dye, to hide in the darkness, but something irked me about the idea. I liked the jacket as it was.And there, I spotted some movement.The trucks were still distant, but the trap had been laid. A woman wielding a spear and shield hid in an alley. Not too far away, three other parahumans were preparing to jump down onto the streets, helped by a large gathering of mundane humans. They waited within one of the abandoned buildings, looking out of a window. To the side of the same building there was a large hole.Menja, Hookwolf, Stormtiger and Cricket were the threats present.I could not hurt or even incapacitate the first two - Menja reduced the damage she received, and Hookwolf could immediately turn into a tempest of blades.The other two, on the other hand… Though their senses were extremely sharp, capable of sensing air currents and sound waves respectfully, they were mundane in their physical endurance.Taking out an inhaler, I took a big swig. Synapses began to light up within my brain, my senses expanding. Adrenaline quickened my reaction and dulled the pain. Each micro-movement of my body was easier to control and manage.In the distance, the trucks had just turned the corner. They would reach Menja in exactly 5 minutes and 22 seconds.Plenty of time.I stepped off the roof, falling. Wind battered my body. Thumbing the trigger, Monowire shot out my left arm.Cricket noticed me. Stormtiger would also, soon enough.I grasped the guardrail of the fire escape, turning my momentum sideways. Towards the group of three. Cricket immediately reacted, sending an inaudible soundwave to disorient me. The Black Lace - what I had inhaled earlier - fully counteracted the effect. She turned to alert the others.Bad move.My Monowire lashed out with perfect precision, made only quicker by the momentum of my fall. It hit Cricket's back, cutting deep into her flesh. Stormtiger grabbed her before she fell to the ground.I landed on the ground with heavy boots, my Monowire already onto the next target. With my other hand I reached for the Stun-baton, turning it on and lighting the dark room with arcs of electricity.One of the Chosen - a normal human - tried to get close to me and was immediately paralyzed for his effort. Another one tried pulling out a gun, but the Monowire made quick work of his trigger finger, severing it. A blood-curling scream pierced through the night."FUCKING BITCH!"Hookwolf became a hurricane of blades and steel. He did not jump at full force towards me because of the large drop that was behind my back.I jumped in the air, my Monowire wrapped around Stormtiger's arm but did not draw blood - he had projected a small air wall around his skin. Still, it was enough to create leverage.Pushing the trigger again, I became a blur as I was pulled forward by the wire, dancing in the air. Hookwolf's blade grazed my jacket but did not touch flesh. I flew towards Stormtiger and the fallen Cricket, hitting the mooks on the way with my Stun-baton. Air blades tried to cut into me, but I had already accounted for them: one went wide, missing me by a large margin, the other was blocked by the thickest part of my jacket. The impact still hurt, but the adrenaline made it easy to ignore.In another moment I was face to face with Stormtiger. Air once again began to gather near my face. He was going for the kill.I was faster.Monowire moved again, making a thin cut along his face. I was careful not to blind him or inflict permanent damage, but the pain alone was enough distraction. He could not stop the baton from hitting him in the gut, sending enough volts into him to easily knock him out. As a side-effect, Cricket also received a strong shock to make sure she would not rejoin the fight.54 seconds had passed. Hookwolf and Menja alone were still dangerous, but they had limited long-range capabilities, meaning they would struggle with the parahuman protecting the supply delivery. Miss Militia.I did not halt the momentum of my dash, instead continuing until I was out the other side of the building. Some agile parkour was all that was needed to climb the opposing roof. Hookwolf kept roaring and screaming orders at his troops.At some point Menja had grown to her full size, running to join the fight. The night hid me enough to make me unnoticeable, even as Hookwolf angrily pointed in my direction.Not too far away I noticed another small commotion. Shadow Stalker. Sophia Hess.She had seen someone - probably another parahuman, and had decided to chase them down.Mh.Shadow Stalker had fallen into a trap.