Ballistic. Cricket and Rune. Night. Every Merchant except Squealer. Coil.These were the dead.Everyone else had been wounded but was alive. The Undersiders were drenched, as Tattletale had shoved anyone she could grab into the water, allowing them to avoid the worst of the fight.Faultline's Crew hadn't come to the meeting.All of the heroes were alive and unhurt except Miss Militia. She'd lost a leg, looped off by one of the Chosen, either Stormtiger or Hookwolf. Weld had managed to keep Triumph and Battery safe, and Clockblocker had simply frozen his own costume and waited it out.Purity was shaken, being the one that had killed Night with a vaporizing blast. Sundancer was holding back tears as she crouched over Ballistic's corpse. Genesis was nowhere to be seen, but I assumed she was safe.I glanced towards the Undersiders. Skitter was looking around, anxious and furious… Tattletale put a hand on her shoulder and shook her head. It was likely that they hoped Rachel had just been late, rather than not there at all.Miss Militia let out a painful groan as Weld finished administering first aid, making sure she wouldn't bleed.Taking the leader role while Miss Militia was down for the count, Battery spoke up:"We have reason to believe that the Nine… Or what remains of them, have left the city. There's been multiple sightings of Jack, Bonesaw and Siberian all over the place. All of them have turned out to be Bonesaw's victims that were physically altered. This fits their MO when they escape a city."Tattletale placed a hand on Skitter's shoulder and asked a question:"Any mention of an attack on the Trainyard? Or somewhere in Bitch's territory?"Triumph opened his phone and checked something, then looked back to Tattletale and nodded."Fuck." Tattletale swore, receiving confirmation for what she hoped wasn't true.Battery continued."The parasite Bonesaw created should be cleared up soon enough. Advise people to avoid drinking non-bottled water for the next week. If someone shows symptoms, contact with an inoculated individual should be enough to fix the problem. At least that's what Panacea explained.""I thought the healer didn't work on brains." Hookwolf huffed from a corner. He was glaring at me, probably recognizing my appearance from our brief meeting."It's a parasite. Distant enough that her power worked on it, to our luck. Maybe it was meant to be a test for her. It wouldn't be the first time Bonesaw introduced a built-in flaw to one of her creations."We have yet to understand the scale of the damage. Until that is done, we'll be hands off as long as you don't hurt innocents." She glared towards the Chosen in particular. Hookwolf didn't look back, keeping his eyes on me.An extension of the truce. For a short while."Please disperse. Peacefully." Miss Militia ended the meeting, speaking between pained groans.As people began to leave, the Undersiders lingered. Tattletale, with Skitter in tow, approached the heroes. And me."How much would it cost for you to give us information about where the Nine may have headed?" Tattletale asked, straight to the point."It doesn't work that way." Battery shook her head. "But…" She glanced behind her, at the other heroes, then at me. "...off the records, we have no info. They left no traces this time, absolutely none. We suspect that Crawler escaped via sea, walking along the ocean floor, and will rendezvous with the rest somewhere along the coast."Tattletale glared at me. "You really put the fear of god in them, huh?" There was anger there. She partly blamed me for the situation, it seemed. She had plans to try and deal with the Nine… They wouldn't have worked, but best to allow her a grudge. I didn't have the strength to argue.Skitter didn't say anything, nor did she show any emotion. But from what I know about her, what I gathered from her profile, her mind was probably already in overdrive. Weighing options. Deciding on what to do."Dragon has assembled a strike team to chase them down. They will have one of the Dragonflight always ready to strike as soon as a lead is found. No resource spared." I decided to speak up."And no mercy, I presume." Tattletale continued."Not if what Coil said is true." Battery interjected, glancing at the mushed corpse of the snake-themed villain. "If Jack is really the catalyst for the end of the world… There is a chance that Bitch will be involved in the fighting." The rest went unsaid.As the bugs around us began to form into a tighter swarm, I could not help but think that if it were up to Tattletale… There was a world where she let everything burn to save Rachel.The same couldn't be said for Skitter. Not because she didn't care for Rachel, no…"Tattletale, let's retreat." Skitter said, putting a hand on her teammate's shoulder.The two Undersiders regrouped with the others then left soon after.Miss Militia grit her teeth, then took a deep breath, before asking Battery to pick her up as they went back to their base, where Panacea would likely heal her.I stayed there to watch, making sure that nobody would use this chance to cause trouble.The brief moment of quiet was nice.I had a lot to think about.
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I sat on the beach, over the sand. Overlooking the Protectorate headquarters in the distance. The repurposed oil rig had gone through its fair share of damage under Leviathan's attack, to the point that it now sat close to the coast, but its remains were still rather intact.The total casualty count of the agnosia plague - the name assigned to it by the higher ups of the PRT - was still unknown. It would likely remain like that, given that most of Brockton Bay was still under villain control.The arrival of the Slaughterhouse Nine had shook the status quo. The Merchants were gone, their remains partially siphoned into the Chosen, including Squealer.The villains in Brockton Bay were now in an even stronger position as the PRT focused on disaster relief. But it wouldn't stay that way.With the passing of the Nine, and with the fear of what Bonesaw could have hidden, the Protectorate would be all over the city. In theory, at least.Steps resounded over the sand from not too far away. Turning around, I saw a figure fully covered in armor. I recognized the design. Dragon."Blackwall, won't you join us? We are about to have a meeting. To discuss the situation, and how to proceed." Her voice wasn't synthetic this time, only filtered. Odd."How is Armsmaster?" I asked."...He escaped. Took off after the attack. Left a message not to follow him." She lied, while not even pretending to hide it."I see. Is the meeting related to that as well?""No." She lied again. "I found an ally to help me with an upcoming plan to hunt down the Nine. We're finishing preparation, and I wanted to ask…""I won't be joining you." I interrupted. "In your hunt. For the meeting? Yes, I'm up for it."Dragon nodded."But," I continued, "I agree with the reasoning behind hunting down the Nine. The world is becoming more and more unstable, divided and angry. I can't see it lasting more than twenty years if Endbringer attacks keep up the pace, not even considering the damage the Slaughterhouse Nine could cause if they decided to stop playing games.""Mh. Are you intending to go for a different objective?""Yes. Europe."A moment passed."...the Blasphemies." Dragon guessed.She was correct. Among all the threats that endangered the planet, I ranked the Endbringers as the least human. But given that each of them was far out of reach, not even to mention that I still had no way to put them down, I decided to aim for something else.The Three Blasphemies were not the most dangerous threat to the planet, no, in fact they were rather tame. Usually going for surgical strikes, politically motivated, to destabilize a nation or force a change in leadership. They were an unknown variable, unpredictable, but not as dangerous as the Endbringers.What sealed the deal for me was their creation. They were artificial entities, made of machinery and tinker-tech. They also clearly displayed human emotions, at least a facade of it.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.AIs, in other words."I'm not sure that's wise..." Dragon almost continued, but I interrupted her."There is no changing my mind. I would love to have your help, but we both know I can likely do without. Especially once Shatterbird and Burnscar's bounties are sent through."I did not mention Mannequin's bounty. The official story was that Armsmaster had managed to kill the Mad Tinker by taking him by surprise."...very well. That can be arranged. When were you planning to leave?""Soon. After I get decent equipment. This…" I raised my arm, "...was sloppy work. Done in a hurry. I can do far better." I looked to the side, towards the freezing container placed near me.There was also so much more to learn about the technology Tinkers could create… And about parahumans.Dragon nodded to that, then spoke up again."In that case…"
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The meeting room was soundproof, so I could not overhear whatever it was that the heroes were talking about. The Wards had also been invited to take part in the conversation, including Shadow Stalker.I sat on a chair outside. Next to me was a large container carrying my prototypes and other useful tools. It was a bit out of place within the hallways of the PRT new headquarters.Dragon had asked something of me in exchange for giving me access to the old Protectorate headquarters. A small request compared to what she was offering, all things considered.In front of me, sitting on the opposite side, was Faultline.She looked unhurt, a fact that surprised me given I'd seen Labyrinth with the Nine.Didn't stop her from glaring towards me.We both kept quiet while waiting.The door opened and a woman I recognized as Director Piggott motioned me inside, then introduced me:"This is Blackwall. Some of you are already familiar with her," the Wards were glaring at me, "...while others will soon be debriefed on her skillset. The higher ups have decided not to send other heroes to fill our ranks in this situation, which means we're even more outnumbered than usual."Mh. That didn't make much sense. The city was already in terrible conditions, why were the rest of the PRT not helping? But I did not interrupt the Director."That is also why Faultline is here," Director Piggot continued, "the PRT will be hiring her crew for the foreseeable future.""I'm pretty sure we can't afford either of them… Maybe I shouldn't have said that?" Assault commented from the side. He was the most relaxed of the heroes, and was the most comfortable with the notion of villains working with and for the PRT."I will be working at a deep discount if you keep your words." Faultline spoke up. "Labyrinth saved us from the Nine. She pushed her power to the limit to keep the Siberian away from my people. I can't just let her suffer at the hands of those psychopaths. Even if my rep will take a hit because of this.""And Blackwall?" Weld asked from the side."She's doing me a favour." Dragon corrected him. "Blackwall's situation is closer to yours, Assault. She's not joining the Protectorate, nor will she be included in the patrol rotations or caught up on classified info. Consider her as a free-agent help, like New Wave. Except that she will be fully dedicated to helping us, and will require no compensation.""So she's not a mercenary?" Battery asked. She was curious more than wary."Not anymore. Dragon has convinced me that there is a better use of my time while I'm preparing for a bigger operation.""Bigger?" Miss Militia asked. "Is this also related to the Nine?"I shook my head. "Not immediately. I will later join in hunting them down, but for now I'll leave it in the capable hands of Dragon and…"Another figure in armor was besides Dragon. Armsmaster, except wearing tech he had never shown before. I also noticed that he'd modified his own body, mostly with implants that would reduce his own biological downtime. It seems he had been impressed with my own cyberware rather than scared off by my words."You can call me Arsenal." He answered. There was begrudging respect in his tone. I couldn't tell if it was because I had saved his life, or because Dragon had informed him what my plans were."...Dragon and Arsenal. I do not need to sleep or eat, and if needed can offer long range support. I suspect that the only capes that could pose a threat to me in a fight are Purity and Sundancer, maybe Genesis. Everyone else I can handle alone.""I can attest to that…" Weld mumbled. His sentiment was shared by the other Wards in the room, and even some of the Protectorate heroes."So it's true? You're the one that took down Shatterbird?" Kid Win asked."And Burnscar. And Cherish, who you don't know about thanks to Blackwall, but who was just as bad as the other two." The Director answered.I glanced towards Piggot, and while she hid her displeasure, I could still see it. In fact, most of the heroes in the room were rather unhappy with my presence and Faultline's.How could I blame them? Only some time ago I had fought with them and even injured some of the Wards. But they weren't in a position to choose who could help them. They lacked manpower.Shadow Stalker seemed to shrink in the corner, fist tightening. A mix between fear and anger. If not for my showcase of strength, it was likely that she'd try to murder me while I wasn't looking.Piggot's phone began to ring, and she quickly answered it."Thomas. Do you have an answer?" She spoke into the phone, then excused herself for a moment. I could hear a male voice on the other end.Whatever it was, it took precedence over Faultline and I, as soon after the Director declared the meeting over.
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"They weren't pleased." Dragon commented in the elevator. I wasn't sure if it was directed at me or Armsmaster, so I looked towards her."About both of you." She clarified."They're right not to trust Blackwall." Arsenal glanced at me. I glared back. "...but she has proven herself, and Brockton needs all the help we can get."It irked me how he spoke as though I wasn't there."...changing the topic. Can you please make sure Arsenal has not hurt himself with those implants?" Dragon asked."He has not." I immediately stated. It didn't take more than a glancing look to tell that Armsmaster… Arsenal had done a fantastic job in augmenting himself."Watching Panacea at work was very helpful. I'm not quite sure how you managed to improve your own body without taking inspiration from a parahuman power.""You don't need to rely on powers. Humanity already has all the tools it needs." I shot back, losing control of my emotions for a moment. Arsenal almost chuckled at my outburst. I say 'almost' because I'm not quite smiling is a known thing to him.…it was not unheard of, for a Tinker to create tech that imitated another cape's power. I wasn't a Tinker.The elevator opened to the rooftop, where a Dragonflight was waiting for us."This will lead to the remains of the oil rig, to a section that we've secured."Walking inside, it was a short flight to reach the ruins of the Leviathan battle. The Dragonflight landed on top, in a section that looked a bit more cleaned up than the rest.The two walked with me until we reached a newly added door. As it opened, I was welcomed by a rather underequipped laboratory. They'd given me only what they could spare, and only because it was heavily implied I would neither damage nor steal the equipment here."You can scavenge for anything you need within the ruins, but only as long as a Protectorate hero is with you. When that isn't the case, I ask you to stay within this section of the construction." Dragon explained.Finally I had proper access to what I needed."Then I will begin preparing, as there is no time to waste. Good luck on your hunt."Arsenal nodded towards me, then left with Dragon, the door closing behind them. The Dragonflight departed from the rooftop, loudly flying away and shaking the walls around me.I walked to the far edge of the room and placed the large steel container there. I entered the pin and opened it. Liquid nitrogen flowed out.Inside were two frozen heads. Shatterbird and Cherish.Better get to work.