I landed on the roof as softly as I could, reaching up to tap my ear bud. "Hydra reporting in. Grid C5 is clear. Proceeding to grid C6."
"Got it Hydra." A really bored sounding Vista answered over the radio.
That was one duty the Wards normally did that the Protectorate didn't. Man the radio central.
"Are you sure you would rather not change with Vista?" I said with a grin, looking over at Shadow Stalker.
It had been pouring down all day, raining cats and dogs.
I ignored it, not even bothering to shift armor. Hell, I was soaked but I didn't even feel cold for it.
Sophia on the other hand managed to look miserable even with cloak and full face mask. "Fuck you. Let's just get this done. You are just in a good mood because you have a date."
I grinned and then took off along the rooftops again. Well, she was not wrong.
A week of patrolling, searching for The Merchants had not exactly yielded any results so far, but we needed to follow the pre-set patrol routes.
Generally, it put us in the 'safer' parts of the city.
But not today, the warehouse district was where we were today. Good hunting grounds for merchants.
"Hydra." Shadow Stalker suddenly said, shifting back to human form as she landed behind me so I skidded to a halt, looking back at her.
She motioned back to the alley we just jumped over.
I walked over and peeked over the edge. How the hell does she spot this kind of thing when running at full speed!? Sure, she had more time in the air, but still. I need to practice that kind of thing.
In the alley there was a car, a pickup truck. One guy in a green jacket was standing outside the passenger side window, glancing around before reaching into his pocket to pull out a wad of cash, starting to count them.
I grinned and tapped my headset. "Hydra to HQ, possible drug deal in progress. Two suspects spotted, permission to engage?"
"Hold one, Hydra." Vista's voice said and I sighed, glancing at Shadow Stalker who was fingering her right crossbow.
"They are going to get away..." she muttered and pulled her crossbow.
I gave her a look and shook my head. "Shadow, by the book. I'd rather not be stuck patrolling with Clockblocker."
She snorted and seemed to calm down a bit as my radio spoke up again. "Permission granted."
I turned to Shadow Stalker again. "Normal plan, I engage. If they try to run, you take them down."
Shadow Stalker nodded and I jumped off the roof.
I fell through the air, before I slammed into the ground hard right in front of the car, going down on one knee more for effect than anything before I stood back up. "Good evening, gentlemen." I said with a grin. "I am Hydra of the Protectorate and I will be your arresting officer for the evening."
Silence other than the pouring rain, then the guy in the truck revved the engine and the other guy turned to run.
I rolled my eyes and left the runner to Shadow Stalker as the pickup truck started to move towards me. Oh for crying out loud... what exactly did they think this would accomplish other than add 'resisting arrest' and 'vehicular assault' to their list of crimes?
Shifting to my heavy armor and power form I ran forward and lowered my shoulder to meet the truck head on.
The heavy vehicle slammed into my shoulder, cracking the armor and breaking the bone, but it grew back as I was pushed backwards, my boots shattering as I grew claws that dug into the asphalt, my t-shirt and jacket already ripped apart when I shifted to armored form.
The truck came to a halt as I snarled, the back wheels spinning on the wet ground when an arrow suddenly slammed into the engine block from up above and the car stopped with a snapping and grinding sound.
Growling I stood up straight, looking down on my shoulder. My armor was a darker color now, looking a bit shinier.
It might just be the water though.
I walked around the car and grabbed hold of the car door through the open window, ripping it open.
Suddenly I had a shaking revolver aimed at my face.
I tilted my head, watching the gun. "Do you really want to try that?" I rumbled out at the terrified looking guy in the cap and the leather jacket.
He stared at me for a couple of seconds before he dropped the gun. "Don't hurt me!"
"Smart. Get out of the car. You are under arrest for drug dealing, resisting arrest and most likely assault." I rumbled as I shifted back to my normal human form and pulled him out of the car, slapping the cuffs onto his wrists. "Or... I could perhaps talk it down to possession."
"I haven't done anything!!"
AN// *Try to dump a bucket of thanks over StormBlade only to find that the thanks had frozen. Put a stick into it instead and hand it over. Thank-sicle."
"Three thousand dollars to replace a engine. Another thousand to replace a car door. Another thousand to fix the front of a pickup truck. A thousand dollars of dentist bill to replace two knocked out teeth.," Director Piggot counted out as she went through the papers.
Apparently the drug deal... wasn't.
The 'buyer' was paying the car driver some money he owed him. There was no drugs anywhere on them or in the car. Not even traces of it.
Director Piggot was not happy.
"Director, it was a good arrest. It looked like a drug deal. We had permission from HQ to engage.," I said before she silenced me with a look.
Seriously, she had to have some kind of Master power.
"You did. It was assumed that you had actual proof of something!" she thundered and Shadow Stalker twitched.
"It looked like a drug deal! You read the report!" I said with a sigh. Fucked up. Again.
Director Piggot nodded. "I did. And that is not what I really have a problem with.," she said before she continued. "What I have a problem with, is the way you two went about it. You two could have arrested these two, a pair of unpowered humans without all this! You two are damn lucky they didn't want to sue the Protectorate and settled for having the damages repaired."
Shadow Stalker sighed.
"We fucked up," I said, clenching my hand.
"You damn well did," Piggot said, leaning back in her seat. "We gave you two another chance to share patrol because the way your powers cover each others weaknesses, but it's clearly isn't working. Armsmaster and Miss Militia will be giving you your new schedules tomorrow. Dismissed."
We exited the office and I closed the door before leaning my back against it, letting the back of my head hit the armored surface with a soft thud. "Sorry Shadow. I fucked up."
"...Not exactly your fault," She said, her hand clenching around the butt of her crossbow.
I shook my head. "I'll try to get in touch with my... contact. We have to play it by the ear outside of patrols. We could 'happen' onto them during our time off."
Shadow Stalker just nodded.
"Shadow," I then said, turning to look at her. "No heading out solo."
She hesitated but then she nodded again. "Fine," she said before she shook her head. "Get going, you are going to be late."
I blinked and then I grimaced. My date with Hannah.
Yeah, that would be fun after today's incident.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
"That was fun," Hannah said with a smile as she got out of the car on the parking lot close by the harbor.
I nodded "It was," I said as I followed her example and stretched before walking around the car. "Honestly, I'm not much for horror movies, but that one was hilarious."
She was unhappy about how much I messed up during the patrol, especially as she was the one that approved for Shadow Stalker and me to patrol together again. We both agreed to leave work behind for this though which I was very glad for.
Mostly I think she blamed herself for letting a pair of rookies out alone again, even if Armsmaster also signed of on it. Damnit.
That earned me a bit of a strange look. "Well... wasn't scary, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it funny. It was just... bad."
"That's the good part! It was so bad it was good!" I said with a grin. "Come on, that's all the fun with the bad movies. To mock them shamelessly. Remember when the monster hid under the stairs?"
Hannah rolled her eyes with a smile. "That was stupid. Okay, fine... not sure it was so bad it was good, but I had fun. Come on, let's get to the ferry before it starts to rain."
I nodded with a small grin. "Yeah, we better."
Soon enough we were leaning against the railing of the ferry as it started across the bay to the platform in the distance. "You know... It's been way to long since I did something like this," Hannah said as she looked out over the water.
"The date thing?" I asked with a smile, leaning my back against the railing as I watched her.
She nodded. "Yeah. I mean, this place isn't exactly crawling with prospects. Almost everyone is either taken, villain, civilian, half my age or Armsmaster."
I grinned at that. Funny as hell that Armsmaster got this own category.
"Ah, so I'm just picked by default," I said with a grin.
"What? No! That's not what I meant at..." she started and turned to me before spotting my grin.
Rolling her eyes she gave my shoulder a slap with a small grin of her own. "Jerk."
I turned to face her with a smile, reaching up to run my fingers through her hair softly and she bit her lower lip slightly, looking a bit nervous.
Damn she looked beautiful in the light from the city like this.
I was about to lean in and kiss her, but I didn't have the chance as she beat me to the punch.
I walked out of the store and tore open the packet of the cheap phone, throwing the plastic in a nearby trashcan as I turned along the road towards the park.
Turning the phone on, I checked the battery quickly. Half full.
Good enough.
Walking into the park, I punched in the number and listened to the signal. At least the call was going through. At least the phone was not turned off or destroyed.
There was a good ten signals going through before somebody answered.
"Yes?"
"Who is this?" I asked as I sat down on a bench in the warm sunlight.
She lowered her voice. "It's Skitter. Who is this?"
"Hydra. You kept the phone... good for me, but sloppy, you should have nuked it the moment our phone call dropped last time." I said and shook my head.
Luckily for me or I wouldn't be able to contact her again. But damn fucking sloppy of her. She could have been traced. Disposable phones were called that for a reason.
"What happened last time? Were you in the fight down town?" Skitter asked.
"Yeah." I said with a sigh. "As I said before I was so rudely interrupted by Tinker bullshit, I think you are making the wrong choice. Are you certain of this?"
"I can't leave now." Skitter answered. "I found out some stuff I need to do first."
I sighed and shook my head. "Anything I can do?". Skitter really did seem serious about wanting to be a good guy even if she was being a idiot about it. Maybe I could get her out earlier.
"No. Sorry. I can't risk this getting out."
Bloody teenagers! First Shadow Stalker and now Buggy.
Did I have such a lack of common sense at that age? I would like to think that I didn't, but...
"Fine." I said with a another sigh. "But I think this will end badly."
"Sorry."
"I'm wondering if you could do me a small favor?" I asked after a moment. "Nothing big, just some information."
There was a small pause before she spoke up again. "What kind of information?" she asked.
"The Merchants." I explained. "After their attack on Skidmarks transport, I have had enough of them. But I need to know where they are."
"You're going after the Merchants?" she asked, sounding surprised.
"The Capes at least. They might be a minor gang, but they are trading a large portion of the drugs in the city. With their last two Capes gone, they should fracture on their own." I explained with a grimace. "But first I need to find them. The normal Protectorate sources are apparently dry."
If the Protectorate even had them. I mean, come on... at the very least Squealer needed a large place to build her bullshit,and invisibility cloaks or not, SOMEBODY had to know where to find her.
Honestly, even if we just took her down it might be enough. Mush was a a threat, yes, but even covered in his trash he was at the most a Brute 4.
Without Skidmarks so-called charisma and Squealers bullshit vehicles, The Merchants would be much less of a bother, even if we missed Mush.
But ideally, we could snatch them both up.
"...I'll see what I'll be able to find out." Skitter said after a moment.
"Don't take any risks to do it." I quickly said. I didn't want her to catch the wrong kind of attention.
"I won't. Tattletale should know already, I'll ask her."
Tattletale. Blondy. The smug Thinker of the group.
"And she won't ask why?" I asked, raising a eyebrow to myself. Questioning a Thinker and trying not to have them find out exactly why seemed like a horrible idea. "Because that seem like a horrible idea."
"I can handle it. Even if I don't ask her, I'll find a way."
I sighed and leaned back against the bench. Fucking hell. If she wasn't my only real source... Even then, the morality of this is dubious.
"Just... be careful. What you are doing is dangerous enough as it is." I finally said. "I wasn't dubious about even calling you if it would put you into more risk."
"I'm fine." she said. "I'll call when I have something."
Why did that not make me feel better?
"I'll be on this number." I told her before I grimaced and added. "And destroy your bloody phone. It's called a burn phone for a reason. If you are unable to make a call safely, drop a message off at the last spot you did. Paint a circle on the wall if you do and I'll pick it up."
"Got it." Skitter answered. "Bye." she then added and hung up.
I rubbed my chin and sighed, putting my phone into my pocket.
This was so fucking wrong.
AN// A bucket of thanks to Grue for betaing this section. Hopefully SB don't die. I'm almost at a three to one likes/post ratio.
Time passed without any word from Skitter. A week passed.
I was pretty sure Shadow Stalker behaved, though. No solo patrols that I knew off. At least that was something.
"What did I say after the entire school lecture thing?" I complained to Hannah in the general common room in the Protectorate cape common room.
She just grinned and leaned back on the couch. "Relax, it's just a charity dinner. Just enjoy the chance to relax, shake a couple of hands and enjoy the expensive food in way too small portions."
I frowned and then sighed, dropping down in the couch next to her, putting my arm around her as she leaned closer. "I dislike social gatherings."
"So does Armsmaster. But if he is not getting out of it you can be sure that you aren't either. Dauntless won the lottery this time." Hannah said and then shrugged. "You might as well buckle up and just enjoy it. It's just one night."
Sigh.
"Why are we even doing this?" I asked with a small sigh.
Hannah shook her head. "It was the Mayors idea. A kind of 'show a united front' against the gangs of the city. Both the ABB and E88 had been stepping up their operations a bit since Lungs escape."
There had been a bit of a surge in gang violence. Apparently E88 had been moving into ABB territory when Lung was captured. Now the ABB was pushing back. Hard.
"Maybe I get lucky and there is a villain attack or something."
She snorted. "Come on, who would be stupid enough to attack a room full of both Protectorate, Wards and New Wave?"
Well, that was true. You would have to be a idiot for that... or the Slaughterhouse 9 or something.
No... I don't think even they would be willing to try those odds.
Man, reading about them was scary as fuck. A bunch of very powerful murder hobos moving from time to time like some kind of twisted DnD party.
What really weirded me out was the fact that one of them seemed to have a very similar power to me.
Crawler. Very powerful regenerator. Every time he was hurt, he adapted, mutating and becoming harder to hurt in the same way.
But his powers didn't let him turn back to human.
Even worse, he was a masochist and wanted to be hurt, seeking the strongest opponents possible.
Crawler was one of the more pleasant members of Slaughterhouse 9.
I just hoped they would never come to Brockton Bay. I never wanted to see anyone like that.
I smiled slightly, pushing that thought away as I shook my head. "True that. You would need to be some kind of idiot. Come on, that's like a normal criminal trying to rob a Police Station."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
I admit that I was feeling unreasonably smug at the moment as I looked over at the 'kids table' from my seat between Velocity and some kind of Lawyer and his family.
This was honestly not as bad as I thought it would be for several reasons.
For one thing I didn't need a Monkey Suit. We were all in our Cape costumes.
Which mean that I was quite comfortable.
I speared a small piece of the quite nice smoked salmon on my fork and I nodded as the lawyer... what was his name? Barn or something... was rambling on about an amusing anecdote about something on his office.
At least the food was good.
Which gave me the real reason to why I was feeling quite smug.
I glanced over at the kids table again where Shadow Stalker and Clockblocker was sitting with plates stacked with food in front of them, uneaten.
They were both wearing full face masks.
At least I was able to eat.
I looked across the table at Hannah who at least had a very flexible scarf across the bottom of her face and could eat, if slowly and carefully.
"So what do you think, Mister Hydra?" the Lawyer asked.
I blinked and turned to him. "Sorry, what was that?"
"What do you think should be done about all the crime in the city?" he asked again as he lifted his glass of wine.
I sighed and shook my head. "We are doing our best to curb the criminal activities in the city. Sadly... we are outnumbered." I answered him. "While able to keep the worst of their activities down, there is only so much we can do."
"Well, that is perfectly understandable." he said and frowned. "Well, I for one think that you are doing a good job. While I handle divorce cases and not criminal ones, I know how bad things could really be without the efforts of the Police and the Protectorate."
I ate another piece of the cold smoked salmon. "I do wish we could do more though." I said with a sigh. "Just because you have powers it don't mean that you can lord it over other people. It's not right. Just because you can shoot lasers out of your eyes, it doesn't give you any kind of right to steal and cause destruction. I wish people would just... not."
Barn or what his name was slowly nodded. "I perfectly understand what you mean. But seeing what people who were once married treat each other on a daily basis I doubt that humanity will eve-"
That's how far he got before the glass skylight exploded inwards.
I walked out of the store and tore open the packet of the cheap phone, throwing the plastic in a nearby trashcan as I turned along the road towards the park.
Turning the phone on, I checked the battery quickly. Half full.
Good enough.
Walking into the park, I punched in the number and listened to the signal. At least the call was going through. At least the phone was not turned off or destroyed.
There was a good ten signals going through before somebody answered.
"Yes?"
"Who is this?" I asked as I sat down on a bench in the warm sunlight.
She lowered her voice. "It's Skitter. Who is this?"
"Hydra. You kept the phone... good for me, but sloppy, you should have nuked it the moment our phone call dropped last time." I said and shook my head.
Luckily for me or I wouldn't be able to contact her again. But damn fucking sloppy of her. She could have been traced. Disposable phones were called that for a reason.
"What happened last time? Were you in the fight down town?" Skitter asked.
"Yeah." I said with a sigh. "As I said before I was so rudely interrupted by Tinker bullshit, I think you are making the wrong choice. Are you certain of this?"
"I can't leave now." Skitter answered. "I found out some stuff I need to do first."
I sighed and shook my head. "Anything I can do?". Skitter really did seem serious about wanting to be a good guy even if she was being a idiot about it. Maybe I could get her out earlier.
"No. Sorry. I can't risk this getting out."
Bloody teenagers! First Shadow Stalker and now Buggy.
Did I have such a lack of common sense at that age? I would like to think that I didn't, but...
"Fine." I said with a another sigh. "But I think this will end badly."
"Sorry."
"I'm wondering if you could do me a small favor?" I asked after a moment. "Nothing big, just some information."
There was a small pause before she spoke up again. "What kind of information?" she asked.
"The Merchants." I explained. "After their attack on Skidmarks transport, I have had enough of them. But I need to know where they are."
"You're going after the Merchants?" she asked, sounding surprised.
"The Capes at least. They might be a minor gang, but they are trading a large portion of the drugs in the city. With their last two Capes gone, they should fracture on their own." I explained with a grimace. "But first I need to find them. The normal Protectorate sources are apparently dry."
If the Protectorate even had them. I mean, come on... at the very least Squealer needed a large place to build her bullshit,and invisibility cloaks or not, SOMEBODY had to know where to find her.
Honestly, even if we just took her down it might be enough. Mush was a a threat, yes, but even covered in his trash he was at the most a Brute 4.
Without Skidmarks so-called charisma and Squealers bullshit vehicles, The Merchants would be much less of a bother, even if we missed Mush.
But ideally, we could snatch them both up.
"...I'll see what I'll be able to find out." Skitter said after a moment.
"Don't take any risks to do it." I quickly said. I didn't want her to catch the wrong kind of attention.
"I won't. Tattletale should know already, I'll ask her."
Tattletale. Blondy. The smug Thinker of the group.
"And she won't ask why?" I asked, raising a eyebrow to myself. Questioning a Thinker and trying not to have them find out exactly why seemed like a horrible idea. "Because that seem like a horrible idea."
"I can handle it. Even if I don't ask her, I'll find a way."
I sighed and leaned back against the bench. Fucking hell. If she wasn't my only real source... Even then, the morality of this is dubious.
"Just... be careful. What you are doing is dangerous enough as it is." I finally said. "I wasn't dubious about even calling you if it would put you into more risk."
"I'm fine." she said. "I'll call when I have something."
Why did that not make me feel better?
"I'll be on this number." I told her before I grimaced and added. "And destroy your bloody phone. It's called a burn phone for a reason. If you are unable to make a call safely, drop a message off at the last spot you did. Paint a circle on the wall if you do and I'll pick it up."
"Got it." Skitter answered. "Bye." she then added and hung up.
I rubbed my chin and sighed, putting my phone into my pocket.
This was so fucking wrong.
I landed on the floor above to take in a scene of chaos. The Undersiders were gone, and so was Armsmaster and a bunch of both Protectorate and New Wave.
Growling softly I looked around. The civilians had been evacuated. That explained where they were. Priority one of a Villain attack was to evacuate the civilians if at all possible. Clockblocker was stuck to a wall, covered with Containment Foam.
Glory Girl was stuck in Containment Foam as well, while most of New Wave that remained was helping the PRT troops, getting them to Panacea.
"Hydra!" Miss Militia called out from across the room where she was helping Battery, who was bleeding from a head wound. "Armsmaster is in pursuit and Dauntless is on anintercept route. Can you track them?"
I growled and shifted, gaining my highly improved sense of smell again, this time without losing my eyesight, and I sniffed the air.
This was not something I had experience with. I never actually practiced at tracking by smell before. Another thing I need to do.
But I had to give it my best shot.
I did learn their smells before... while the humans kind of mingled together with the rest of the people in the group... Hellhound's monsters stood out.
Quite frankly, they smelled of wet dog.
I rumbled and nodded at Hannah before I ran out onto the balcony and leaped towards the next roof.
Oh.
Twelfth floor.
Luckily the next building was just four floors lower and I landed heavily on the roof, having shifted in the air to be less bulky and faster, more agile.
Still armored though, I had no intention of running naked across town. Well... human naked at least.
Sniffing on the air I felt the scent of the dogs coming from the West. Had to move quickly, it was windy... it would be gone soon.
I continued along the scent trail, jumping from roof to roof until I landed in the middle of the street in front of a parking garage.
I sniffed at the air. The scent trail was definitely heading up into the parking garage.
Snarling softly I stalked into the dark structure. This place was filled with the scent of humans, but I followed the scent of the dogs. I didn't know how to differ between the humans, didn't have the experience.
But the dogs' scent stood out.
On the second floor I found Armsmaster and Dauntless. Both laying on the ground, Armsmaster was bleeding from his arm. Not a lot, just a trickle. His Halberd broken and situated next to him.
Dauntless was on the concrete further away, looking knocked out. Never really interacted with him before, he had been out of town for a while. Didn't even know his real name yet.
Having shifted back to human for increased tactile feeling, since my armor would have interfered, I knelt down, feeling Armsmaster's pulse.
His pulse was strong, but he was badly hurt.
I rushed over to Dauntless and checked his pulse as well. Weaker, but he had one. They were both breathing.
Reaching up to tap my headset, I remembered that even if I had been wearing it in the first place, there would had been no way it would have survived everything I just went through.
Both Armsmaster and Dauntless was wearing helmets... neither of which I could get off... not that they would fit me anyway.
Bloody bollocks, I needed to call the medics.
There had to be some kind of tinker bullshit that would let me keep a radio with me in the future!
Think, Hydra. Think.
Shifting back to get my armor I moved to leave the parking garage when I heard a groan from Dauntless.
I quickly turned back to him. "Stay down." I rumbled softly. "You are injured, I do not know how bad. Is your radio operational?"
He twitched at the sound of my voice before he spotted me. "Hydra?" he asked and rubbed his shoulder. "Fuck.. did you get them?"
"They were gone when I got here. Couldn't continue tracking with you two out like this." I said as I looked around. "Trail from here is weak even now..." I said and sniffed at the air. "Must have gotten into cars. "
Dauntless groaned and struggled up to sit. I put my hand on his chest and pushed him back down. "When the medics clear you, you can move. Now call them, I need to stopArmsmaster's bleeding."
Dauntless nodded. "Actually... not moving sound nice." before he activated his radio and started to call in the medics."
I quickly returned to Armsmaster to try to spot his bleeding. The parts of his arm that I could see didn't have any wounds. He was bleeding somewhere in his armor.
The Bossman would not like this.
I dug my claws into the armor on his shoulder and started to rip it apart like a tin opener, trying to keep from pulling to much on Armsmaster himself. He groaned but didn't wake up.
That's why he was bleeding. His upper arm had been broken, the bone was sticking out through the skin.
Ripping the undershirt of the armor that had been covering the arm into strips, I tied it into a tourniquet around his upper arm. Not the best, but at least it would stop him from bleeding out.
At least until the medics arrived.
Making a final check of him I stood up, and looked around with a small growl.
The Undersiders did this? They took down the Protectorate and most of the Wards along with New Wave.
Maybe not took down, but at least knocked around enough to crash the party and then escape. Without serious damage or being captured.
This was bad. A serious strike against the image of the local Protectorate. The direct opposite of what the Mayor and PRT wanted with that charity dinner.
Was that their goal? How could they have been so confident to manage it? I mean, they were good, but without that fucking tinker bullshit that is Containment Foam I could have taken them myself.
They were damn lucky. But they also showed some new tricks...
"Dauntless, were the Undersiders working alone?" I asked, turning to him only to find him sitting up again. Idiot.
He shook his head. "Had help. Travelers... I think."
Who in the bloody hell were the Travelers!?
AN// *Hiver look around and then pull a rope. A anvil drop from nowhere right on Unelemental with the word 'Thanks' written on the side of it*
We all got a yelling at by Piggot for letting the Undersiders get away.
I really couldn't blame her for that. Almost the entire Protectorate, the Wards AND New Wave as well as a couple of squads of PRT troops and we got humiliated by five teenagers and two dogs.
They got away with it as well.
The newspapers had a field day with it.
Sighing, I tossed the paper onto the the table, the headline of "And we would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for those kids and their dogs!"
That was one of the less witty headlines.
Dauntless reached out from his comfy chair and flipped the paper over in annoyance so he didn't need to see the headline.
"Yeah, that went well." Velocity said, crossing his arms as he leaned back against his chair.
"If it wasn't for the backup they had, Armsmaster and I would have had them." Dauntless said with a sigh, resting his arms on his legs. "I didn't even know the Travelers were in town."
The Travelers. A teenage group of villains that traveled the country, from city to city. They were like a PG-13 version of Slaughterhouse 9 without most of the nastiness.
Mostly they were mercenaries but on the villainous side. At least according to the files we had on them.
Miss Militia shrugged next to me. "None of us did. PRT intel really dropped the ball there."
"What impresses me is not that they actually managed that attack... it's that they actually had the guts to try it." Assault said, rubbing his chin which was still covered with bug bites.
Skitter.
Panacea fixed most of the serious damage like Armsmasters broken arm, but a couple of bug bites wasn't enough for him to bother her about it.
Well... on one hand, Skitter had attacked pretty much everyone with bugs to keep them distracted. Armsmaster did some kind of large bug zapper thing, but it did keep the rest of theheroes distracted enough in combination with the darkness to keep them from interfering before I was foamed.
On the other hand... Skitter could have done hell of a lot worse. She didn't go for the eyes with her wasps for one thing.
Was she just fucking with my head? Or was she just keeping her cover? Even so... she was not officially under cover.
This entire situation was completely fucked up. I understood why Armsmaster didn't want to touch it with a ten foot halberd.
Something was to be said about her not informing me about the attack beforehand.
"So, what now?" I finally asked. "The Undersiders were clearly hired by somebody to do this. I mean, in what way would their little gang profit from smacking the Protectorate in the nose?"
"We have reached the same conclusion." Armsmaster said as he marched inside, his armor now whole once more. "The Undersiders have an employer who has also employed the Travelers. This attack was part of a major plan of some sort, one we do not know yet."
"It made us a laughing stock." Battery injected. "That might have been the goal."
"Agreed." Armsmaster said with a nod. "It is quite possible that the goal of their employer would be to increase the gang violence in the city. At the moment, it is the most likely one as well, as no other incident happened during that time frame that we know of."
I nodded slowly. Pretty much what I figured out myself as well. I did have some extra info from Skitter as well before, even if she didn't exactly tell me much more than the rest had already figured out.
I shrugged. "Well, the obvious thing to do is quite simple. We stomp on the gangs before they get too uppity. Hard."
"That is exactly the plan." Armsmaster answered, giving me a bit of an approving nod. "While it might be part of the goal of the Undersiders employer, we can not not step up patrols. If we don't, things will get worse. As frustrating as it might feel, we have to focus on the larger gangs instead of the Undersiders at the moment."
I sighed and nodded, rubbing my forehead.
Fuck, I needed to talk to Skitter, find out what she knew.
If she really was serious about this entire 'I'm a hero' thing then this was the time to put her cards on the table.
Enough was enough. The reason to why I didn't go after the Undersiders like I did the Merchants was that... quite frankly, they were hurting way less people... But I was seriously getting tired of their shit.
"Miss Militia." Armsmaster said. "Organize the patrols. Double intensity. The PRT are on high alert as well."
As soon as he said what he wanted, her turned and marched out.
Hannah sighed and then got up. "And that's my next couple of hours filled."
I looked up at her. "Want some help?"
She frowned slightly, looking conflicted but she shook her head. "No, it's fine. Besides, you and Velocity have a patrol in twenty minutes."
That was kind of what I was hoping to get out of. Spending extra time with Hannah would just have been a bonus.
AN// Many thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section. Also, due to work somehow going crazy as most people here is getting closer to vacation is severely cut into my writing time. I should be far ahead to be able to keep posting smoothly until the end of the leviathan arc, but no promises. It depend on how much energy to write I have when I get home. Actually doing work at work!? What heresy is this!?
I sighed and collapsed onto my back on my bed.
Two days since the Undersiders' party crashing stunt and Armsmaster and Piggot had us running double patrols.
The Wards were back out on regular patrols as well... mostly in daytime and in 'safe' areas, but still.
I might not get physically tired any more... honestly, I think I mostly slept because I liked it at this point... but I could still get mentally tired.
Patrolling is mentally tiring.
Patrolling with Velocity doubly so.
Bloody hell, he gets annoying in large doses. He's like an older, less funny Clockblocker.
I forced myself to sit up, resting my head against my hands and my hands against my knees as I sat on the edge of the bed.
Maybe I should talk to Hannah about that. I could team up with her.
Hell, at this point I would take Armsmaster. At least he was quiet.
Yes! I could talk with Glenn. Get them to buy me a bike. Would go with the entire leather jacket thing.
Actually, that wasn't a bad idea. Tinker bike! Maybe I could bribe Kid Win or something for one.
I grinned at that idea.
That was way too good not to try. He was a tinker... we had not spent to much time together so I didn't really know him, but if he was anything like Armsmaster and that swill he called coffee, maybe I could bribe him with a years worth of energy drinks or something.
Forcing myself to get up I started to change to a fresh costume and was about to leave my quarters when my phone rang.
Flight of the Bumblebee. Considering it was Skitters contact phone I thought it fitting.
Dropping back down onto the bed I picked the phone up, briefly glancing at the number before I answered it.
"Hydra."
"It's Skitter. Am I interrupting something?" she asked and I frowned. That was the first thing she asked?
"Just amazing sex with my girlfriend."
That made the super villain go quiet for almost twenty seconds before she spoke up again.
"...Really?"
I snorted. "No, not really. Which is lucky for you as I would be even more pissed at you right now."
"Look, I couldn't tell you about the attack! I found out the day before and I really had no way to contact you safely!"
Fuck.
That was a reasonable answer. Also, she didn't use any really dangerous bugs during the attack. I knew she could have done hell of a lot worse.
I took a slow breath, glaring at the ceiling. Sadly I didn't evolve eye lasers this time either.
Fine.
"Fine." I said with a small sigh. "I assume you are calling for a reason?"
"Yeah, I got the info you wanted. From what I have been able to find out, The Merchants are holed up in an old boathouse in the north end of town, past the ship graveyard."
"Boathouse?" I said and frowned.
"More like a small dry dock with a roof over?" Skitter answered. "I'll text you the address after we hang up."
I thought about that for a moment. That would give Squealer a good surface to work on. It was also outside almost all our patrol routes.
"Thanks, Skitter. If this pans out, I'll owe you a favor." I said as I rubbed my forehead.
Yeah, there was no way that would backfire on me in the future.
"There is..." she started before she paused. "Never mind. It doesn't matter."
That made me frown again. What was she going to ask about?
"I could still get you into The Wards." I said softly. Damn it, Skitter. Grow some common sense!
There was silence for a long moment before she sighed.
"I can't."
No explanation this time.
Damn it. She had chosen and it was option three.
"Skitter, you don't need to do this." I said with a sigh. "This is going to end badly..." I continued before I frowned, trying a different angle. "What would your family say?"
There was another silence before she spoke up again.
"I know what I'm doing." Skitter answered and then she was silent for a couple of seconds before she spoke up again. "I need to go, I'll call again. Bye... and thanks." she said before she hung up.
I successfully resisted the urge to throw the phone across the room. Instead I closed it and dropped it on the bed next to me.
For fuck sake, it was like watching a trainwreck in slow motion!
There was NO way this was going to end well for her! Why couldn't she see that!!
Sighing, I slowly sat up, rubbing my forehead.
It was a mistake mentioning her family. Bad home life?
It would explain why she was going to try to 'prove' that she could be a hero before applying to the Wards.
But that was just me being a amateur psychologist.
I picked up the phone again as it buzzed, checking the message for the address.
Sighing for the Nth time in the last hour I stood up and slipped the phone into my jacket pocket. So I had the target.
Time to go see Shadow Stalker.
AN// All the thanks to Grey Rook for betaing this section.
I yawned lazily as I slowly drove through town, eating an ice cream.
Trying to eat an ice cream at least. The so called car was lacking any kind of air conditioning and could easily pass for a oven today, even if the weather was not boiling hot.
I discussed the matter with Sophia and we came up with a plan.
I would scout the area and find out what I could and then we would figure out what to do next. Besides, I needed independent confirmation of Merchant activity.
Skitter might have gone completely native, but she did come through for me. If she thinks her life is in danger from an informant in the PRT, I won't risk her life.
But I already knew what to do next if they were there.
Call in the PRT and explain what I found out.
Because while I might be rather difficult to hurt, there was no way in fucking hell I was taking a underage girl into a hostile Tinkers' base, no matter how good she thought she was and what her power was.
Hence why I was scouting things out in a rusty old Volvo. A rusty old black Volvo that doubled as a oven.
It was doubly annoying as I had to constantly keep myself from gaining external adaptations. Elephant like ears used to cool myself would likely tip of even the most drugged up Merchant that I was not just a dude in a car.
I groaned as the ice cream dripped on my pants.
Smooth, Hydra. Smooth.
You know what, fuck it.
I wiped it off as best I could as I slowly turned the corner to park in the shadow of a warehouse, finally rolling the window down.
Air!
Sighing I leaned back in the seat, looking down the street towards the 'boathouse'. Not the best view, but it did give me a clear view of the street leading past.
Crossing my arms I sharpened my vision and slouched down in my seat, getting ready for a long wait.
I was not disappointed.
Two hours later I was bored out of my bloody mind. My damn day off and I was spending it staring at a metal and brick wall while sitting in an oven.
I could have taken Hannah on another date... okay, I couldn't have done that, she was patrolling with Triumph, but still.
I could think of multiple things I could have done that would have been more enjoyable than this. But I didn't dare to try to get closer. Maybe if it wasn't a Tinker I was trying to catch, but honestly, I didn't trust myself not to spook them even if I evolved chameleon skin or something.
This entire deal needed me not to be detected... which was why I was parked all the way down the bloody street.
A rumbling sound pulled me from my thoughts and I turned my attention to the boathouse again. Some guys exited it through a side door and started to pull the large gate open. The loud engine sound went down to nothing. They waited maybe thirty seconds before they pulled it closed again and walked back inside.
Huh?
What the hell?
I frowned and looked around a bit, zooming strengthening my eyes a bit more while listening hard.
Nothing.
Why would they open the door and then close it? The Merchants didn't seem the type to worry about carbon-monoxide poisoning.
Not like it was open long enough for that anyway.
Did they spot me?
Unlikely or they would like have reacted at some point. The Merchants were hardly the most discrete of groups.
Well, there was something with a engine in there. That did point at that Tinker bitch...
Tinker bitch focused on vehicles.
Son of a bitch!
Her fucking vehicles had cloaking devices! That's how she was able to escape with her aircraft!
Something had just left, cloaked. Under some kind of silence shield or something.
That explained so much about how she was able to move those fucking things around without drawing the attention of every cop within five hundred kilometers.
It also explained a fuck-ton about how the Merchants was able to make up something like 70% of Brockton Bays drug trade despite being a bunch of drugged up semi-hobo gangbangers.
Cloaked vehicles.
Skidmark was not the key to taking down The Merchants. Yes, keeping him and his so-called 'charisma' locked up helped, but the real key to taking The Merchants down was Squealer.
Without her vehicles to bring in drugs... they truly would implode.
Everything pointed towards this being their current base. But there was no way for me to know if Squealer was still in there... and I didn't dare try to get closer.
But I had enough to take to The Protectorate.
"Wait, you're saying that we're not going to go after the Merchants? Even when I can point out exactly where they are right now?" I asked Armsmaster, staring at the tinker.
"Yes. Think, Hydra. What would happen if we came down on The Merchants like a sack of bricks at this very moment?" Armsmaster said as he kept working on his halberd.
"Well, the first thing that comes to mind would be about sixty to seventy percent less hard drugs being sold in schools and the city in general." I said, crossing my arms, "And that's just if we took down Squealer. Include the entire gang and assaults, rapes, break-ins and robberies would sink at least thirty percent.". They might be smaller than the E88 and ABB, but they were also much more... random in their actions.
Armsmaster nodded, "Yes, I suspect you are right about most of that. If The Merchants dissapeared today, what would happen to the rest of the gangs?"
Fuck it all to fucking hell.
When I didn't answer he continued "The situation in the city is currently too unstable. The war between E88 and ABB is heating up. The PR fiasco that was the charity dinner hascaused them to become braver in their efforts, we can not risk destabilizing the situation any further. If we move on the Merchants now, it might trigger an all out gang war." the Tinker said as he stood up, picking his Halberd up and pointing it at a nearby wall before giving it a quick spin, checking the balance.
I gritted my teeth and took a slow, deep breath, "The Merchants are a net negative. They never show up on Endbringer fights. I've checked the files. They have never been useful in any way. Lung went up against Leviathan. Kaiser is damn useful against Behemoth. Purity have gone up against The Simurgh several times. The Merchants... nothing. Not one of them. They run between 60 and 70% of all the hard drugs in town. They sell to Kids. We can't let this continue!"
Armsmaster shook his head and folded his halberd up, "We will keep the information in mind, Hydra. As soon as the situation stabilizes and we can risk acting on it, we will. We want the Villains off of the streets as much as you do. Until such a time that we can act against them, we will keep the location under surveillance."
Yeah.
Sure.
Biting back a rather sharp response I just nodded and turned to walk out. Soon I was stalking through the corridors, heading down to the gym.
I felt like hurting something, but slugging my boss might give me a bit of a less positive performance review so the Brute boxing bag just have to work instead.
But as much as I wanted to, I couldn't argue that he didn't have a point.
Fucking with the balance between the gangs right now was a bad idea. The ABB and E88 were currently more or less evenly matched... or rather, they were holding as much territory as they could while still keeping the other out and without attracting to much overt attention from us.
They were also not the only gangs in town. They and The Merchants was just the three largest. There were something like ten more that I knew of that just kept much smaller profiles.
The Undersiders was one of them. The Travelers were another.
A bunch of others as well, with maybe just one or even no Capes.
Just because he had a point didn't mean that it was right.
We were meant to be Heroes, damn it.
We were meant to protect people from villains and criminals. Not to let them roam around more or less freely because it was inconvenient to capture them at this time.
This hero gig was not what I thought it would be when I signed up.
Walking into the gym I spotted Hannah jogging on one of those treadmill things. Well, that was not something I needed to do at least.
Unlimited stamina was good for one thing. I didn't need to train like that and if I needed muscles I just grew them stronger.
Okay, unlimited stamina was good for two things.
I stopped for a second to enjoy the sight of my girlfriend running in a sports bra and a pair of shorts before she spotted me and slowed her band down with a small grin, walking to cool down a bit, "Hey."
"Hey." Hannah said and stepped of the band to walk over to me with a smile, picking up her towel on the way before frowning as she reached me. "You okay?"
I sighed and shrugged, "I'm not sure. Pissed at Armsmaster... no... not really. The entire situation with The Merchants and the gangs. That's what I'm really mad about."
"You talked to him about taking them down?" she asked as she dried the sweat from her face.
"Yeah." I said with a nod and a sigh, "He nixed it, said it would disrupt the balance of power too much to do it right now. It's not right."
She gave me a small, weak smile, "I know how you feel. I don't like it either. But we need to consider the bigger picture. Let's say we take down The Merchants completely today. How many would get hurt if the war between the E88 and ABB broke out in full force to take their territory? That has to be taken into consideration."
I shook my head in annoyance, "I know. That doesn't make me like it any more. It's wrong, damn it."
Hannah nodded and hung her towel over her shoulders.
"We do everything we can."
Sighing softly I nodded before I leaned in to kiss her only to have her put her hands on my chest and step back.
"Stop that, I'm covered in sweat!" she said quickly, "I need a shower first."
That made me grin, "I like it when you're sweaty."
She gave me a look and a small playful grin of her own at that, "How about I go take a shower while you punch something heavy to calm down and then we go and get me sweaty again."
Now that was a plan that should improve my mood.
I was for once busy doing nothing.
I had absolutely nothing planned. First time since I first woke up in that alley I had basically not a single thing to do.
A day off from everything.
It was fucking glorious. Stretching, I yawned, just enjoying waking up without an alarm for the first time since I joined The Protectorate.
No training planned. No patrol, no meetings, no tests, no infiltrations, no phonecalls from supervillains.
The perfect, lazy day with not a single damn thing planned and I was going to make the most of it. Gangs, teenagers and other disasters can bloody well wait until tomorrow.
Opening my eyes I glanced to the side to find my bed empty like normal.
Sighing I closed my eyes again. Well, almost perfect. Hannah was working today.
It was surprising how quickly I got used to falling asleep next to her... she usually left once I was asleep, not needing it herself.
Technically I didn't either. I could evolve not needing it. But quite frankly, I like to sleep when I can afford it. It's too damn relaxing.
I might mix it up a bit in the future, though. More Hannah time is always good.
Reaching out I checked my PRT phone. Almost ten. When was the last time I was able to sleep in that long?
Yawning I got out of bed and started to get dressed. Time to dig out some food from somewhere and then head over to the wards common room and commandeer their Playstation and TV.
I'll make it an order if I have to, I have a day to enjoy and I plan to bloody do it.
Pulling on a T-shirt and a pair of jeans I slipped my phone into my pocket and wandered out in the direction of the cafeteria.
Wonder if they have any bacon? I felt like bacon. Bacon omelet.
Yum.
Now that was a real pro when it came to adaptive biology. I could eat whatever the bloody hell I wanted without worrying about health issues.
Passing by a window I glanced outside. Looked like good weather today. Well, fuck the sun, I'm staying on the couch.
Walking into the cafeteria I looked around. Empty.
Well, mostly empty. There was a bored looking staff member behind the counter, but the rest of the place was empty.
Not surprising considering the time of day.
"Morning." I said with a smile as I stopped by, "Bacon omelet?"
She smiled back and shook her head, "Sorry, not today. We do have some sausage and eggs?"
"Close enough."
I collected my food and walked over to sit down at the closest table and was just about to take a bite from the first sausage when my phone yelled at me.
The signal was twice as loud as normal, almost surprising me enough to cause me to drop my fork.
Fishing the phone from my pocket I flipped it open. "Hydra."
"Leviathan spotted. His course indicate that his target is Brockton Bay. Estimated landfall in twenty minutes. Assemble at the helicopter pad as soon as possible." A female voice said then my phone went silent.
I stared straight ahead for several seconds.
Leviathan. A Endbringer.
Was coming here.
As I closed the phone down, I could hear the Endbringer sirens start to blare across the water from the city. Standing up I glanced at the cafeteria lady.
"You might want to get to a shelter." I said before I ran out of the room for my quarters.
Assemble ASAP or not, we had twenty minutes and Piggot would skin me alive if I showed up without my costume.
Possibly literally, because I could survive it.
I skidded to a halt outside my quarters and rushed inside, getting changed as fast as I possibly could.
Out of all of the fucking days this could happen, he picked my one free day in over a month!
When I first heard about them, I had decided not to go to Endbringer fights. All it would do would be to get me killed.
But no. Fuck that. I had friends, allies... a girlfriend. They would all be there.
There was no way in hell I would let them face that without me.
Even if I could just distract him for a bit it would be worth the danger.
I ran up the stairs to the helipad, shrugging my jacket on only to find that I was the last one there, a helicopter already waiting to take us to the mainland.
"Hydra, come on! We have fifteen minutes until he gets to the shore!" Battery shouted over the sound of the helicopter as I ran over and dove in through the open door.
Assault slammed it shut behind me and screamed, "Go!" at the pilot.
Before I had fully sat up, we were in the air and jetting towards the city as I climbed up into my seat.
Armsmaster and Miss Militia were not in the helicopter, neither were most of the Wards. Browbeat and Vista were there along with Velocity and Triumph.
"What's the plan?!" I yelled to Battery over the whirling of the helicopter's blades as I strapped in quickly.
"Meet up on the mainland as Strider ships people in! We are lucky to get this much of a warning!" she yelled back.
I nodded and leaned back in my seat as the helicopter quickly approached the mainland.
"Twenty seconds!" The pilot yelled back at us and Assault pulled the door open as we moved to land on the roof of a building.
I didn't wait, I unbuckled my seatbelt and jumped, running down the stairs from the roof, finding myself in a large warehouse of sorts.
Brockton Bay had a hell of a lot of warehouses... but then again it used to be a shipping town so that make sense.
Five minutes since the warning went out and the place was already crawling with PRT personnel and even a couple of... bloody hell, was that Hookwolf?
The Nazi cape was standing in a corner, his arms crossed with blades sticking out of his skin in all directions.
As I watched, others walked inside. Kaiser, Purity, Stormtiger, Krieg.
More came in. Lung. Oni-Lee. Some chick in a gasmask. Bakuda? Yeah, must be her.
How did they get here so fast? Seriously, less than ten minutes and they were already crawling out of the woodwork.
I could see the streets from the helicopter, they where full of civilians trying to get to the Endbringer shelters.
We barely beat these guys here and that was with a helicopter. None of them were a teleporter either.
Well, Oni-Lee was... could he carry others? Unsure.
Needed to reread his file.
Interesting.
I walked down to the floor, ignoring the villains for now. Damn, it fucking grated to do. They were all here.
But these damn... The Endbringers. This world was so fucked up.
"Armsmaster," I said and gave the boss a nod as I reached him.
He barely glanced up from the screen he was working on, "Hydra. Outside, show arrivals in," he ordered and then turned away again.
Nodding I walked outside, glancing to the sea. There was a dark cloud far in the distance. Rain. Being delegated to door duty didn't bother me.
I was the junior member after all.
The PRT troops kept a large area cleared outside for teleporters. Dragon had a large suit of armor placed between the teleport zone and the ocean, keeping an eye on the horizon. Apparently, it was piloted by some kind of AI remote control.
Damn, I would like to talk to her at some point. The best Tinker in the world.
A group of ten appeared with a whump before one of them teleported out again.
Strider, the most powerful teleporter in The Protectorate. Able to bring large groups of people with him.
Everyone ran out of the teleport zone to clear it for the next group and I waved my hand "Everyone, in here!"
They streamed past me. Honestly, I had no idea who was a villain and who was a hero.
For once, it didn't matter.
Everyone was united in a single goal.
Survival.
The next group appeared with another loud whump of displaced air. The sight this time was more impressive.
The group was just as large, but this time... at the head of the group was Alexandria. The original Brute. Superman of this world.
Eidolon, Mr 'fuck you, I win'. Able to use about three powers at a time. Any powers.
Legend. Mr Laser extraordinaire. Leader of the Protectorate.
I'm not one for hero worship of any kind... pun intended. Especially as much as I disagreed with the Protectorate.
But these people created this organization. They molded it, took a stand against the villains, against The Endbringers.
I might be a hero, but these people were The Superman, The Batman... the true Heroes of this world. With a capital H.
They walked past me in through the open door without a word.