Overpowered (Worm Alt!power)

[Heavy READER]

When ever I think of Taylor swinging her sword all I picture is Guts from Berserk swinging the Dragon Slayer *CLANG*

 

[Dark Mage]

I can help but feel that


This is an attempt by Coil to destroy any attempt for Taylor to go hero, and to more permanently tie her to him.

Especially after Phil's warning.

 

[Stravickan Ovmahn]

I didn't wait until I was on the ground before I started to move. I grabbed the front doors of Medhall with my Energy Band and pulled them off their hinges. They slammed into a few of the security guards that weren't using the type of guns security guards should have.

Masking gang muscle as completely legal security. Smart.

I hit the street hard and lifted my Brute sword up along with my shield. The trucks full of the ABB gunners were a good distance off yet, and their aim wasn't anything to worry about. This wouldn't do at all. I needed to get everyone here.

"Phil?"I asked.

"Mhm, yes?" He asked through my earpiece.

"How long until you think Protectorate capes get here?"

"Assuming they respond to reports and not the info packet, then at least twenty minutes. If not more."

"That seems a little long."

"A gang fight in the middle of the night? They'll have to confirm capes are involved before they move."

"Understandable."

I went silent after that, turning to hold my shield toward the ABB approaching and the broad side of my sword toward Medhall. Between the two of them, I caught most of the bullets being fired at me and it wasn't like any of them were smart or brave enough to move around and try to attack from the sides. Or stupid enough to rush me. I wasn't worried about headshots either, both because of my thick metal helmet and because I always had a little bit of my energy in reserve protecting my head.

I stood still, waiting for the first truck to come to come to a stop. Gunfire was biting into me from both directions. It put holes in my costume, but those could be fixed. The time I spent waiting served two purposes. One, it stalls for time to let Empire and ABB capes to get here if they weren't already here and waiting. Secondly, it gave time for anyone in the building to evacuate before I did what I was about to do.

The truck came to a stop and I waited for the ABB gangers to climb out before I acted. With a burst of speed, I shot forward and dug my hand into the front grill of the truck. The gangers let out a surprised shout as the truck lifted off the ground and stumbled backwards away from me. I grit my teeth and shifted my grip before heaving the whole truck off the ground.

I steadied myself and took a few moments to get used to the weight. Metal creaked and groaned loudly where I was holding on to its chassis. The thing was leaking oil on my costume. That annoyed me.

I overshot my throw a bit, sending the truck careening through both the second and third floor. If that didn't put a spring in the Empire's step, I'm not sure what would.

I turned, expecting to see stumbling gang members either trying to shoot me or run away from me. Instead, I was met with a red demon mask holding a grenade.

I placed a fist in the middle of Oni Lee's chest as fast as I could manage. He went sailing away before the grenade went off and the clone dispersed. I whirled around, anticipating where his next jump would be. I think I caught him off guard as I bashed my shield into him before he even got the cap of the grenade. All the same, the clone turned to dust.

I power jumped into the air as high as I could go and twisted around to try and spot Oni Lee from above. I managed to dodge two grenades, but I wouldn't bet on my chances for a third or fourth.

We found each other at the same moment. I spotted him standing on a nearby rooftop as he looked up at me. Suddenly, I felt a body drop onto my shoulders. I reached up and locked my hands around his wrist. Twisting, I attempted to roll in midair and pull him off. I managed to put him between me and the earth before we came crashing down together.

We slammed into the pavement together, with him taking most of the fall. A moment later he went up in a puff of smoke, coating me in the cloud left behind.

This time when I stood up, Oni Lee was standing there with a grenade already in hand. I barely manage to get my shield in front of me before it went off.

The impact floored me. I wasn't prepared for the rattling noise as my helmet slammed into the pavement. I felt something had buried itself into my upper thigh and my right arm. Nothing serious, probably.

I rolled to my feet and used my Energy Band to pull me across the street, narrowly dodging a follow-up attack in the process. This wasn't working, he had greater maneuverability than me. But there was one benefit to the fight being at night. Shadow Sight.

I closed my eyes and let my feel for the shadows in the area spread out around me, letting it stretched for two blocks. I could feel more than fifty people moving towards the fight from all directions. Good, things were almost to the climax we needed them to be in.

I felt Oni Lee teleport nearby. Likely to get a better vantage point before striking. I didn't give him the chance. I latched on to the edge of the roof he was on as soon as he appeared on it with an Energy Band and pulled myself towards him. As my feet slammed against the side of the building I felt him teleport again, but I was already moving to anticipate that.

I shot the Band across the gap and latched onto his new perch before speeding towards him as fast as I could constrict the Band. In a fraction of a second, I slammed my shield in his chest and flattened him against the roof. My own momentum carried me over his body, but I landed feet first and turned around in one smooth motion.

I waited a few seconds, watching his movements carefully. He stirred a moment and let out a groan of pain. It occurred to me what it would feel like getting hit with, well, me at the speeds I was moving. Probably not that great.

I zip tied his wrists and ankles together. I debated using the plastic syringes I had been given, but thought against it. The less I used them the better.

"Miss Hebert?" Phil's voice jostled me from that thought, turning my attention to the task at hand.

"What?"

"It seems that the PRT is dispatching Wards to try and contain the situation until Protectorate can get clearance."

"Wards?" I asked. "It's like one in the morning or something, on a school night. What are they doing with Wards out?"

"As it were, school has been dismissed because of 'increased gang activity' and 'high likelihood of an attack on an unspecified high school'. It would seem the Youth Guard is overlooking this because of, and I quote, 'the personal relation these events have had on some Ward's school lives'."

Vague and nonspecific, but I could read between the lines. They thought I might attack Sophia at school or even the school itself.

Not a bad idea, now that I think about it. Despite the immediate cluster fuck that would follow for me, it would be immensely satisfying to break through Mr Gladly's wall during one of his classes. Might even get a reaction of Sparky.

"Who are they sending?"

"Aegis, Clockblocker, and… Vista."

"Damn it. I'm moving now. I'll get inside the building before they get here."

I jogged back to the end of the roof and looked over the edge. There was some good news, or bad news depending on how you looked at it.

The good news was that Lung was now here, already well on his way to ramping up. The gang members were much, much more spread out now in the wake of Lung's appearance, but I could tell their numbers had more than doubled.

The bad news was the Hookwolves were here. More than twenty men standing eight feet tall and covered in blades and hooks. This wasn't good.

But that was Lung's problem, not mine. I shot forward from the roof I was on and slammed my feet into the back of his head, briefly using him as a platform to jump up into the building where I had thrown the truck. I spun on my heal, ready to intercept anyone who chased after me. But I was met instead with the sight of hundreds of pink portals opening up and decimating the battlefield with playing cards. A thick smokey black substance rolled over the area like a wave as the Undersiders did their part. Soon, no one knew where to point their attention.

The next part was easy.

I sheared through some working desk next to me with my massive sword and smiled behind my mask. In my other hand, I summon a copy of the Brute Sword as a projection and did the same thing to the nearest desk to me on that side. Then I ran forward.

I sent paper into the air as I tore through desks and file cabinets. If what I did worked, everything I touched from here to the basement would be thoroughly investigated. If not more.

I burst through a wall and found myself in a deserted hallway. I glance around for a moment, then swung both swords downward, cleaving open a hole wide enough to fit through in a single hit.

I began to notice blood pumping through my veins. At increased rates, adrenaline kicking in slowly. An energy began to hum through my muscles. My smile widened and I dropped below to continue my charge.

The first floor was full of cabinets filled with the pharmaceuticals Medhall liked to keep on hand. Most were locked behind metal and glass cases that allowed people to see through. That only served to let them be smashed easier.

I don't think I had seen that many free flying pills in my life. If it ever rained Skittles, I'm convinced it would look like what I had done to the inside of Medhall.

I only stopped when I found the stairway down into the basement. At this point the logic was simple. Where do people like to hide their secrets? In their office and in their basement.

I quickly ran down the flight of steps, skipping five at a time while channelling energy into my legs. I was about halfway through my energy supply, which was actually a surprising amount. I briefly wondered if my amount of energy gotten better with use like my strength did.

I quickly abandoned those thoughts as I hit the final floor and found a short hallway leading to a pair of doors. I didn't bother with the handle, using my strength to kick the doors open in a way that could only be done with super strength.

I was stunned by what greeted me on the other side. What had to be around a hundred men and woman wearing white clothing surrounded the door in a semicircle. I could hear the noise of people behind them, but they formed an effective wall around me to prevent me from seeing what was going on. One of them stepped forward in a costume I recognized.

"My my," Alabaster said in a tone voice I wouldn't have guessed for him. "You sure have been given us a lot of trouble."

I glanced around at the people. None of them seemed nervous even slightly.

"What's going on here?"

"What's going on indeed?" Alabaster countered. "Because, from my view, you came into my building, destroyed my stuff, and incited a gang fight between us and the ABB. Not to mention the aftermath after tonight."

"Your building? Your stuff? As I understand it this is Max Ander's building."

"Is that so?" Alabaster asked with a chuckle. "So you mean to say you haven't caught on yet? The Kaiser is mine. Hookwolf is mine. Alabaster is mine. You think you're going to hurt the Empire, but the Empire is already dead. I killed it. And all you and my idiot brother is going to do is annoy me."

My eyes widened. "You're… Card Trick's sister?" I asked, completely dumbfounded.

"Is that the name he is going with? Well, it's better than your name I suppose. I mean, really? Shadow Paladin. Are you some edgy pre-teen?"

A sudden flash of anger shot through me, bring my blood to a boil irrationally quick. In the back of my mind, I knew this wasn't it natural. But for the moment, I didn't care.

"What are you doing?" I demanded.

"Oh, this?" Alabaster's body asked with a sarcastic wave of a hand. "I put this force together just to fight you. You see, we fought once before, albeit with just three of my Legion Hookwolves, but I like to think of myself as a fast learner. I decided that there would be no easy way to fight you with just a strong force. So I thought I'd try an unyielding force of Legion Alabaster's."

The original Alabaster held up his hands and snapped his fingers. Suddenly the room that was already brightly lit got violently illuminated by hundreds if not thousands of floodlights.

"I suppose I should thank you though, Paladin. Or is it Taylor? Because now you've brought everyone here. Even wrapped up Oni Lee for me as a gift. And those idiot PRT are sending a small group of Ward's too? Why, thanks to you, I'll have more cape power than ever before.

"But how silly of me, I haven't even given you my name. You see, I think it's quite clever because it sums up exactly what I will achieve by the end of all this. That way, I can save time without having to explain it. So listen close, Paladin.

"I am the Empire now, and I will have my Armistice."

 

[Colshan]

Omg a monologue Jesus Christ Taylor why would you just stand there listening to this crap.

"I am the Empire now, and I will have my Armistice."

Click to shrink...

What was that about edgy preteens? Because that made me cringe. And also isn't an Armistice an agreement between two forces to cease hostilities? So you had this edgy villain monologue going, and now your calling a truce? Haha wuht?

 

[Stravickan Ovmahn]

So you had this edgy villain monologue going, and now your calling a truce? Haha wuht?

Click to shrink...

Question of the day, how do you reach an armistice between capes in Worm?

 

[MrDemonRush]

Question of the day, how do you reach an armistice between capes in Worm?

Click to shrink...

By Khepri.

 

[FluffyCloudSheep]

Any reason Oni Lee can't just teleport away?

I mean, really? Shadow Paladin. Are you some edgy pre-teen?"

Click to shrink...

So says the edgy pre-teen doing a monologue.

 

[Stravickan Ovmahn]

A/N: Still looking for betas, if anyone is interested.

***

I was beginning to understand the appeal of a monologue. The person giving it wants to gloat, to feel a sense of superiority in the fact they are allowed to monologue. A sign they've made themselves interesting enough to be listened to instead of immediately stopped.

On the other end, where I was, I wanted to know more. I was blindsided by the information that Card Trick's sister was not only here, but had also taken over the Empire from the inside. Now I was in an information vacuum. And I listened to Armistice monologue in the hopes that a bit of that gap gets filled.

In that sense, I could see the act of a good monologue an art. The person giving it has to give enough for what they are saying to be interesting, without sabotaging themselves in the process. Don't give enough information and the person you're monologuing to loses interest or patience and attacks you. Give too much and you've shot yourself in the foot. Wait too long to interrupt a monologue and the person can set off a plan or trap. Don't wait long enough and you might miss information.

It was a balancing act that Armistice wasn't very good at.

As soon as she said her name she opened her mouth to continue with her speech, but I had had it. The initial shock of what she had done to the Empire had worn off and deep-seated anger took its place. A thrum of energy ran through my muscles.

I shot forward and bashed Alabaster's body with my shield at full speed and strength. Armistice let out a shocked cry as the body inelegantly flew across what turned out to be a rather large open space. Probably a storehouse of some kind.

The moment I moved the people that surrounded me kicked into motion swarmed me on all sides. I was confused for a moment. Hands latched on to my arms legs and shoulders, getting the best grip they could before other people started throwing punches or trying to unbuckle pieces of my armour. One person even tried to rip off my cloak.

Irritated, I threw half of them off with a single sweep of my arm. I grabbed onto one of the others and lifted them off the ground before slammed them into the scrambling mess still trying to swarm me. People bowled over and others went flying. I could hear bones breaking before they were suddenly back on their feet, fully restored to their original selves.

Now completely disorganized, they started running at me as soon as they had the chance to. I chuckled a little to myself. If these were normal people I might have had to be careful. But these guys can take whatever I throw at them. Probably.

I locked my Brute Sword into the straps on my back and summoned one of the little tricks I had prepared specifically for this mission. A large hammer meant to be wielded with two hands appeared in the hand where my Brute Sword would have been, made entirely out of my energy.

The first person to get close to me caught the hammer in their chest, completely collapsing their ribs and anything else with an audible squelch before they went flying across the room. If that made any of the others concerned, they didn't show it.

I whirled around, swinging my hammer into two charging goons. Like with the other man I hit, the two went sailing. Suddenly, I felt someone leapt on to my back, giving me only a moment to react before their hands clamped down over my mask.

I let out a growl of frustration and I reached up to pull them off, only to feel someone stab something in the unarmoured side of my leg, just beneath my hip. The sudden flash of pain caused a flare of anger to radiate through me. I was glad they could heal, because I was going to make this hurt.

I tore the person of my back and threw them into the ground furiously. I heard concrete cracking as I did. I whirled on the person that stabbed me and watched her eyes widen a moment before I charged her shield first. I ploughed her into the ground, and then the eight people that were standing behind her.

I was taking up my hammer again when I was shot. A lot.

The room became a blinding storm of gunfire as I was riddled up and down with bullets. Where I had armour dented under impact but most of waist and legs were unprotected and got torn completely through. Those irritating bastards.

I shouted angrily before I shot up into the ceiling. Slamming my fist through a light fixture, I grabbed hold of the roof for a moment as I looked back down and saw the gunners. Ten people arranged in a semicircle with light machine guns.

That annoyed me greatly.

I dropped down from the ceiling with my hammer out, slamming it into the ground just in front of one gunner and making the concrete explode into pieces. The gunner went flying, full of bits of concrete.

Reaching down, I grabbed several large chunks of concrete and hurled them as hard as I could at the other gunners. Who needed bullets when you can throw rocks just as fast?

A dozen more people rushed me again with knives in hand while others took out handguns and went to large crates nearby to grab larger weapons.

Armistice was nowhere to be seen.

A loud thud from somewhere above us on the surface reminded me there was a fight going on somewhere else. I looked around again and reconsidered what position I was in.

They might have only been as strong as normal people, but they got up no matter what I threw at them. I was going nowhere fast while they could just whittle down my energy until I couldn't protect my head with it anymore. And then one head shot later and I might not come back.

I needed to get back to the surface and soon. I lifted the hammer again, only this time I took it in both hands and extended it out from me. Then began to spin.

It was a neat idea that Card Trick came up with. Since I was an unstoppable force when against people without Brute powers, why even pretend I had to fight within normal limits?

And true enough, rapidly spinning while swinging the massive hammer in front of me went through these people like a lawnmower through grass. Ignoring the bullets that came at me, I twirled my way through people as blood went through the air and the sound of breaking limbs rivialed that of gun fire. I only stopped went I got to the door I came in through.

I shot the people I had just cut through a cheeky grin, even if they couldn't see it through the mask, then yanked the door open. I managed to take one step forward went the stairwell exploded.

I flew back and landed on my back hard, my helmet bouncing of ground and leaving me stunned a moment. People fell on me in an instant, burying knives in me all over my body.

My vision practically turned red as what just happened washed over me.

"GOD DAMN IT!" I roared, jumping to my feet. The people attacking me let out a small yelp as an unexpected burst of flame rolled off me. I hadn't expected it either, but I was too angry to dwell on it.

I pointed my energy hammer up at the ceiling and pushed off the floor as hard as I could. I shot about five feet through the ceiling, tearing through a layer of concrete and wiring before I came to a stop. Refusing to drop back down, I dismissed my hammer and began ripping into the ceiling with my hands. Bits of wall ripped apart as I dug upwards. But I quickly lost my grip with bits of the wall falling away faster than I could grab them.

But it didn't matter. Even as I was falling back to the ground the ceiling began to collapse in on itself.

I didn't even consider the other people as they were buried in rock. I jumped upwards without hesitation, shooting through the new hole in above me.

I found myself in main Medhall building took a brief moment to listen for the sound of fighting. Finding it, I turned that direction and started running through every wall between here and there.

I exploded out on the street to find myself standing in a war zone. Lung was standing incredibly tall with fire rolling off him continuously. He was very quickly getting into city destroying levels. Bitch's dogs were massive in their own right, but they weren't even fighting Lung. They seemed more concerned with getting the several dozen Hookwolves off each of their backs.

The Wards were here now, if the distorted pieces of the battlefield where anything to go by. The way Vista was bending space and the way Card Trick's portal's were appearing and disappearing at random with incredible speed was enough to give a person a headache.

"Paladin!" Phil's voice suddenly said.

"Yes, what's going on?" I asked immediately.

"I lost connection with you shortly after you went into Medhall. Is everything alright?"

"I'm, er…" I glanced down and saw my costume filled with bullet holes and more than a few knives still buried in my legs and gut. That was going to be a mess to clean up. "Fine." I decided on. "What's happening?"

"Chaos," Phil told me. "And it's only going to get worse. Protectorate will be there in three minutes, New Wave in two. Coil suggests you get out of there, and soon."

"Got it."

I turned towards the three dogs struggling with the Hookwolves. I nearly pulled out one of the other weapon's I had consumed for this mission, but a glimpse of Aegis carrying Clockblocker convinced me otherwise. I didn't want to show my hand just yet. Gotta keep a few cards in the deck.

I took out my Brute sword again and jumped across the battlefield in a single leap.

Landing on one of the dogs feet first, I set myself to my task. The Hookwolves had their limits in terms of size and shape, which made it all that easier to knock them off the dogs with a single hit from my sword.

Grue and Tattletale must have gotten the message because as soon as I cleared on a dog of Hookwolves a strange jet black darkness extended over them. I found myself inside it for a minute. It was a strange sensation, but I didn't dwell on it.

I had landed on the third dog when Phil spoke again.

"Paladin, they're going after Vista."

"What?" I asked with a frown.

"Whatever is going on, there are Cricket clones on the ground and they're trying to kidnap Vista. You can't let them get her."

I only considered that for a moment. It would be really bad if Armistice got Vista. I didn't even want to think about the amount mobility she would have then.

I shot up into the sky to get a bird's eye view of the place. With everything going on now that Hookwolves, Alabasters, and now Crickets were on the field along with the ever-changing amount of portals coming into existence and popping out of it made it a nightmare to locate anything. Let alone anyone.

It was actually the lack of movement that caught my attention before I feel back to Earth. Several people frozen in time with Clockblocker's power let me notice him desperately attempting to get close to where a team of Crickets were dragging someone off to the side.

As soon as I hit the ground I darted in that direction, barreling through the people gathered and tanking friendly fire from Card Trick. When I got to the location, two men had a hold of Clockblocker. He froze them in time a moment later, but their hands were still clasped around him. A Hookwolf ran up to him and moved to bring his blade arm down on Clockblocker's head. I shot forward to stop him, but I didn't need to. Clockblocker had frozen his suit by the time the metal arm hit him. I still barreled over the Hookwolf anyway, just on principle.

Turning, I saw two people dragging an unconscious Vista out of the fight and around a corner. My anger flared up again and another bout of fire rolled off me. It had a strange colouring to it. Not red or blue, but a strange green and purple flame. I put it out of my mind for now.

I clipped through a building as I chased after the people taking Vista. The two goons dragging her away looked at me bewildered as they were showered with bits of walls. That was all the managed to do before I slammed the flat of the Brute Sword across their faces, knocking them to the ground.

I didn't even check to see if they were out before I reached down and picked up Vista. My flames were gone, seemingly to only come in with bursts of anger. She was lighter than I would have expected.

I jumped upwards and landed on the roof of a building. I took a moment to look around and saw Card Trick and Tattletale standing near the edge of one roof, partially obscured by Grue's darkness.

I made my way over there in a few leaps. Bitch wasn't here, probably to direct her dogs away or something. I didn't see Regent or Grue either, just Card Trick and Tattletale.

"It's time to go," I stated seriously the second a landed on the roof. My sudden entrance made Card Trick yelp in surprise and take several steps backwards. Tattletale just took it in stride.

"Grue and Bitch are already working on leaving. We were just waiting for you. Out of curiosity though, care to compare notes on what the hell just happened?"

"Later," I grunted, turning towards Card Trick. "Although, someone is going to have a lot of explaining to do about a certain sister of theirs."

 

[simianpower]

Just read the first chapter after the prelude... and damn is that ever plot-railroady. I know that Taylor's an unreliable narrator, and I know that canon Armsmaster is an asshole to her, but if every cape got arrested right after triggering there would BE no heroes.

The whole, "I just got attacked to the point of triggering (by a Ward, no less), and then Sophia tried her level best to kill me with knives and crossbow bolts" would be MASSIVE mitigating circumstances. There's no way for her to have a secret identity at this point. In fact, given how trigger events work I sort of wonder how ANY cape gets to have one. And no, the Wards is NOT the only legal option for an underage cape. That would violate EVERY child labor law.

Basically... something feels really off about that chapter, almost to the point of parody. I'll read further, but given how chapter one makes me pretty dubious about the entire story I thought I'd at least point out some of the logical flaws there. Maybe they can be smoothed out a little, make the story a bit more believable. Or not. Whatever.

 

[simianpower]

I got as far as Fire Giant part 1. And I can't keep reading. The biggest reason is that the story is very inconsistent. The powers are unclear and the explanations don't match what actually happens. And the grammar is pretty bad, which is the rest of it. Reading this is sort of painful, so no matter how cogent and smooth the story was it would still have problems. I know that's not as specific as you might want, but there are literally dozens of problems I find with every chapter, so being specific would take forever. Tense inconsistencies, plural inconsistencies, missing or extra or wrong or misspelled words, and so on.

With a good (brutal) beta, this story would be a lot better. Or perhaps if you read each chapter out loud to yourself prior to posting, you might catch some or even most of the problems. There are some cool ideas here; I'm just not interested in looking past all of the current problems in order to explore them. Since fanfiction is often a way for writers to polish their skills, I hope that this is useful rather than annoying. Good luck.

 

[Stravickan Ovmahn]

Blood was still pumping through my veins even though the fight had been over for at least twenty minutes. Even still, I felt the need to be moving or at least doing something. Right now the only thing I could do was resist the urge to crush the wooden trim around the window sill I was leaning on as I waited.

"She'll be fine," I heard Tattletale conclude somewhere behind me. She, Card Trick, and I had moved to a dilapidated apartment complex the city had built when it still had the ability to do so, with me bringing the still unconscious Vista.

"She was hit pretty hard and won't be waking up for several more hours, but other than a massive headache when she wakes up, there is no serious damage."

Neither I nor Card Trick could think of anything to answer her with. With me it was more so that I knew as soon as I opened my mouth it was going to be to snap at someone, so I bit my tongue and continued to wait.

It didn't take long after that for Grue and Bitch to come strolling into the room with her dogs. I turned as soon as I heard the door closing. Grue managed to speak before I could.

"Tattletale, please tell me you do not have a fucking Ward laying on the ground in front of you."

"She was knocked out when those Hookwolves managed to get a hold of her. Paladin took them out and saved her," Tattletale explained calmly.

"That doesn't change that we have essentially kidnapped a Ward," Grue stated angrily, taking a step forward. I noticed Card Trick edging away from him and closer to me as he spoke. "Shit like this brings the Protectorate down on us, and hard."

"I'll take the responsibility," I growled. I flexed my fingers reflexively as I felt the urge to draw my sword again. "I'm a vigilante, I can spin this positively for me." Well, I probably could. I'll likely need some help from Coil, though. If for nothing else than making sure the right people heard it.

Grue hesitated for a moment, then let out a heavy sigh with a shake of his head. "Alright, whatever. Then how about we pick apart what the hell just happened out there?"

"Agreed," I grumbled.

"It's not good," Tattletale said with a grimace. "We lost Regent to this person. On top of that, they managed to take Oni Lee and Aegis at the same time."

"Armistice," I supplied. "I spoke to her through Alabaster's body."

"Interesting," Tattletale said thoughtfully. "That would mean… nothing good."

"Tattletale," Grue stated plainly. "What do you know? Tell us everything."

"Well, first off," Tattletale began with perhaps a little too much eagerness. "We know that Armistice is Card Trick's sister and she's taken over the E88 from the inside. Just from what Paladin told me about her encounter with her, she has the ability to Master a cape completely and then spread a lesser version of their power to normal people. Seemingly without too many limits. And with that, she seems like she's going to try and force the city into a ceases fire on her terms. Hence, the name"

"Card Trick," I asked dangerously. "How much of this did you know?"

"Some of it," he answered weakly. Then after a few seconds, he amended it with, "Most it."

"Goddamn," I stated angrily, throwing a look at Card Trick. "These were things I need to know! You saw the multiple Hookwolves on the night I saved your fucking life! You maybe thought you could have told me about these things?"

"Steady there," Tattletale said unexpectedly. I looked at her, surprised that she had moved in front of me with her hand out. "Your power is making you a little unstable right now."

"What?"

"You realize how angry you are right now, correct? You shouldn't be, or rather you wouldn't be normally."

"Tattletale," Grue interrupted. "Care to share with the rest of us? You're saying her power is making her angry?'

"Well, no. Her power doesn't make her angry, it keeps her angry." Tattletale look up at me and smiled slightly. "Ever notice that it takes a while for the adrenaline to kick in during fights? Or that you get bursts of power when you're angry? Yes. It's physical changes in your body, your hormone levels are slow to change. Meaning it takes a long time to get your blood pumping, and an even longer time to get it to stop."

"Good to know," I growled at her. "Can we get back to the matter at hand?"

"Just so long as you know," Tattletale said simply then took a few steps back. "Knowledge is power and all that."

I rolled my shoulders and took a deep breath. There was still a humming in my muscles, more evidence of what Tattletale just said.

"Let's just move on," I stated through clenched teeth. "Card Trick, what can you tell us about Armistice." I picked my words carefully, not really able to keep the frustration out of my tone.

"Well, er, she wants to force peace over the city so she can work on fixing it. But the first place she'll likely 'fix' is probably going to be the poor areas. Which is a problem because she doesn't…" Card Trick took a step away from Grue. "Really trust black people."

"What do mean," Grue asked. Card Trick winced inwardly.

"My parents used to be part of the Empire before trying to leave. But it's never that easy. Even when we moved to a new city they harassed us whenever they got the chance. There was only one place we could live where the Empire left us alone."

"The ghetto," Tattletale supplied.

Card Trick nodded. "I, uh, don't know how much guys know what living in the ghetto is like, but not even black people trust black people let alone us. The only reason I was never forced into a gang was because I was white. And the only people on the street we could really trust were the other white families in the neighbourhood and that… didn't help at all. And my sister, a young white girl living in the ghetto… It doesn't make for the most tolerant person."

"... That's fair." Grue said decidedly. I shot him a curious look and noticed that Card Trick was still edging away from him. Then I understood.

It wasn't just his sister, it was him too. He could hear it in Grue's voice and felt uncomfortable because of it.

"If you guys moved to another city then Armistice must have had a way to contact the Empire to get back in with them," Tattletale stated. "She must have got brought in as a recruit first before taking them over from the inside."

Card Trick hung his head. "A few months ago we were visited outside our school. My sister started spending time with Othala and I started talking with Rune. I don't know what Othala promised her, but Rune offered me security, friendship, and money."

"Why were they so interested in you?"

"Mom got her powers just before we left this city. It's the reason we left at all."

I took a deep breath. My heart had stopped pumping, but my body was still tense. Though, overall improvement.

"Card Trick," I began. "How old is your sister?"

"Thirteen," he answered glumly.

"And she called me an edgy preteen," I murmured. That aside, this made things worse. This kid took over the Empire from the inside at thirteen years old. Clearly, she is more put together than her brother.

"Wait. You mentioned Rune?" I asked.

"Well, yeah."

"I got into a fight with her and Stormtiger a weeks or so ago," I said. "If they're still locked up, then that means Armistice didn't get everyone. They might even know something."

"True," Tattletale added. "We haven't seen any hint that she had Purity or several others."

"But she has Regent, Oni Lee, and Aegis," Grue stated flatly. "And her secret has been exposed. Which means what for us?"

"Nothing good," Tattletale admitted. "I don't think Armistice has any limit on the number of people she can give any one power, but I think she is being careful to make sure she has their loyalty first. It's not much, but it means she won't have a massive army immediately. Past that, I'll have to talk to our employer about it."

"That sounds like everything then," Grue said. He glanced at me then at Vista. "We need to get going anyway and figure out what we're going to do about Regent. Is there anything else you wanted to say?"

I shook my head, but then Tattletale spoke again.

"Hey, Paladin? How much do you know about your power?"

I considered that for a moment. I could almost say I knew what my power let me do, but that wasn't really true. I can apparently burst into flames and I only just figured that out.

"Not much," I admitted.

"You get in touch some time then," Tattletale answered. "I've already picked a bunch of things up, I think I could help."

"... I'll think about it."

"Alright," Tattletale said, standing up. "We'll see you later then."

She started walking towards the doors and Grue offered me a nod before turning and following her. Bitch didn't even look at me.

Once they were gone I look at Card Trick and considered him seriously for a long time.

"I'm… sorry," he said weakly.

I let out a heavy sigh and forced myself to relax.

"Be at our normal spot tomorrow at the normal time to train. We've got to get ready to stop your sister."

 

[Stravickan Ovmahn]

I sat at the table, tapping my fingers and considered my options. My future. My choices. So many things to consider, everything spiralled out of control so quickly.

Weeks ago, I had been shoved into a locker as just bullied girl in school. I burst out of that locker with super strength, healing, longevity, a portal to Shadow Dimension, Shadow Sight, and energy that could copy objects and protect me, some sort of effect on my hormone levels, and just recently the ability to burst into flame. A real lottery of powers.

Then, in little more than a day, I found out Sophia's identity, got on the bad side of the Protectorate, lost touch with my father, decided on becoming a vigilante, and got in league with a supervillain.

And all that doesn't even begin to compare to the spiralling acid dream my life had become in the following weeks with Card Trick and his sister.

Phil emerged from my room with a tired look on his face. "Vista will be fine for now, but you will have to return her to the PRT very soon before they get nervous."

"Will she be safe there?" I asked.

"I doubt there are many places she would be safe in," Phil said, a strangely sad tone touching it. I raised an eyebrow at him. He didn't seem to pick up on it.

"So," I begin. "What do you think I should do from here?"

"That is entirely up to you, Miss Hebert," Phil said. "I would suggest returning Vista before going to see Coil, however."

I took in a deep breath and heaved a sigh.

"You seem troubled." He walked to the other side of the table and put his hands together before smiling at me kindly. "Is it anything I can help you with?"

"Not unless you know what I want more than I know," I responded dryly.

"Ah, confliction of options then? I find it helps to visualize things to put them in perspective. Luckily, I happen to carry just the thing for that." Phil reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small box. He opened up one side and shook out a deck of cards into one hand. I looked up at him to see if this was a joke about Card Trick or not, but then I looked closer at the cards. Very few were the same. The backs were different on almost all of them, some had dirt on them and others had water stains.

"I like to pick up cards whenever I see them lying around," he quickly explained before sitting across from me at the table. "Now, can you tell me what it is you want? In simple terms."

I considered that for a long moment. What, exactly, was it I wanted. It felt like I wanted too many things, all for different reasons.

"I don't know," I admitted after a moment.

"Well, how about being a vigilante?" Phil suggested. "While your reputation of being powerful is pretty well cemented now, not many people are sure whether to call you hero or villain yet. You can still go either way, or you can continue towards vigilante."

"I… want to do good," I stated.

"For whom? Most villains do good for themselves and their power, heroes do good for the city against villains, vigilantes for the people and against everyone."

"Um, can you put one down for each?"

"Very well," Phil dropped three cards face down. "Now, as I recall you had something of a disagreement with one of the Wards?"

"Shadow Stalker," I answered immediately.

"Would I be wrong to presume you still want to see her harmed for her transgressions against you."

"Yes."

Phil dropped another card.

"How about your father? You would like to get in steady contact again, correct." I nod. Another card drops.

"And what about long-term goals?" Phil asks. I bite the inside of my cheek.

"I want to stop Armistice and make the city safer."

"Admirable." Another card joins the other.

"I want to know more about my powers and exactly what I can do." Another card.

"This Card Trick fellow," Phil mentions. "What are your plans with him?"

I frown. I had agreed to help him find his sister in the past, but his sister had taken over the E88 now. That made things more complicated. I didn't even know what it was Card Trick really wanted. He could want to stop his sister, or he might be hoping to save her from herself. That last one seems a lot like something Card Trick would say, despite how it sounded.

"I want to help him," I said tentatively. "Depending on what it is he wants."

"Alright," Phil dropped another card and shuffles the mismatched deck in his hands. "Now let's think about what you can do for each one."

"First, you can join the Wards. You are currently still in a position to make that a reality, for however long that lasts. With that, you can get back in contact with your father, leverage to have Shadow Stalker legally punished, explore your powers, and become a hero." Phil moved four cards for each respective goal towards me and pulled the remaining towards him.

"On the other hand, you will lose many of the freedoms you enjoy now, you likely won't play much of a part in making the city safer, won't be able to assist Card Trick, and might even be forced to accept the armistice, when she proposes it.

"Alternatively, you could continue to back Coil and get to be the vigilante, help Card Trick, learn more about your powers, and get to continue to operate freely and with good funding. But you likely won't be seeing your father anytime soon and you may never get the revenge on Shadow Stalker." He shifted the cards again and checked to make sure I'm following.

"Finally, you go out and hurt Shadow Stalker yourself, become a villain, maybe leave Coil's employ and join some other villain group, help Card Trick, fight Armistice, and perhaps help people here and there. You won't see your father again and you may not learn of your power depending on how it goes.

"What if…" I considered the new position of the cards carefully. It was almost like a game, trying to find a scenario were I maximize my gains compared to losses. "I made a deal with New Wave? Joined them in exchange for the legal work against Shadow Stalker."

"... With a large degree of speculation? If New Wave lets you join with your past, if they can handle the legalities, if the PRT doesn't enforce some strict parol on you, and if they don't accept the truce? Then you get everything except helping Card Trick and only a slight possibility of New Wave taking on Armistice with the force you need. It is has a really good outcome, but it's also a massive gamble."

I raised a hand up and started chewing on the tip of my thumb thoughtfully. I threw the Wards option out immediately. Far, far too many things I didn't want to have to deal even after the Sophia issue. Which left me with the other three choices.

I rose from my seat and grabbed the mask I had set on the side of the table before fixing it in place.

"I suppose I better go bring Vista back then. But can you bring me a few pieces of paper first, I need to write a few letters."

***

I walked up to the PRT building carrying Vista bridal style along the street. More or less as expected, Armsmaster drove up the street to meet me before I even got close. Maybe about two blocks away, but still with a clear line of sight.

Armsmaster was off his motorcycle before it even came to a stop. As his motorcycle parked itself he held out his halberd and took a stance in front of me. I stopped and looked at him.

"Shadow Paladin," he said evenly. "Care to explain?"

"Armistice knocked her out in an attempt to kidnap her, like she did with Aegis," I explain calmly.

"Who is this Armistice?"

"I explain it all here." I shift my hold on Vista so I could hold up the paper I had been holding in my hand. It was a little crumpled, but still legible. "But before I hand her and it over, I have to ask. Do you know who I am?"

Armsmaster hesitated for a long moment before saying, "We have evidence that strongly suggests your identity, yes."

I took a deep breath and let out a sigh. "Alright." I step forward and present Vista to him. Cautiously, he puts his halberd aside and takes the Ward in his arms.

"I'm going to go see my father tomorrow," I tell him as soon as Vista and the paper were out of my hands. "Don't cause problems for me, and I won't cause problems for you."

"I can't cut deal with you, particularly with the wrap sheet you are growing. Especially after the fight at Medhall you seemingly caused. Not to mention a break of certain rules."

"I wasn't asking. I'm telling you, I'm going to go see my father tomorrow. Don't make problems."

Before he could respond, I turn and jump down an alley, disappearing into the shadows.

***

I slid my letter to my father in his mailbox and close the rusty metal door with a sigh. When I turned around, a long black car was idling across the street. I took a deep breath and then walked towards it.

"Taylor," Coil greeted me as I slipped into the car. "I'm glad to have a chance to speak to you again."

"I'm sure," I answered dryly. I rolled my shoulders, my bones popping slightly. "So before we get started, I want to know what the hell happened out there. Why did you send the info packet out early, and why does Armsmaster seem to think I started the whole fight. I thought the point was to make the ABB seem responsible."

"Two reasons," Coil answered calmly. "For the moment, I'm going to have to ask you to assume that a combination of my powers and other Thinkers available to me allows to predict future events with a reasonable degree of accuracy. Can you accept that?"

"That fine, for now." I cross my arms and wait for him to continue.

"Thank you. So as to your first question, I saw things play out very poorly. Armistice takes Vista, Bitch, and Clockblocker. And obviously, that kind of firepower and mobility would be a nightmare. Things aren't that great right now, but they're a great deal more salvageable than the alternative.

"Secondly, the reason the PRT will be thinking you caused the fight and released the info packet is because we need them to. A threat as large as Armistice is going to need a strong truce with all the capes in the city. And any additional animosity between the heroes and the ABB would be detrimental. Better you take the blame and get forgiven than the ABB spit in the Protectorate's face.

"Does that all sound reasonable to you?"

"Sure, it sounds reasonable," I answer bitterly. "But that doesn't change the fact that what happened tonight was supposed to be a controlled situation. Not whatever that was."

"No plan survives contact with the enemy Paladin," Coil replied sharply. "I will endeavour to keep you more informed in the future, but these things will happen."

I sigh and shake my head. "Fair enough, what now?"

"Now I give my offer. For the last few weeks I have given you near complete freedom and resources on top of that. I did this as a show of mutual trust and respect. Now, the fight against Armistice is going to be unconventional, but I do believe our best bet is quickly take over her territory before she musters up all the forces she needs."

"Territory?" I ask.

"Yes, already have the Undersiders preparing. After some talks with the ABB I hope to present a united front of pressing into and around the current Empire territory. Including you."

"What do you want me to do."

"Quite simply? Be a vigilante. Patrol and protect your territory, save the people from Armistice, garner their support while the PRT is too busy to deal with you."

He started rattling off about plans and possibilities. I only half listened as I considered what he was asking of me. More than anything, I was more concerned it wasn't going to be fast enough. Every second wasted is time Armistice could be making more pseudo capes. It wasn't a bad plan, I just had to wonder if it was going to be fast enough.

 

[Stravickan Ovmahn]

Happy Easter Everyone!
***
I stepped on to our porch and looked around. No one was coming out to arrest and capture me. That was a good sign.

It was the middle of the day and even in a neighbourhood like ours you could feel a sort of tension. It wasn't really that uncommon in Brockton Bay, but it was still there. A sort of general unwillingness to leave the perceived safety of a person's home. I knew on days like this my dad tells people to stay home until their sure the cape situation has blown over.

I knocked on the door and waited awkwardly. It took long enough that I was beginning to wonder if I was wrong and he went to work anyway. Then the door opened.

He looked at me with a shocked expression for a long moment. After a few seconds, I started playing with the end of my sweater sleeve self consciously.

"Taylor," he said blankly. He blinked then shook his head clear. Suddenly, I found myself being crushed against his chest as he hugged me. "My god Taylor, where have you been?"

"To hell and back," I mutter under my breath. He let me go for a moment and took a step back, holding me at arm's length with a hand on my shoulder. He studied me for a long moment.

"You've changed."

"Er, yeah," I responded cautiously. "You think I could come in and… talk?"

His eyes widened a fraction as he realized we were still hanging out on the front porch. "Of course, you want me to make some tea? I can put a pot on or…?"

I smiled a bit. "I can make it, it'll give me a chance to talk while I do."

"Good, good." He nodded, glancing around nervously. He looked at me and smiled, before stepping to the side and gesturing inside. I returned the smile and entered. It was good to be home, at least for a bit.

***

"You really said that to Armsmaster?" My dad said with a snort.

"Yep," I said as I poured my second cup of tea. "I didn't want to get interrupted, you know?"

"Well, I guess that explains why that van that has been parked outside our house for the last month is gone." He looked down and smiled into his coffee mug. "I'm glad you came back Taylor. I've gotten your letters, after the PRT's combed through them."

I felt a twitch of annoyance at their mention, but I let it go.

"How long do you plan on staying?" My dad asked. I looked up at him and sighed.

"Not long. I think staying at all would be pushing it. And I've got things I need to do."

"Armistice." He said darkly.

"Yeah." I shook my head. It was hard to read him when it came to her. I had avoided some more sensitive details like Coil and how Card Trick is her brother. But whenever I mentioned Armistice he got quiet.

"I guess she's the reason Legend is in town? And why Alexandria is supposedly on her way as well?" He asked, looking down into his coffee.

"Yeah," I responded lamely, not really have a follow up for that.

"So," he said carefully after a few seconds of awkward silence. "Where are you planning on going from here?"

"What do you mean?"

He took a deep breath. "Do you have any plans on coming back, on trying to lead a normal life? Go back to school, get your diploma, go to college, anything like that? I get after the incident you won't want to go back to Winslow, but maybe we can work something out with the other schools?"

"I… guess I haven't really thought about it," I admitted. "To be honest, I really like doing my own thing. And besides that, I don't have the time to go to school with Armistice out there."

"And what about after? What happens then?"

I looked away. "I… I don't know. Between the PRT and being a vigilante I just… I don't know yet." I didn't like where this was going because I knew I didn't have answers. Could being a vigilante in Coil's employ really be my future? Spending my days either out on the street in costume or in the basement of a cafe working out? Sure, that was fine for now. But what about in a year from now? Or more? It didn't seem like much a life.

"I don't suppose there is any way I could talk you out of fighting Armistice," Dad asked weakly. I smiled sadly and shook my head. He let out a sigh. "Alright. But can you promise me something? Come back. I know it won't be often, and I know you feel like you can't stay. But I'd like to see you when I can. And who knows, you managed to get the PRT to back off this time, maybe we can make that a permanent thing? A cease-fire between us and them?"

I smiled widely. "Yeah, I'd think I'd like that."

"Oh, and Taylor?"

"Yeah?"

"One of these time you should bring that Card Trick around. I'd like to ask him what his intentions are with my daughter."

I groaned and let my head hit the table with a thunk.

***

I clung to the edge of the pool feeling absolutely exhausted and completely out of breath. It was easily the hardest workout for me to do, but it felt great to get pushed to my limits like that. I just couldn't get my heart pumping in any other way if I wasn't in a fight. Hopefully, I will be able to pack on some more muscle here soon.

"Miss Hebert, Card Trick has arrived," Phil said. I looked up and saw he was holding a towel for me. I let out a sigh in between breaths and started to climb out.

"Make him wait upstairs while I get dressed."

"Very good ma'am." I took the towel from him and started drying off as I walked towards the changing room.

The new place was much larger than the last one. It had two floors, the lower level which had two pools and a gym. And the second level which was mostly some staffing space, but also my now much larger apartment. This time, with actual walls separating the different rooms.

Using the Shadow Dimension, I snuck into my room through some strategically open doors left open in case I ran into Card Trick on the way in. I grabbed my costume, slipped into it, and left the Shadow Dimension through my closet. Turning in the direction of the door, I took a deep breath and stalked towards it.

Card Trick was sitting at my kitchen table, looking distinctly uncomfortable as Phil watched him from the corner of the room. I sat down across from him and stretched my neck, letting out an audible pop.

"Lots of stuff coming soon," I said in as monotone a voice I could manage. "You think you're ready?"

"Er, yeah?" He didn't sound ready, but I pressed forward with a shake of my head.

"Good. Because I need to know."

"Know what? Exactly?"

"Everything." He winced inwardly at that. I tapped my finger on the table. "You never told me your sister had powers, even when we saw multiple Hookwolves running around. So I need to know why, what you actually want, and anything else you might have neglected to mention."

"I…" He faltered and hung his head. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to think she would do that, she just… Argh." He leaned forward and pressed his face into his hands. "Why did things have to get complicated?"

I tapped my fingers impatiently. Card Trick paused for a moment, then did something I didn't expect. He reached up and took his mask and hat off.

Wavy blonde hair grew out a little long and combed backwards. He had gaunt features, with bags under his eyes. He also needed to shave a bit.

"Jason Wittle. She's Emily. There isn't much you didn't learn. Dad was in the E88, when our mom got powers she forced our dad to leave the E88 before they learned. When we got to another city we were harassed for years. Emily was too young to remember that. A few months after we moved to the poor parts of town my mom got noticed by the E88 again. Only this time, they sent Rune and Othala for us. They thought because of our mother we were more likely to get powers. The rest you know."

"So how did you guys get from there to here?" I asked seriously. Jason looked away.

"I… You know how I said Rune offered me security, money, and friendship? That wasn't quite true. She offered me a way out. A way to get out that family and neighbourhood. The other things just…" He trailed off, his eye starting to glaze over.

"Yes?"

He shook his head clear. "Rune I started hanging out more. As friends, that is. And after a time, I didn't even remember why she was there. Emily though, she didn't feel the same with Othala. She wanted to go, and couldn't wait for me to make a decision. And then one night, she tried to make a decision for me."

He stopped for a rubbed his forehead with this stressed expression I've only ever seen my father have. For a moment, I considered maybe dragging him out every other night might not have been the best for him, but quickly dismissed it. Had to focus.

"Made the decision for you?"

Jason winced again. "She… Took over my body. Accidentally, I think. It's hard to describe because you're not locked inside your body while she puppets it, like people think. I got shifted into the back of her mind, saw things through her eyes. Even felt her experiences. How she felt about our dad. About me. About our mom and our neighbours. Then all at once, she felt like she had done something terrible while also feeling like she had been violated. I was shoved back into my body and when I woke up, she was gone."

I considered that silently for a long moment. "When she took control," I started carefully. "How did she do it?"

"She grabbed me by my ears and slammed her forehead into mine. I don't think the headbutt was necessary, only the contact."

"Do you know anything else about her power?"

"I… think. I can't say for sure, but when I was inside her mind I felt like I had an understanding of her abilities. Like, the same way I know how to use my portals. Some strange second nature weird feeling.

"Once she takes a power, she can give a lesser version of it to people she trusts enough to give a glimpse into her head. With capes she always has control and they're always in her head. I don't know if there are limits, but I didn't get the impression there were."

I took a deep breath. Just one more question. "All that aside for the moment, what is it you want with your sister? When we go to fight her, what are you planning on doing?"

"I…" Jason ran a hand through his hair. "You know how I said I got to feel her experiences? I got to feel what she thought of me. And I didn't like what I saw. To put it simply, I was a scummy brother. And I'm going to fix that. So honestly, I'm going to do my level best to get here to stop what she is doing. Get her to work with me. And then? I don't know. But I'll think of something."

I sighed. It was very idealistic about how this turned out, but I could appreciate the sentiment. He wanted to make things right, try and talk reason into her. I was skeptical if it could work at all, but if it didn't I could step in.

"Alright," I stood up from the table. "Two hours of training, two hours of patrol, and then you can head home for the night."

"Really?" Jason asked, standing up with me. "Shouldn't we be going after Armistice."

I crossed my arms. We should, but we weren't. I didn't like it, but we would play it smart. How Coil wants to play it. For now.

"Three days," I stated "A truce between the villains, an agreement between the heroes, and then an organized assault on Armistice. Until then we get ready. We consume what territory we can, we train, and get ready."

"But, she'll be getting ready too."

"Yeah, we'll just have to figure it out as we go along. Taylor, by the way." I hold out a hand to him, but don't unmask. Uncertainty, Jason takes my hand and shakes it. We had a lot of work to do.

 

[Stravickan Ovmahn]

Fun fact, the comings and goings of people in the PRT building make it really easy to walk through it while in the Shadow Dimension completely undetected. All the doors swinging open and shut constantly, it was like they wanted me to come inside and steal their stuff.

I slipped into their holding cell area and started scanning the outside rooms for the one I wanted. It was pretty easy to find. Most of the cells meant for capes weren't being used at all, meaning I only had to choose between so many.

When I found the one I needed, I quickly found a shadow nearby I could open a Door with. I was in my Spite costume, or lack thereof. I found the idea of using the Spite persona to do this amusing. Clearly, the PRT knew Spite and Paladin was the same person, but they couldn't just come out and say it. So when I break Rune out of her prison cell and suddenly Paladin starts working with a new cape out of nowhere, they can't tell anyone about it. They know what I'm doing, I know they know what I'm doing, but they can't do anything without revealing one of my identities.

Which they can't do without breaking the truce we established yesterday. But Spite didn't agree to a truce so in the eyes of everyone else, no harm done.

I stepped out of the portal and walked up to the cells door before proceeding to rip it off its hinges. Immediately an alarm went up all over the base. Foam sprayers activated a second later, which I blocked with the door I just acquired as I forced my way into the room. I was vaguely aware of an electric pulse traveling through the removed door and into my hands, but it wasn't that hard.

Inside, I found Rune hiding under the thin mattress they left her, protecting her from the worst of the foam and electric shocks. I looked down at her shocked expression from the lower half of her face her mask enabled me to see and smirked.

"Ready to get out of here?" I asked.

"I guess? But why are you coming for me, I don't know you."

"You got a good recommendation."


***

"Jason!" Rune shouted happily, running forward. Card Trick, or Jason considering his mask was still off, met Rune halfway and briefly hugged back. I raised an eyebrow at them.

We were in the Shadow Dimension. I didn't want to reveal that to Rune this early, but we were pressed for time. Travel was faster and it's not like she could report it back to the Empire anymore. Made getting out of the building easier too.

"Rune, are you okay?" He asked as soon as they broke apart.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." Rune took a step back, smoothing her clothing. She took a deep breath and looked at me.

"What now?"

"Now?" I began, raising an eyebrow. "Now you tell me and Card Trick everything you know about Armistice. Then you're getting a new costume."

"A new costume?" She asked, confused.

"Yes. Until further notice, your going to help me. And I'd rather not have my reputation hurt by fighting alongside a known neo-Nazi. So yeah, new costume and branding for you along with finding a way to better mask what your powers are."

"I uh…" she looked me up and down then all around at the Shadow Dimension. "I don't have a choice do I?"

"Nope."

***

Several hours later, we were huddled together on top of a roof. Looking down into the street as several dozen Hookwolves and what I presumed to be Crickets stood guard as Kaiser copies went through a defunct apartment complex, growing blades all around it.

"What's she doing?" I heard Rune ask.

"I think she's trying to make an outpost her people can fall back to in our territory," Card Trick answered her. I nodded. It seemed that way to me as well.

I looked over at Rune in her new costume. Now she wore a tight shirt and pants with a white and gold pattern, along with a matching cape that could drape around her like a cloak. It wasn't very complex, but it worked.

As something of a joke, we said her new name was Rand, the German word for border. We would have called her the German name for shield but…

Rand had four massive shields, provided by Coil of course, attuned to her telekinetic power. Right now, she had one underneath her feet to let her levitate. Card Trick was on the second one while the last two were given the appearance of being strapped to her back. So long as she continued to use those shields and nothing else we could better protect her previous identity. At least enough that it would reflect poorly on the PRT to point it out.

Have I mentioned I really like putting the PRT in that position?

"Then we're going to have to take them out," I said, looking at the other two. "Can't let them getting into our territory."

"Oh of course," Card Trick said with a hint of amusement. "And if we happen to take down and arrest all of those pseudo capes Armistice made, then we're doing great right?"

"Right," Rand said with a nod. "But if they try and run and we chase them into Armistice's territory, then we are just doing our job right?"

Of course, that would be breaking some of the rules of Coil set out about our overall strategy. But hey, beneficial mistakes are the name, plausible deniability is the game.

"And who knows," I added. "If we accidentally partially destroy one of their warehouses or something, we might be able to expand."

"Paladin," Phil said into my earbud. "Your thinly veiled comments about subverting Coil's wishes are entirely unnecessary. I'm the only other person listening and you simply aren't fooling anyone."

I ignored him.

"Alright," I said, taking a step back and double checking to make sure all my straps were tightened. "Same plan as we discussed beforehand. I'll go in and make some noise, Card Trick you provide covering fire and keep them confused. Rand, you and Card Trick stay up high. Use your shield to give me some cover, but if what we think are Cricket copies turn out to be Aegis or something else, drawback and protect yourself. I can manage."

"Aye aye," Rand said with a lazy salute. "Ready when you are."

I nodded and put a foot on the edge of the roof. I definitely felt stronger than I had been weeks ago. My new muscles would strain against my costume in ways they hadn't before, forcing me to adjust the straps. I had a massive hammer joining my Brute Sword on my back, along with other tricks I had developed.

Case in point, I took a bolas from my utility belt, summoning the energy projection I had and layered it over top. I started spinning it so hard it was causing a pretty serious draft up here on the roof.

"Hey, Paladin!" Rand shouted over the noise of the spinning bolas. I looked at her. "If we do accidentally find ourselves deep in old Empire territory, I might know a place not far from here that was like a distribution centre for a lot of the gear the Empire would supply its foot people."

I nodded to her and look at the building. The Crickets seemed to have noticed something because they were all gravitating this way, looking for the noise. I took only took another second to aim before throwing the bolas as hard as I could.

The spinning projectile ripped into the third floor of the building like a missile, ripping through walls with an explosive force that could probably be heard several blocks away. Before I could even move again, there were a hundred pink portals in the air. They fired one at a time with less than a fraction of a second in between. It sounded like a machine gun going off as the whole area was carpeted with explosions.

I kicked off the roof, sailing over the Armistice copies' heads even as they scrambled to avoid Card Trick's aerial attack. I struck out two hands, each summoning an energy band. One latched onto the build where I created an entrance with my bolas while the other grabbed a Hookwolf copy from below. I snapped to the ledge as I pulled the Hookwolf upwards at breakneck speeds.

Releasing both energy bands, I rolled into the building as the Hookwolf copy shot into the air like a bullet, the person with the copied power screaming like a girl the whole way.

I smiled to myself. I had at least one more day of this, and it was going to be both fun and good practice. It didn't get much better than that. Not to mention the collective force of Rand and Card Trick allowing us to completely crush everyone.

On days like these, it felt like I had made all the right choices.