Swear to Celestia, this was intended to be short.
(INTERLUDE) THINKER TANK
"Thank you all for coming," says Narwhal at the assembled Guild. "Joining us today are PRT director Wayland, of the Toronto PRT and foreign relation expert, as well as Glenn Chambers, PRT image director."
"Thank you for having us," says director Wayland, a graying gentleman, while Chambers nods.
Narwhal resumes. "It's been less than 30 hours since the liberation of Santiago de Cuba. Of the 48 arrested villains, 21 are currently incarcerated in Cuban prisons, while 27 have temporarily been placed in PRT holding facilities at La Havane's request; it is believed that between 11 and 14 of those will be sent to the Birdcage. Meanwhile, national authorities are working to restore public services to Santiago."
"The business world is starting to feel effects too," adds Surdoué, standing beside the Guild's leader. "Móvil, the principal Caribbean cell phone provider, is anticipating significant sales once cell phone towers are restored; their stock is already rising. Several international businesses are more interested in Cuba than they were last week, since the regained control of a major city makes the country look a lot more stable."
"There is also some early chatter about Cuban heroes wishing to join the Guild," Narwhal resumes. "While the idea has obvious merit, I feel it is too early for that. We have recently expanded our roster by nearly half; I think we should wait another operation or two before expanding further."
"On the political end of things," director Wayland adds after Narwhal gives him the nod, "president Rios's speech has thanked the Guild, emphasizing its nature as an international agency. The fact that half the Guild's roster is comprised of Protectorate members is not lost on people, though. Flash-polls suggest that America's approval ratings in Cuba have gone up three points - probably four if we could poll in Santiago itself. Washington and La Havane have begun discussing the possibility of modest foreign aide for restoring the city, as well as discussing trade agreements - a subject that's on a lot of minds nowadays, since everyone wants a slice of the maritime commerce pie now that Leviathan is dead."
"If I may backtrack a little?" says Glenn Chambers. "I cannot recommend enough that you look into which Cuban heroes would be both interested in joining the Guild and useful to it. Recruiting from places you help, and having them pay it forward by helping elsewhere, would send a powerful message, as well as serve as an excellent recruitment tool."
"Noted," says Narwhal, "but for now, we need to consider our next order of business. Before we decided to make the Four Ghosts our priority, we made a list of over one hundred and fifty situations worldwide that required attention; we then trimmed it down to six, and of those six, two have now been handled. We need to decide what's next."
And then the long debate begins.
Doctor Metal wants Swarm removed from power in her native Ivory Coast, much like Celo and Centro want the cartels removed from power in Argentina… unfortunately, as things currently stand, there isn't really a legitimate government ready to step in; Swarm had State-level politicians exterminated, keeping only those who were in advisory roles without real power for their expertise.
Sunblade clearly wants Skylance taken care of, but you get the impression that he's trying to force himself to be patient, make himself more useful to the Guild before making requests. It comes somewhat to his surprise when Laser Fist puts more effort than him in lobbying for that cause - there may no love lost between her South Korea and his Japan, but then, Skylance is aligned precisely with the Japanese far-right that talks big about "invading South Korea before the CUI grabs it first". More to the point, perhaps, taking Skylance off the board would be a huge step toward stabilizing Japan, which would be good for the region overall - both economically, and in creating a stronger counterpoint to the CUI and its ambitions.
Dragon strongly favors going after the Slaughterhouse Nine. It is her opinion that, despite their classification as an S-class threat and the terror they inspire, the danger that they represent is actually being underestimated, and that they could react to the changing status quo in devastating ways.
The Three Blasphemies, Madame Lustucru, Gesellschaft, the bloody Myanmar war, Sleeper, Nilbog, and more are all being discussed. You find yourself partial to taking on Skylance and Madame Lustucru, personally: Skylance is a major factor in the continued suffering of millions, a political radicalizer no better than Gesellschaft, a threat to the freedoms and well-being of an enormous population, and a geopolitical destabilizer for the whole region. As for Madame Lustucru, taking her down will not only end the horrific nightmare Kolwezi has been living, but also reinforce the message that there are lines villains and warlords are not allowed to cross.
Eventually, director Wayland brings geopolitics back to the forefront. "If your goal is to push for governments and heroes to collaborate across national borders, then there are four fronts worth focusing on.
"The first is Mexico. Despite extremely powerful cartels, it remains one of the few countries in Latin America to be mostly ruled by a democratic government. Its admission into the Protectorate is being finalized these days, and it is inevitable that there will be pushback from the villains. If things work out, however, then it can be a shining example of the cooperation the Protectorate is supposed to embody.
"The second is Nigeria. The country houses a fifth of Africa's population, and an even larger share of its GDP. For much of the 90s, its parahuman Peacekeepers were a stabilizing force across West Africa. After Behemoth attacked Lagos ten years ago, however, Nigeria was forced to turn inward. Nowadays, the central government - comprised partly of the military junta, partly of elected officials - is struggling to maintain control in the new capital at Kano, which has 15% of the government's capes despite only holding 2.5% of the population. Their inward focus is understandable considering that Zaria, Port Harcourt, Benin City and what's left of Lagos have all been de facto taken over by the local gangs. If someone were to assist the Nigerian Peacekeepers in cleaning house, then they might in turn be persuaded to liberate some of their neighbors.
"The third is Vietnam. The country has been divided among warlords, and while some of them have managed a stable rule, the country is still wracked by war. More recently, however, two of the bigger potentates, Phosphor and Black Sun, have agreed to a ceasefire. If you take down some of the nastier warlords, it may be possible to persuade the saner ones to work together in order to rebuild the country… provided one accounts for the local political complexities, of course. Succeeding here might show the way to warlords in other nations, and encourage more civilized behavior.
"Fourthly, there is Europe. Before the Simurgh first showed up, there were plans for a European Brigade that would play a role similar to the Protectorate. Unfortunately, between the destruction of Switzerland, the UK leaving the European Union, and the fall of Warsaw, these plans never quite came through. Until recently, the European Brigade was a token organization, counting a total of 12 heroes." He surveys the room. "More recently, with the evolution of public opinion, Spain and Italy have each agreed to transfer three of their heroes to the Brigade. Of course, that is still laughably small… However, there's some real momentum here. If the Guild can give everyone a good look at what international alliances can accomplish, then it may well be possible to convince the powers that be to finally allocate some real manpower to the Brigade."
Hydro looks pensive. "That might work. I know a fairly powerful Thinker back in Krakow who often rants off-duty about how the Simurgh has isolated us, and how protecting Europe should be handled by a pan-European force. He's honestly one of the best Thinkers we have left heroside, and I'm pretty sure he'd jump on the opportunity to join the Brigade if it became a serious project."
"Huh." Surdoué looks pensive. "Who are you talking about?"
"He calls himself Napoleon. Some kind of… tactical power, I think, though he's never explained to me how it actually works."
Surdoué makes a face. "...Wait, the guy calls himself Napoleon? Seriously? Does he also wear a bicorne hat?"
Hydro looks awkwardly. "...Well, it's not that silly. I know of at least one Tinker called Archimedes, the Legione Difesa has a Garibaldi, there's Alexandria…"
The French Thinker sighs. "I think this is sillier. Besides, while I will grant that his reforms did a lot to modernize the country, I still think it's in bad taste for a hero to name themselves after a megalomaniac warlord who overthrew a republic and conquered half a continent. It'd be like naming yourself after Bariq, or Swarm, or Storm Rider."
Hydro shrugs at that. "I don't know how he's perceived in France, but Napoleon is well-loved in Poland. He gave us our independence."
"Well, it's complic-" Surdoué stops himself. "OK. Historical debate shelved. We'll look into the guy, or I guess we'll… well, it's not like we decide what will happen to the Brigade."
"No, but you can speak to people and lobby to an extent," says Glenn Chambers. "And I don't think I need to tell anyone here what a force-multiplier good Thinkers can be."
"Which brings me to the following point," says director Wayland, turning on a slide, showing an Asian cape, probably in his mid-twenties. "Ladies and gentlemen, meet Johnny Kong. Cape name, not real name."
Dragon glances at the slide. "Hm. Looks like a British street?"
"Correct. As far as the PRT has been able to ascertain, it seems likely that Johnny Kong's family were among the Hong Kong expats who came to Britain when the city was returned to China. Regardless of personal background, Kong is currently a member of the King's Men, the United Kingdom's national parahuman force. He is usually kept in the background, but we've come to believe he is far more central to their operations than they would ever admit publicly."
Narwhal raises an eyebrow. "Do tell."
"Certainly. According to our intelligence, Johnny Kong, who styles himself a neo-Confucianist intellectual, seems to have some form of teamwork-based Thinker power. He is able to quickly and efficiently figure out potential synergies in a team, accounting for powers, skills and personalities." Dragon chuckles lightly and stops herself, as if she just got a really bad joke. Wayland resumes: "Near as we can tell, the King's Men have him touring the country, looking over various teams and improving them as much as he can on a regular basis. We believe he is one of the main reasons Lord Walston has been able to keep the UK together, despite everything."
Lord Walston, the British situation… you've had time to read up on both. Back during the 80s and early 90s, the UK was relatively stable, at least by the standards of Earth-Bet. The King's Men were founded in 1991, a year and a half before the PRT. Between 1995 and 1997, however, the more militant branches of the IRA, emboldened by significant parahuman membership, escalated their terrorist activities, prompting an increasingly authoritarian response from the government while the King's Men acted in an increasingly ruthless manner, even as Gesellschaft was rising. Additionally, the Endbringer attacks on Cologne, Madrid, Lyon and Naples between 1996 and 2000 had weakened the other major powers in the European Union; in Britain, some saw it as the UK's time to shine and lead Europe through a dark time, while others resented the nation being required again and again to pay for other countries' disaster relief.
In early 2002, the King's Men won a string of major victories against the IRA, arresting or killing most of its leaders and capes. There were still growing tensions, but it seemed that the worst had passed. Then, on the last days of the year, the Simurgh struck Lausanne.
About seven months later, the world was still trying and horrifyingly failing to salvage Switzerland when the Simurgh's second attack targeted London. Anti-Simurgh tactics, such as self-destructing bracelets to kill heroes who'd spent too much time within her range, had not been invented yet. The Protectorate and various European heroes (among others) attempted to assist, but nothing helped against the Simurgh.
An emergency vote at the UN, still horrified by Lausanne, decided to enact a measure discussed a month earlier in case of further Simurgh attacks: The complete quarantine of the target city. The UK's representative to the United Nations opted not to use the British veto; he was murdered months later by British members of the Gesellschaft, greatly improving recruitment for the organization.
What made the quarantine all the more disastrous was that the Prime Minister and near-totality of Parliament had been in session during the attack, and had used an Endbringer shelter rather than escape the city. The country was nearly leaderless. The royal family had been evacuated, save for the queen herself, who had died during the attack; her son, now crowned Charles III, did what he could to stabilize the country, and ended up throwing his political weight behind Lord Walston.
Lord Walston, an English count and member of the House of Lords with proudly nationalistic positions, had been at the edge of London when the attack had started; his quick thinking had allowed him to rapidly organize the evacuation of a nearby elementary school, getting hundreds of people outside of the city, most of them children. For his actions, he was inducted into the Order of the Garter in the following days by King Charles, who wanted him to serve as a symbol of hope among the chaos gripping the nation.
Walston did more than that. With the king's blessing, he proceeded to put together an "emergency Parliament", comprised mostly of aristocrats that he personally believed could be trusted, local politicians brought from all over the UK, and carefully-selected elites from the military whom he considered competent and decisive enough to lead Britain through the crisis. Rather than elect a prime minister, he arranged to have the king fill that role until the end of the state of emergency (which was only officially lifted nine months later). This emergency government granted itself a number of powers to deal with the crisis, and formally left the European Union. The latter decision proved easy to sell to the public: Following the earlier Behemoth and Leviathan attacks on EU members, Britain had contributed significant aid. The London attack, however, had followed the Simurgh's destruction of the Swiss banking system; the rest of the EU's economy was in shambles, and the aid that got sent to Britain was far more limited as a result. Most of the UK saw it as a betrayal that more than justified leaving the Union.
Once the state of emergency was lifted, Walston's hand-picked Parliament elected a new prime minister. To many people's surprise, Walston himself did not try to get the job, instead arranging for it to be given to one of his allies in the military. Meanwhile, he himself revealed that he had triggered with parahuman abilities (a large-area awareness of and control over sound, to degrees that rival Weaver's bug powers); he joined the King's Men, taking over the top leadership position.
That was seven years ago. There have been real elections since, but in the current system, everything is being decided by a single chamber of Parliament, where only two thirds of the members are elected; the rest remain the aristocrats and military appointees that Walston originally pushed for, or their replacements as appointed by the king. This semi-democratic government has been taking increasingly fascistic stances, especially following the Scottish secession attempt of 2007. London's quarantine was lifted unilaterally, with no international input, on the fifth anniversary of the attack - which immediately resulted in a series of bloody disasters that had been building up in the city during those five years.
Lord Walston remains the leader of the King's Men, frequently fighting in the field. It is an open secret that he has an alliance of sorts with the British branch of the Gesellschaft, who maintain a number of "neighborhood watches" with his blessing (usually in immigrant-filled, poverty-stricken neighborhoods). Overall, your impression of the man is that he is not trying to set himself up as a dictator, per se… but rather, that he is an ultranationalist (with definite racist leanings and some old-fashioned ideas about the role of the aristocracy) who believes that in order to survive, his country needs a strong, authoritarian government that places a far greater emphasis on order, strength and security than on freedom and civil rights. Under his influence, the UK has increasingly turned inward, paying less and less attention to the affairs of the rest of the world; the only exception to that trend are Ireland (which the British far-right speaks of in increasingly warlike terms) and Simurgh attacks, during which the King's Men always send a contingent under Lord Walston's command.
"So that's why the PRT wanted you at this meeting," Surdoué grins at director Wayland. "Obviously, getting Johnny Kong to actually step out of the British Isles would be a boon. If he's as good as you're making him sound, then quick visits from him all over the world could boost the efficiency of Protectorate teams, Irréductibles teams, the Guild… but the King's Men aren't exactly big on reaching out." He pauses. "Surely there must be something you can trade with them, no?"
"They're disinclined to listen," the director sighs. "Accepting direct help would hurt their image - much like the CUI's Yangban, the King's Men PR puts a strong emphasis on their ability to defend their homeland without foreign aid. Subtler forms of assistance, such as Thinker support, could be negotiated… but the PRT's Thinkers generally believe that such negotiations would fail." He gazes at the French cape. "The Guild, however, might prove more successful. If you win more high-visibility victories in your internationalist configuration, it might shift public opinion enough that you can negotiate with the British government, whom the King's Men still, ultimately, answer to."
"So I see," says Surdoué. "All right. But this is bringing up an important point. Because Chambers is right, Thinkers are a force-multiplier. There's a reason they're almost twice as likely as other cape types to become successful warlords and gang leaders. Now, I'm not trying to brag here - my own powers are not exactly A-list material - but the fact is, if the Guild or the European Brigade or any other organization wants to make a global difference, then it needs solid Thinker support." He surveys the room. "We have the Avatar's special senses and eidetic memory. We have Centrum, who can play mission control when Dragon can't, and is one hell of a spy under the right circumstances. We have Silver Crusader and his 'trail of crumbs', which would actually be pretty handy for tracking down the Slaughterhouse Nine-"
"I've attempted that before," the New York cape points out. "Results were mixed."
"Sure, but my point stands. We need to leverage good Thinkers - not necessarily to recruit them, but to get their occasional support. Getting Johnny Kong more work would be a coup, and I think I want to hear more about that Napoleon guy. Who else would be worth looking into?"
"I can think of a few people," you say.
"Give it up, shitstains," said Smasthrough. "It's five-on-three. Save yourselves the beating."
Napoleon considered. Smashthrough and his four teammates… Maybe not the worst parahuman gang in Krakow, but not exactly lightweights, either. One of several gangs trying to move into Niszczyciel's old territory, now that the A-lister villain had turned himself in. Smashthrough had a fairly basic Alexandria package; the other fours were respectively a short-range pyrokinesist, a telekinetic named Arsenal who could simultaneously control a dozen objects with good precision (and did so with guns), a precog who could sense danger before it arrived, and a guy who could cause intense acid burns to anything touched by his shadow.
Meanwhile, heroside, there was Sci-Fi, a Tinker specialized in beam weaponry; Centrifuge, a Shaker who could generate vortexes of circular gravitational pulls… and him, the Thinker. Not an ideal situation, but there was always a random element to patrolling the streets.
He reached into his power, trying to visualize the following minute. And for an instant, he saw so much.
A scenario where he simply ordered his teammates to attack, ending with two of the villains injured, and them all down or worse.
A scenario where he shot his gun without saying a word, aiming at Arsenal, and missing when the precog pushed her out of the way. The villains promptly killed them.
A scenario where he didn't miss, killing Arsenal. He and his teammates managed to take down three more baddies, before Smashthrough finished them off.
A scenario where an attack on the precog revealed that he wasn't the precog at all, but the shapeshifter who had robbed a food stamp reserve yesterday.
And on and on it went. Somewhere between forty and fifty thousand scenarios played out in his head in the blink of an eye. Tens of thousands of different ways for the upcoming minute to play out.
He knew by now that the scenarios his power showed him were not precognitive visions of the future. Rather, they were calculations, simulations of how things could potentially turn out based on what information was available to him. And since he didn't know everything, his power tended to fill in the blanks by throwing in guesses. For example, the precog actually being a shapeshifter in disguise was not something he had cause to believe, but it was possible, and had thus randomly showed up in one of the visualized scenarios. That it had showed up in only one scenario out of tens of thousands indicated that it was very unlikely.
Due to the probabilistic nature of his power, the more scenarios he could see, the clearer an idea he got from them… and the way his power worked, the number of scenarios he saw decreased with their length. Short scenarios, a minute or shorter, would number in the tens of thousands. Hour-long scenarios would number in the thousands. Scenarios meant to last for whole days, though… they didn't necessarily even breach the double digits.
Still. In this specific instance… One approach had appeared in over a hundred scenarios, and led to their victories in about three out of four. In half of them, they won without any fatality on their side. Good enough.
He carefully aimed his gun at the precog. "Not five, and not three. Sci-Fi, take Smashthrough. Centrifuge, get the fire guy. Arsenal, take the precog."
And then he fired.
His bluff wasn't very good, but it needed only produce a couple seconds' worth of hesitation. Three of the villains had been staring at Arsenal for an instant after hearing his words. She, rather than fire, just stared at him gobsmacked. The precog, like in most scenarios, dodged… but, focusing on the immediate danger of the gunshot, had not been able to anticipate the other dangers.
In that second of confusion, the villains's brains were still trying to figure out if Arsenal was a traitor who had just shot at their precognitive comrade. Napoleon took that second to step forward, toward the deadly shadow. The shadow villain, seeing his movement, instinctively activated his shadow's acidic effect… right as the pyrokinetic, charging toward Centrifuge, ran over it. And instant later, he was on the ground, screaming.
While he was screaming, Napoleon was taking a quick step backward, putting distance between himself and the shadow again. Sci-Fi nailed Smashthrough with the heaviest setting of his raygun, causing the flying Brute to scream in pain. Centrifuge activated a field of distorted gravity… moving all of Arsenal's guns an instant before she fired them, causing nearly all of them to miss. It also caught the shadow villain and the precog in its field, starting to drag them around in a circular motion.
He fired his gun again, this time three quick shots all aimed at Arsenal's head (he was fairly confident she was wearing body armor). A single shot would have sufficed in half the scenarios, two would have sufficed in most of them, but with three shots, there were almost no scenarios where they all missed. One bullet took her ear off, and another one went through her forehead.
Sci-Fi fired another blast at Smasthrough as the charred villain, screaming in rage, flew right at them. As per the relevant scenarios, Napoleon shouted "go left!" at him. Sci-Fi, bless his quick reflexes, did just that, letting the Alexandria package fly past him and into a wall, opening himself up to another raygun blast. Meanwhile, Napoleon shot again at the precog, this time nailing him in the thigh while he was struggling with the last effects of the gravitational centrifuge.
Arsenal, down. The precog, down. Pyrokinesist, down. Smashthrough… also down, from the looks of it. Centrifuge… also down, from one of Arsenal's bullets. That had been the most likely setback of this approach. Dammit.
No time to play nice. Taking villains alive was usually preferable to killing them, but every second he wasted on it was a second during which Centrifuge was bleeding to death. As such, he quickly emptied his pistol magazine into the shadow villain, and immediately focused his full attention on giving his teammate first aid.
An hour later, the three surviving (though badly injured) villains were being hauled off, and Centrifuge was going to pull through. Not perfect, but still a victory.
And then he saw that he had a message. From Captain Hydro? Interesting.
"Thanks again for the lift," says Silver Crusader, some time after you have both arrived to Ottawa.
"Think nothing of it. I am genuinely curious to see you at work."
"Well… Keep in mind, my Trail Of Crumbs only gives me fairly vague hints. Back during the Week of Fear, for example, I had the instinctive urge to go to the stadium during the game, but I had no idea why. It could have been that there was some sort of clue I'd be able to find there about the Fear Syndicate's operation. It could be I'd recognize an unpowered minion of theirs I could interrogate. It could be one of my informants was hiding from assassins, trying to blend in with the crowd in the most public place possible, and would give me information if I found him. It could also be that I was going to waste hours in the stadium accomplishing diddly-squat, only realizing a week later - or never - what exactly I could have found there in time if I'd been more vigilant. In the end, it was lucky that I noticed the guy acting suspiciously, and stopped him before he could bring the whole stadium down.
"In other words: My Trail Of Crumbs always gives me a chance to find what I'm looking for, but never a guarantee. I still need to pay close attention, and do a lot of detective work - and even then, I still end up missing important stuff. It's why I've packed this," he puts his index against his tinkertech helmet, "full of sensors and Augmented Reality tech.
"Right now? Well, I asked my Trail of Crumbs how I could find the Nine, and it tells me to go to the Ottawa PRT HQ. It could mean there's a clue, it could mean someone there will accost me to tell me something, it could mean the Siberian will smash through a wall the instant we set foot in the place. No way of knowing in advance."
And, of course, since you don't want to tip the Nine off and reveal to them what you're doing, your visit is very low-key. You have called the relevant PRT director ahead, of course, but Silver Crusader is using a different costume from his usual, and you are using your power pool to appear like a dark-skinned woman - no need to let the whole world know the Avatar visited Ottawa.
Once you've reached the HQ, and provided some more explanations, a couple hours are spent investigating. Your senses and mental super-speed are of some assistance, and so is your ability to temporarily grant a modest measure of super-speed to Silver Crusader. Still, it takes a while before he finally finds something.
"I've been going over everything the PRT has on local villains. There's over a hundred known ones at the latest count. Of all of those, there are five who haven't had a single reported sighting this week. That doesn't actually mean anything - any of them could simply be laying low between jobs or something - but it's the closest thing I've found to a lead."
For what comes next, you need to use your power pool for both enhanced senses and mental acceleration, so you are given a small tinkertech cloaking device for discretion instead. And thus, you begin canvassing the city (several times larger than Brockton Bay, unfortunately) for the missing villains.
Of the five, three turn out to simply be laying low in their territory. A fourth, you find imprisoned and apparently between torture sessions in the hideout of a rival gang; you arrest them, rescue him, give him some minimum healing, and deliver him to the PRT. The fifth, though…
"OK, so the Nine were definitely here," says Silver Crusader, somewhat queasy, as you help him and a PRT squad examine the location. The blood, the horror, the artistically-laid corpses that have been tortured in ways only possible for a biology-specialized Tinker… definitely Bonesaw's work. "There haven't been any missing person reports," he notes, "these must have been homeless people. And this," he points at a section of damaged wall, "The damage is just too neat. Very few things beside the Siberian could have caused it."
After some more time investigating the scene, with your cosmic senses assisting, Silver Crusader concludes: "We know Unexpected is or was a teleporter, but he's a fairly novice villain. He was still a solo act. I'm guessing they wanted him for his Mover power. The question becomes, did they decide to recruit him, since they've been missing a ninth member recently? It's also possible that it wasn't recruitment, that they just had Bonesaw take over his body using tinkertech implants; wouldn't be the first time she pulled that shit." He sighs. "And because this guy was fairly new, we only have a pretty vague idea of the extent of his powers."
You hum, thinking. Perhaps there is something to be done here…
"Of course, we appreciate that the Guild is discussing this operation with us rather than executing it unilaterally," said Minister Suzuki.
"But of course," said Surdoué, picking on the minister's more than decent mastery of protocol. "The Guild has nothing but respect for legitimate governments. We had the Santiago operation okayed by Cuba's president before we even started it, and we have no intention of encroaching on Japanese sovereignty. Besides, it would be a rather poor way of thanking Japan, since your nation has generously contributed so much of Sunblade's time to our work."
"Unfortunately, your lawfulness is a double-edged sword in this instance," said counselor Sato. "The way current laws are set up, such a foreign intervention would require an authorization by a majority of the Diet. You'll definitely have the voices for it - Heavens know most of the Diet wants Skylance gone - but it means that it will be impossible to keep the operation's time table secret from the Yamato Party. The Yamato Party, in turn, will be certain to inform Skylance well ahead of time. She will be able to prepare at her leisure for your coming… or, should she so choose, simply hide on the other side of the Earth."
"For that matter, the last thing the Yamato Party wants is for foreigners to appear as the saviors of Japan," said general Tanaka. "They'll have an uphill battle, considering that the Avatar did slay Leviathan… but they'll still have time to work at shaping the narrative, and maybe even to make things easier on Skylance. Maybe even bring Fuji-Sama on board."
"Fuji-Sama and Skylance hate each other," Suzuki pointed out.
"True, but war makes for strange bedfellows," said Sato. "It's a possibility worth considering, at least."
"Indeed," Surdoué clasped his hands. "Thank you for bringing all of these points up. I believe, thankfully, that we have a number of cards to play here. For starters: While the Guild will only be able to operate on Japanese soil during a time window set by the Diet, I understand the SDF's parahuman forces will be under no such restriction, correct?"
It wasn't a simple problem. Taking Skylance down… Tactics, politics, both were going to be important there.
But Surdoué felt confident. At the moment, he was as good a politician as Minister Suzuki, as cunning and perceptive as counselor Sato, as capable a military man as general Tanaka… while also benefitting from the tactical brilliance of Sunblade, the lateral thinking of Doctor Volt, and the experience of Iron Snake, who had accompanied him for this meeting. Between all of those abilities, he was confident he could come up with a good first draft of a plan.
"Tattletale," you call out with your communication power. "Would now be a good time to see you?"
She barely misses a beat. "...Sure. We can meet at-"
"Excellent. May I come in?"
A couple seconds of hesitation. "...OK, yeah."
And thus you teleport inside the room of the "secret" lair of the Undersiders.
It's a bit rude, compared to how you usually visit people. But you've asked Weaver to tell you more about Tattletale before you came here (and about how she was holding up in Boston; as the only hero there with experience fighting E88, her expertise has been in high demand). Considering what you've heard of this girl, and how you've decided to approach things, you figure you want her to be at least slightly off-balance.
Tattletale, who didn't even bother putting on her domino mask, sighs. "I've gotta tell Grue to put better locks on this place. Visitors just come and go as they please."
"How many unexpected visitors have you had?"
"I don't want to talk about it," she says with a shudder - you can't tell if it's fear or frustration. "Anyway! You're deliberately trying to put me off-balance, so you came here for some kind of negotiation. You need my help."
"Not for the first time. You have been immensely helpful before. I don't know if I could have beaten Leviathan without your assistance."
Her smirk grows, just a little. "And now, even putting aside Endbringers, your new friends at the Guild are going to be butting heads with hundreds and thousands of parahumans from all over the world. You know that you're going to need all the information you can get."
"Essentially. We're not recruiting, per se, but we want to build at least some kind of support network of Thinkers. I believe your abilities, synergizing with those of others, could save countless lives."
"Your Guild already has more Thinkers than it lets on," she observes. "You pulled that Santiago coup way too cleanly."
You nod. "Regardless, the Guild will be facing many difficult challenges. You could make a big difference."
"Oh, I know I could," she says, crossing her arms. "The question is, can you make it worth my while? I usually charge a few dozen grand per question these days."
"To be perfectly honest," you say without missing a beat, "I was hoping to guilt-trip you into doing it for free."
Your deadpan delivery actually gets a chuckle from her. "I'm not a sociopath, and I'm willing to do my part if an Endbringer is trying to wipe out the city I'm standing in, but don't go thinking I'm a charity worker either. Besides, last time I checked, even Protectorate heroes get paid - and I am not New Wave."
"Heroes get paid, yes, but the salary tends to be in the realm of the middle class, upper middle class at most. Do you really need more than that? The Guild isn't exactly wealthy. Even the PRT is constantly struggling with its budget."
"I'm sure you can pull something," her smirk remains. "If I just started helping people for free, I'd find it difficult to charge for my services later."
"Were you Taylor's friend?"
Her smirk disappears at the sudden swerve. "W-What?"
"Taylor. I happen to think very highly of that girl. She obviously considered you a friend, and still does, despite her mixed feelings. However, I find it very hard to believe that you didn't know she was undercover when she joined your team," her complete lack of surprise confirms it, "which means that you knowingly took the risk of bringing an undercover hero on board… and a month later, she felt too much personal loyalty to you and your teammates to betray you.
"So, if I'm going to be negotiating with you, I want to know better who I'm talking to: Someone who genuinely tried to be Taylor's friend, or someone who cynically manipulated a traumatized, emotionally vulnerable teenager in order to strengthen her team."
You maintain a neutral expression. Tattletale, not so much. Her anger is now obvious. "I saved that traumatized, emotionally vulnerable teenager, you self-righteous asshole! When I first met Taylor, she didn't value her own life anymore! You know why she took on Lung instead of running away? Because she was fucking suicidal, and didn't care if she got killed anymore, so long as it protected someone else!" You think she is doing Taylor a disservice by underestimating her genuine altruism, but you keep it to yourself for now - Taylor's self-esteem is terribly shredded, after all. "So, yes. I took a huge personal risk - and a risk for my team - by bringing her on board. I tried to teach her to be a bit more selfish, not because I'm some wicked corruptor, but because she didn't think she was worth anything, and she needed to learn to take care of herself. I gave her the only real support network she had. And yes, I lied to her with every fucking breath I took. Cry. Me. A river." She glares at you. "Everyone manipulates the people in their lives. You're trying to manipulate me into doing pro bono work because you think it'll help me become a better person. I'm not going to apologize for trying to save her in what way I could."
"I believe you." That stops her angry rant instantly, the scowl being replaced by a befuddled expression. "I mean, not on everything. I think with your abilities, you could have helped Taylor in ways that were less likely to hurt her. I think selfish goals played a bigger role in your decisions than you would like to admit, even to yourself." You pause. "But I do believe that you really wanted to help her, and that you really are her friend.
"But you have to realize that, good intentions or not, you did hurt her, quite a lot. Taylor, fundamentally, at her very core, wants to do good and help others. For it to stop being one of her main drives, she would need to effectively die inside. When you manipulated her into a path that went against that, it almost broke her. Her heart, her already ailing self-esteem, the relationship she's trying to salvage with her father… they all suffered as a result. Even now, she's still hurting from how things ended with the Undersiders, and simply from how much she misses you." You mark another pause. "As I understand it, friends help each other. Even if you can't help Taylor with the battles she has to face now, don't you think you could at least help her peace of mind by moving with the Undersiders closer to the altruistic end of the cape spectrum?"
Her expression and voice are now utterly deadpan. "You're trying to use Taylor to manipulate me into being a better person."
To which you counter: "I believe, Tattletale, that you have within you reserves of kindness and nobility that you haven't even come close to suspecting. I also believe that Taylor can be a very good influence on you, if you'll only let her." Her expression remains unreadable. "If you're as good as Taylor believes you are, then you know I'm not trying to screw you over."
"No, of course not. You're just trying to make me help you for free."
"I'm trying to save the world you happen to live in, and I'm working with a tight budget. I am entirely aware that I can't do it alone, or even do a single percent of the required work alone. This world is not going to get better unless people work together, Tattletale."
"Right. But what definition of 'people' are we using here?" And just like that, her expression has turned into a smug grin once more. "After all, not everyone in this room is even remotely human."
You raise an eyebrow. It's not too surprising that she's figured something out, but how much has she figured out? You've kept this information top-secret, hidden from all but the Arcane Alliance, for damn good reasons.
She goes on: "Some of it I figured when you first showed up, the rest on the day you arrested Coil. You're not human at all, are you? All that melodramatic speech about heroism… There was a bit of an agenda there, I realized. You're promoting heroism, because it's the only part of humanity you can truly relate to. It's your whole mindset. Whoever built you wanted some kind of perfect superhero, so they gave you a thought process that was completely focused on the concept. No pride, no jealousy, no greed, no boredom… no lust, no love except maybe in the most platonic sense, no desire for a family… nothing except being brave, truthful, and unselfish, all in a physical package that's artificially designed to look like half the planet's sex dreams. The Blue Fairy didn't half-ass the job with you."
You chuckle. "Platonic love gets a bad rap in my opinion, but I suppose that's beside the point. It is true that I am not, as you put it, remotely human. What of it?"
"It just seems odd to me," she says, still grinning. "Quite possibly the most honest person in the world, and you keep such a big secret to yourself. I have to wonder - are you afraid of bigotry? Concerned that people will be less likely to listen to a non-human? Are you afraid that, if you reveal that you really are an unattainable idea that no human can achieve, they'll stop even trying to be like you?"
"All valid concerns, but not the actual cause for the secrecy," you reply. Is she trying to maneuver into blackmailing you? "I maintain secrecy because knowledge of my origins could endanger the world."
"...How much danger are we talking about here?"
You gaze at her silently, both eyebrows raised.
"...Fuck." She looks away, seemingly lost in thought.
After a minute, she turns her gaze back to you. "All right. I'll help your goddamn Scooby Gang look for clues. But like I said, even Protectorate heroes get a salary. You do, and you have no personal expenses." She folds her arms. "Even if the Guild doesn't have a tax-funded budget, you can hire me as a consultant out of your own pocket. And frankly? That's underpriced. The PRT paid me a hundred grand just for my insight on Leviathan's corpse, you know." She gazes at you. "Final offer."
"Fair enough. But for the record, I don't think you're going to regret it."
You mean it, of course. Now, with how much money you know the Undersiders have made lately, it's not like they're going to be struggling for cash any time over the coming year… but, if it had been really necessary, you no doubt could have leveraged your pull in the PRT to give Tattletale a big payout with five zeroes. It would have set a bad precedent, paying huge sums to mercenaries and villains while heroes didn't even get a token salary from the Guild, but you could have done it.
This, however, is better. Not because you're saving the PRT and/or the Guild money, but because you meant what you said.Tattletale is jaded, cynical, manipulative, at times cruel, at times selfish… But she really is Taylor's friend. She really did want to help her, and she still cares. While she is not a good person, you believe she is not as far from becoming a good person as she thinks… and you are, if only thanks to experience, an excellent judge of character. You were also telling the truth about Taylor being a good influence on her.
You'd have offered giving her your salary from the start, but letting her do it herself helped her save face and keep her pride, whether or not she saw through it. Now, there's someone you need to put her in touch with…
He dutifully followed in step with the rest of Lord Walston's retinue, as the national leader of the King's Men was greeted by Galahad, leader of the Glasgow branch.
"Thank you for arriving so promptly, sir. We all know how valuable your time is."
"Nonsense, old friend," Lord Walston said with practiced magnanimity. "What is the point of the King's Men, if not to maintain law and order across Britain? I could hardly stay in my office while terrorists and brutes threaten this beautiful city."
"Well said, sir," said Galahad. "Has the roster of the special task force been finalized?"
"Indeed. The bureaucrats have finally seen sense, meaning that Whisper, Major Fortitude, and Sweeper will indeed be joining its ranks."
"Then I believe the scum has no chance, sir."
"That is precisely the intent." Lord Walston then turned around to face him. "Kong, you will be meeting the combined task force at seven o'clock. I will be expecting your full report, in person, by nine."
By nine o'clock sharp, of course, he was reporting to Lord Walston. "Samson is somewhat hot-blooded, and likely to rush into danger regardless of orders; placing him in Jaguar's unit should work best, as Jaguar will be able to make use of him. Wolfblade and Vermillion must not be placed in the same unit, or their friction will become unmanageable. Masterwork could greatly enhance Samson and Sweeper's effectiveness by building them a warhammer and an armor, respectively. Main Jane, Ambush and Leonine should be placed and together and made to train intensively for two or three days in combining their powers, as an effective synergy between them would be a major asset." He almost hesitated before adding: "Oculus and Whisper, if made to work together, will be able to eliminate almost any foe on the battlefield. Lastly, if Sweeper benefits both from Masterwork's armor and personal protection from Bodyguard, then he will be able to provide air support at almost no risk to himself, forcing most enemies to fight defensively."
Lord Walston had not looked up from the papers on his desk during his report, but Johnny Kong knew from experience that his recommendations had been heard, and would in all likelihood be applied. However… It was the duty of a subordinate to warn his superiors when they were making a mistake. Blind, silent obedience was no virtue. "Permission to speak freely, sir?"
"Granted," said Lord Walston, still not looking up.
"I believe it is a mistake to include Whisper, Major Fortitude and Sweeper in this operation, sir. The purpose of the task force is to pacify the Glasgow unrest by taking out the worst terrorists, villains, and ex-secessionists. However, the region cannot be pacified so long as the people resent the government, and even if the task force eliminates fifty villains, a climate of fear and anger will cause sixty more to trigger. Whisper, while loyal, has a power with no non-lethal use; making frequent use of it will escalate violence, convincing our enemies to go all-out in every situation as they believe they have nothing to lose. Major Fortitude, while powerful and imposing, is also well known for his vocal and unflattering opinions concerning Scotland and its natives; even if he is ordered to keep those opinions to himself, his presence here will be seen as a slap in the face. As for Sweeper, his power inevitably tends to involve severe collateral damage. If he is made to frequently battle ground-bound opponents in a dense urban area, civilian casualties could reach the triple digits in time."
Lord Walston's expression had not changed one iota at any point. Really, it seemed to him that the top leadership of the King's Men (along with several prominent political figures) had over the past decade turned themselves into near-parodies of the stereotypical British stiff upper lip, along with other old clichés, as if attempting to summon back a lost golden age. But then, the current political climate seemed to love stereotypes - the men in the PR department certainly thought so, considering the costumes he had been made to wear on duty. Or the Fu Manchu mustache he had been encouraged to grow, ridiculous as he thought it was.
"Noted. Return to your duties."
He knew what that meant, of course. His qualms had been heard, and would be promptly ignored. In Lord Walston's mind, any Scot (or Wallon, or Irishman, or immigrant) who wasn't unquestionably loyal the United Kingdom was scum, and using half-measures or compromises with scum was a sign of moral weakness. The task force would go on as planned, killing a lot of villains and far too many civilians, leaving the region no more stable than before.
Which made no difference in his actions, of course. Blind, silent obedience was no virtue… but outright disobedience, the sort of disloyalty that shattered organizations and nations? That, no doubt, was a vice.
"I want to make it clear, in case it hasn't been already, that you are not required to help with this," you say. "We are all very grateful for your help so far, but your first priority should be to make sure you recover."
"It's OK," says Forecast, AKA Dinah Alcott. She's been given a clean bill of health - thankfully, she only spent a month in Coil's clutches. "Director Piggot warned me to save up questions for this. I can ask eight or nine without getting a headache, and I'll have more tomorrow." She pauses. "I looked at the numbers every day when I was imprisoned, to see if I would get rescued. The odds weren't good. Then you showed up, and, after you killed Leviathan, they were above 99%. I looked at the numbers when the Simurgh arrived, and they were terrible, then you won anyway. You make things better than my power thinks they can get. But… my power still tells me things you need to know." Her expression grows serious. "The PRT asked me about the end of the world. It's probably going to happen this year. It might happen in eleven years. There's a 5% chance it doesn't happen at all. If you die," her voice grows smaller, "the odds it doesn't happen are less than 1%."
You put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I wish someone as young as you didn't have to worry about this sort of thing. But you handle it with more strength than many grown-ups would. Again, thank you."
"It's OK. I know this is important."
The Guild, via teleconference, asks its questions. Questions like your odds of stopping the Slaughterhouse Nine for good before they make another 100 victims (virtually nil, unfortunately). The odds of stopping the Nine before they make another 1000 victims (not good, but at least realistic). The odds of things turning a certain way, depending on certain approaches, where Skylance and Madame Lustucru are concerned. It's only eight questions (you insist on having Forecast rest afterwards), but it helps establish plans.
And there will be more questions to ask tomorrow.
"Yeah, Unexpected is definitely a Bonesaw puppet by now," said Tattletale. "Thing is, they captured him using Hatchet Face's power; the Siberian didn't fight. So, the damage she caused to the wall? That's from being restless and bored. The Nine have been laying low more than usual, and it's making some of them frustrated."
"Call me heartless, but I just don't feel that sorry for them," said Silver Crusader as Strider brought them to the next location on his Trail Of Crumbs. The bloodied little chalet was only slightly less horrifying than the chamber of horrors in Ottawa. "Glad to have you on board, by the way. From what I've heard, we can really use your kind of help."
"Don't mention it," she grumbled. Then, somewhat queasy, she observed the butchered family. "Um. I know what I said about Unexpected, and I stand by it… but I'm pretty sure they have their ninth recruit anyway."
"Joy of joys. What makes you say that?"
"The parents… they were slaughtered by the kids. Without resistance, and without hesitation. They weren't tied up or anything, they practically welcomed it." She managed to somehow grow even paler than the scene had already made her. "The Nine have a high-end Master."
