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Brockton's Celestial Forge (Worm/Jumpchain)

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So, next chapter is another interlude right? From someone considered a bastard?
 
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77 Determination - Preamble Mimi
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    • 77 Determination - Preamble Mimi

    Preamble Mimi

    Mimi lounged on a thick carpet by the fireplace, thumbing through a comic book she had found in an upstairs bedroom. It was a gas fireplace, the kind designed more for show than warmth or light, but it had been supplemented into something at least approximating a proper fire. Even if it had required all the broken furniture she had been able to gather.

    She felt herself sink into the warmth of the fire as it pulsed like a living thing. Similar flames danced above her hand, moving in time with the improvised bonfire. As always, the active flame helped focus her mind, drawing her away from the frantic activity around her. It burned away doubts, concerns, and inconvenient emotions that would drag her down and bring her back to those dark times. Times at the asylum, or when she had woken up in a pile of smoldering ashes, suddenly a different person from the energetic woman who had been dancing in the flames.

    She didn't like the person she was when the fires went out. Then again, that person didn't like her either. It would probably have been easier if she had been crazy enough for some kind of full split in personality. She'd seen enough people break in enough ways to understand the concept. But that wasn't her. With or without the fire, she was still Mimi. What changed is how she thought about both herself and everything that had led her to this point.

    This specific point being the well-appointed living room of a suburban home that fell just shy of McMansion size. The kind of place that probably seemed overly safe and insulated from the world. That insulation was what made places like this so convenient. The neighborhood wasn't really a neighborhood, just a collection of houses overly separated from each other by generous plots of land. There was no real community that would notice one family's absence, at least not until it became obvious. With no visible signs from the street, they would go uninterrupted for days. Possibly weeks.

    Not that they would need to. Not now. This was a waypoint, one convenient stop over after their hop from Cleveland to Buffalo. A place to rest, plan, and decide on their next destination, even though that seemed like something of a formality at this point.

    "Seriously, it's all show." Cherish declared. Mimi glanced up from her comic as the Nine's newest recruit continued her report. "Nothing but bluster. He puts up a good front, but underneath he's a mess of indecision and insecurities."

    "A very good front indeed." Jack said, dramatically flaring the newspaper in his hands as he reclined in an armchair. The front page was visible to them, a dramatic group shot showing Apeiron and his new team. "Already capturing the eyes and hearts of the nation"

    Mimi saw Shatterbird shift slightly in response to Jack's statement, looking from the documents she had spread over the coffee table to the front-page headline and dramatic group picture that took up most of the top fold. There was the slightest flicker of irritation on the woman's face that she just managed to hide as Jack glanced in her direction.

    He gave Shatterbird a smile that somehow came across as condescending, then turned back to Cherish. "All that attention and no hint of your little discovery to be found. Not even from the vaunted thinkers of the Protectorate."

    Cherish huffed and shifted her blouse slightly, causing it to conceal more of her chest tattoo. The evidence of her membership trials. "I know what I sensed. Everyone's looking at Apeiron like he's the second coming, but he's exactly what you'd expect to spring up from a place like Brockton Bay. A scared kid who triggered with too much power and doesn't know what to do with it."

    Cherish's declaration of the man's harmlessness was somewhat undercut by the words that echoed through everyone's head at the mention of his name. As the phrase 'The Enigmatic Artificer' played through her mind a deep, almost inhuman chuckle came from the corner of the room. The group turned to where Crawler's head rose to poked out through one of the holes he had torn in the floor. Even the decadently oversized room would have been too much for his bulk, leaving him to make do with the basement, popping up through the occasional holes like a gopher with the attitude of an excited dog.

    "Scared?" He said, his voice rumbling through the room. "Really?"

    "I'd have to agree." Shatterbird said, pulling a page from the coffee table. It was a printout from the live stream of the Ungodly Hour. Apeiron posed on top of a stack of containers, glowing with red fibers and multicolored patterns across his skin while roaring at the sky. The particular shot was mid transformation, capturing a point where his body has just begun to shift to his monstrous form.

    "That doesn't mean anything." Cherish objected.

    "Perhaps." Shatterbird said. "Or perhaps you're so eager to settle things with your brother that you're willing to take some creative liberties with your report. And while I'm sure you would never do anything to endanger the team, I can't help but be a little skeptical."

    Cherish narrowed her eyes. "I don't need to make things up. Apeiron isn't the hardened cape everyone's making him out to be. He's an emotional mess hiding behind good publicity. The city needs a big bad cape to cover for their own fuckups, so they shoved Apeiron into that role and he's gone along with it. That's why he's hiding away and trying to get everyone to leave him alone. It's the same with his team, no initiative, just a bunch of followers sulking in the dark."

    "Quite the strong claim." Jack said, shaking the newspaper in his hand again and making a show of reading it. It was clearly pageantry, designed to get under Cherish's skin and the girl knew it. "That was a very public debut for a team that doesn't want attention."

    "You don't need to take my word for it-" Cherish protested.

    "Good." Replied Shatterbird, speaking over her. Cherish frowned and moved to the assembled documents, digging out a page covered in text.

    "Here. You can see it in his exchange with Bakuda. Lots of big words and strong stances backed up by his presentation power…" Mimi could see Shatterbird tense at the reference to his ability. Apeiron's effortless beauty and corresponding media stardom had been a sore point for the cape. One of her sore points, anyway. "But it was all bluster. He wasn't willing to sacrifice anything. The whole thing was a bluff to track the ABB." She dropped the page and shuffled through the other documents, grabbing clippings and printouts of stories from the attacks.

    "Look, he said he'd only go after Bakuda and March, then spent half the fight dealing with foot soldiers and protecting people. While using non-lethal weapons. Despite everything he presented himself as, he doesn't have the conviction to let anyone actually die." She explained.

    "I suppose so." Jack said thoughtfully, folding his newspaper and leaning back with a smile on his face. "And it was such a nice speech. Standing in rivers of blood, such a turn of phrase that."

    Cherish smiled at Jack's words. "The conviction was an act, like everything else. Meant to keep people from trying to force his hand or hold leverage over him. He doesn't want people to know he cares about things because he's afraid it will be used against him."

    "I must say, you're rather confident for someone who only spent, what was it, three days in the city? Especially considering you couldn't even locate Apeiron most of the time." Shatterbird leaned back and spread her arms across the back of the luxury couch as she gave Cherish a critical look.

    "Bakuda was off the map as well, and you didn't complain about that." She said with a sneer.

    "Bonesaw did." Mimi said before glancing back at her comic, ignoring the huff Cherish let off in response.

    "There are powers and technology that can hide people, even from me. Nobody expected something like this to be easy, and I was able to find everyone else just fine." She replied.

    That 'everyone else' included Elle. For Mimi that meant more than she could put into words. Those times at the asylum when they were both having good days and got to spend some time together, they were precious moments to her. Tiny gems of happiness scattered in a world of oblivion.

    Times with no fire. Long, long periods where she couldn't feel the flame. The doctors at that place, they said she needed to learn to do without it. That it altered her brain chemistry, and not in a good way. That she couldn't rely on the flames to keep the clawing gray thoughts out of her head. That she had to deal with them herself.

    They didn't know how hard it was. What it was like living in that cold, dead state, haunted by every mistake and harsh memory that you couldn't keep out of your head. The therapy, the drugs, the mental techniques, all that work was like trying to empty the ocean with a sieve. How weeks, months of effort could be torn down with a single bad day.

    Elle knew. She knew what it was like to live with something you couldn't control. It wasn't her fault when she went to her bad place and started pulling nightmares into reality, just like it wasn't Mimi's fault when she needed the fire to cope, even if it could take her past coping, to the kind of places that would haunt her during those cold, gray moments.

    But they had escaped together! Separated and isolated from each other's company, but Elle had grown in their time apart. She had heard about it, the descriptions of the wonderful things that Elle had been able to create. She wished she could have seen it, but the only footage of her from the past week was the fight between Elle's new team and Uber and Leet.

    That hadn't gone well.

    Focused on Apeiron, the world had mostly forgotten those two villains. Overlooking the power and brutality they could bring to bear. It was almost the kind of thing that would be tempting, as a candidate for the open spot on the team. Jack would have loved to pit the pair against each other, but it wasn't likely. Cherish hadn't been able to find them either, meaning they were either hiding like Bakuda or had fled the city.

    Shame. It would have been nice, getting back at them, either freely or during her chance to conduct their trial. The flames in the fireplace flared in response to Mimi's thoughts on the matter, drawing a brief moment of attention from the rest of the group. She took the opportunity to put down her comic and turn towards the conversation. It was getting into the serious elements of the discussion, and she didn't want to be left out.

    "I did get a full read on your buried girl." Cherish explained to Crawler. "She's holding out hope, all the Travelers are, but it's pinned to Apeiron. They find out that hope is misplaced, ruined, or squandered and it's all going to come crashing down. They'll break."

    A rumbling sound came from Crawlers throat, probably his version of a hum of consideration. With his position and perch, it practically made the house shake around him.

    "It's the same with the Butcher." She continued. "She's after something, and she's desperate. Same thing with Uppercrust, and every Case 53 who's in or on their way to the city."

    Jack grinned and turned to the corner of the room. "It must have been so good to hear about your old friend, right Alan?" The sudden spastic movement from Mannequin's previously frozen form almost caused Mimi to flinch. The man pulled himself forward with unnatural smoothness, towering up to his near nine-foot height and crossed the distance between him and Jack in two exaggerated strides.

    Jack just glanced up with an amused expression on his face. "And I do thank you for restraining your impulses while escorting our dear Cherish on her fact-finding mission. I know that finding him in a civilian hotel must have presented a tempting target, but it wouldn't have done to give away the game."

    Mannequin's head tilted to the side and shook slightly as his body assumed a threatening posture.

    "Of course, it's best to avoid a repeat of your last encounter in Houston." Jack tutted comedically. "All that work to track him down, only to end up impotently attacking a forcefield cocoon before sulking off." He smiled as he continued. "Though I suppose getting to slaughter Uppercrust's assistants while he cowered behind impenetrable barriers counted for something?"

    There was a clicking sound as Mannequin's head continued to tilt, reaching an angle that wouldn't have been possible on a normal human, then suddenly springing back. As he turned and stalked back towards his corner he waved a hand towards a sideboard, causing a blade to extend and bite into the wood. Rather than a clean cut it sent up a plume of sawdust with the sound of a high-speed saw. Having made whatever point he intended to, he slumped back down, still as a statue and effectively dead to the world.

    From what Mimi understood, Uppercrust had been Mannequin's white whale for as long as he'd been a member of the Slaughterhouse Nine. He stood as the perfect combination of Rogue, tinker, and societal investment, everything Mannequin devoted himself to hunting down. The connection the two of them had shared prior to him becoming Mannequin only made him more determined in his quest.

    For Mannequin, it was personal, and there was a lot of that amongst that group. Mannequin had Uppercrust. She had Elle. Cherish had her brother. Even Crawler had the prospect of something that could actually challenge and potentially harm him.

    For the others it wasn't as cut and dry, but everyone had something drawing them to Brockton Bay. The discussion was ostensibly about whether they should go or not, but from what Mimi could tell that wasn't really a serious question. The meeting provided an excuse for Jack to showboat, to weigh everyone's requests and justifications before making the final call, but the group was already too committed. They had crossed three states in a near straight line with Bonesaw picking up everything she imagined would help. Additionally, Cherish had been dispatched right after the Ungodly Hour to scout the city. If there was anything that would have caused them to turn back, it would have come up by now. Instead, they were moving forward, even as Jack maintained the pretext of considering their options.

    "Apeiron is a linchpin, a keystone for their hope." Cherish said, using one of Jack's favorite terms. He made a show of considering her point, but Mimi knew it was probably him enjoying the fact that she was directly pandering to his ideology than the reference itself. "He gets taken out, broken down, or just diverted and all that hope comes tumbling down. It'll turn to despair, anger, grief, you name it."

    "Rather an ambitious suggestion." Shatterbird said. "Considering who you're talking about bringing down."

    "Apeiron isn't invincible. The world saw that. He survived by the skin of his teeth and the incompetence of the ABB. We're better than that." Cherish declared with an air of pure arrogance.

    "Clearly." Said Jack. "Any cape purported to be invincible will be prone to overlooking their own weaknesses. Apeiron may have learned a harsh lesson, but experiences like that can be double edged swords." A flick of a knife caused a scratch to appear on one of Shatterbird's printouts showing Apeiron bloody on the ground. "He will be aware of the possibility of such an attack repeating itself. Perhaps overly focused, to the detriment of other areas. Shoring up obvious areas while leaving gaps in his armor unaddressed."

    "Like mental effects." Cherish agreed emphatically while subtly gesturing to herself. "And whatever Bonesaw can come up with."

    "Oh, I've got lots of stuff!" A cheerful voice called from the direction of the kitchen. There was the sound of scuttling, equipment being stored and tasks handed off to spiders, before Bonesaw emerged through the swinging door, wiping her hands on her apron. The Siberian trailed behind her with the rear taken up by the considerably less elegant movements of Murder Rat.

    The fused cape was continuing to degrade even beyond the point that necessitated her replacement as a member of the team. Her status as an actual member was a bit nebulous, but she had served as an adequate replacement for Chuckles for a time. At this point, even with Bonesaw's constant maintenance, it was clear the thing was just cannon fodder, rather than the real asset it had been sold as. The tests they had put it through had been mostly an indulgence for Bonesaw, giving her a chance to play with her new toy, at least until the toy had worn out.

    The groans of less worn-out toys could be heard from the kitchen, spilling over to the house's three car garage. Handy for the size of truck needed to transport Crawler with enough space for storage of Bonesaw's projects.

    "Finished already?" Jack asked with an air of fatherly concern.

    She shook her head. "Not yet, but things need time to settle and start to heal." A wide grin spread on her face. "I've got so many surprises to show Apeiron."

    "I'm sure he'll be suitably impressed." Jack said, causing Bonesaw to beam in response. "That is, if we decide to visit Brockton Bay."

    The girl put on an exaggerated pout. "Why wouldn't we? After everything I've got ready, and what Cherish said-"

    "If she's telling the truth." Shatterbird cut in.

    Cherish gave her an ugly look, though not nearly as ugly as the portions of her tattoo that were still visible. "I'm sorry that you can't independently verify aspects of my power to your own satisfaction."

    "Oh, I could!" Bonesaw said, bouncing on the toes of her feet. "I've got all kinds of ways we can do it, and it will barely require any brain surgery."

    Cherish shifted slightly away from the girl, though that might have been related to the Siberian crouching down to dote on her again. Jack let out a low chuckle at the sight before interjecting.

    "I don't believe that will be necessary." He said. "Cherish has proven herself reliable in the assessments derived from her power, and was even good enough to own up to her failings with respect to the location of certain individuals." The girl made a show of not being bothered by the backhanded compliment. "I believe we have enough to work with, even accounting for any little embellishments she might have been prone to."

    "So, we're going?" Bonesaw asked.

    "That remains to be seen." The girl put on a show of pouting, but Jack waved her off. "As tempting an opportunity as this situation presents, it must be approached with caution. We've seen what happens to those who underestimate Apeiron's abilities."

    "Yes!" Crawler rumbled. Mimi could hear his claws scrape on the cement floor of the basement. "We did."

    "As was demonstrated, we will be looking at a greater amount of tinker tech than we have even countered before." Jack lectured. There was a slight movement from the corner as Mannequin aligned his head towards the conversation.

    "Tinker tech." Shatterbird said with derision. "We know how that will go."

    "Coming around from your earlier concerns?" Jack asked.

    "I've got plenty of concerns, but technology isn't one of them." She lifted a page showing the giant robot from the Ungodly Hour tackling Lung. There was a rattling as a shard of glass pierced it, carrying it to the wall where other pictures of Apeiron's technology were posted. "I've brought down bigger tinker projects than that, even against specific attempts at countermeasures. We can take technology out of the equation, but we still have plenty of other concerns. Apeiron isn't helpless after he loses his equipment."

    "Oh, I've been working on that. Hatchetface is field ready, and I've been looking into other options. There's so much that we can show off once we get to Brockton Bay." Bonesaw said as she hurried to Shatterbird's side. "Plus, we know what can hurt him, right?"

    Behind her the Siberian crawled towards the table with a predatory smile on her face. She reached past Bonesaw and Shatterbird to sink a claw into the chest of one of Apeiron's pictures. The finger punched through the paper into the table itself, leaving a hole in the wood as she raised her hand with the page impaled on her finger. She held it aloft for a moment, then shook her hand, easily shredding the paper into confetti.

    Shatterbird looked at the Siberian and nodded, but didn't relax until she retreated to the other side of Bonesaw. "You'll still need to pin him down. Not that easy." She said as she looked over her assembled printouts and reports.

    "We've dealt with movers before." Mimi called from her place by the fire. "Even people who tried to run."

    Like she had considered doing on occasion. As if the kill order didn't make that impossible, even without considering what the Nine would do to her. With a thought and a pulse of her power the fireplace flared. Instantly, she felt those kinds of thoughts leaving her mind, freeing her attention to be devoted back to the discussion.

    "Exactly." Cherish said. "I'll grant you, if Apeiron was actually as hard as he tries to make himself seem this could have gotten messy, but he's not. Threaten the city, his team, or just Khepri and he'll come running. Engagement on our terms, not his."

    "Him and his team." Shatterbird shuffled out pictures of the individual members of the Celestial Forge. Her eyes lingered on a picture of Survey for a moment before moving it to the bottom of the stack. "Even if they're as meek as Cherish insists, their abilities are still unknown."

    "But that's what makes it fun!" Bonesaw exclaimed, snatching a picture of the red mink creature. "Just imagine what it will be like to get ahold of one of them."

    "Bonesaw, while your enthusiasm is appreciated, capture and experimentation are not quite the priority for the rest or the team." There was a scraping sound that drew Jack's eyes back to Mannequin. A ragged letter U had been carved into the wall next to him while he looked at Jack with his eyeless face. "With some exceptions, of course."

    "The stranger will be a problem. They always are." Shatterbird said.

    "We can counter it." Bonesaw whined. "The Protectorate has strategies in place already. You just need a parahuman who's resistant to her power, and I have two!" Bonesaw paused and looked towards the kitchen. "Well, two and a half."

    "Still a delicate matter." Jack said. "And a difficult one."

    "If it were easy it would be meaningless." Cherish said. "This is a chance to make a major impact, something that will live in history."

    It was more appealing to Jack's ego, and he knew it. Still, that didn't mean it wouldn't work. Jack let out a condescending chuckle in response. "So eager to make an impact for your debut with the Nine? That proud of the position that you nominated yourself for?"

    Cherish tensed. "I finished the trials. Earned my place." She said.

    There was a buzzing sensation in Mimi's limbs. Possibly that second nervous system Bonesaw had put in to fool Cherish's power. The girl was doing something. Probably thought she was being subtle. Mimi wondered if she should do something, play along in some way? No, she didn't get invested in that kind of thing. Better to leave the acting to Jack and Bonesaw for whatever they were planning.

    Jack looked at her, then nodded in acknowledgement. Turning to the assembled documents, his eyes darted from picture to picture.

    "The Nine does require a new member, and I must admit, there is no shortage of candidates in Brockton Bay." He said. "Shatterbird, I trust you have some thoughts on the matter?"

    She nodded, looking back to the collection of printouts and news clippings. "Setting aside those who have already made their selection…" Her eyes jumped from Cherish to Crawler and then over to Mimi. Mimi smiled at her, feeling the burning conviction in her choice.

    There was a slight tinkling sound as more glass shards jumped over the table, snatching up a trio of documents. For Cherish, a picture of Regent in the aftermath of Bakuda's firebombs. For Mimi, a still frame of Elle running for her life from Uber and Leet's streamed attack. For Crawler there was no picture of the buried girl. Instead, a news article from New York was posted to the wall. Forty disappearances in a single night.

    Mimi looked over at the picture, seeing the fear in Elle's face as she desperately fled. Not the one she would have chosen, but it was deliberate. A dig from Shatterbird at the members of the team who were overly committed to their choices.

    "And assuming Bonesaw is still committed to her first choice…?" Shatterbird asked as another shard pierced a printout showing a headshot of a girl in a hooded white robe that concealed most of her face. Wisps of curly brown hair, a scattering of freckles, and doe-like eyes could be made out under the concealment of her costume.

    Bonesaw bit her lip and shifted from side to side as she looked at the picture. "Probably? I mean, there's just so much to choose from, but hearing about her trapped in master containment is just so sad. Can you imagine how lonely she is?" She asked, her eyes sparkling.

    "So probably?" Shatterbird asked with a slight smile on her face. The page floated over to embed itself in the wall next to the others. It wasn't cast off with the derision applied to the previous pages, but Mimi noticed the shard pinning it to the wall was embedded directly between Panacea's eyes.

    "No need for a final selection at this point." Jack assured her. "And that's assuming we decide to visit in the first place."

    Bonesaw's mood immediately fell, but Mimi was relatively certain it was just posturing. As Jack rose to his feet and approached the table she shifted forward, further away from the fire, to get a better view.

    "So, who else do we have?" He asked, looking over the selection.

    "Well, to start with the most obvious?" Shatterbird lifted a picture of Apeiron. "I'm doubtful for any long-term prospect with the group, unless he's as unstable as Cherish believes him to be."

    "He is." She restated firmly. Shatterbird completely ignored her as she continued.

    "It would be useful to involve him in the games, make sure he's properly occupied and entangled, but it could just as well be a waste of someone's selection." Jack nodded as she shuffled through more papers. "Khepri is another option, to nearly the same effect of occupying Apeiron." She shifted to a page showing Khepri's new costume in glorious Egyptian gold. Once again, there was a slight pause as she looked over Apeiron's work, with Cherish taking the opportunity to jump in.

    "She's even less stable than Apeiron. A worm coasting on drive and determination that's collapsing under her. She wouldn't make it through the tests." She stated plainly.

    "Most people don't, though some can surprise us." Jack said, looking at Cherish. She elected not to respond to the implication.

    Shatterbird turned back to the table. "There is, of course, Mannequin's choice." The sheet showed Uppercrust attending a press event in Brockton Bay with someone who looked important. Or at least someone who seemed like he considered himself important. Maybe the mayor.

    "A pipe dream." Jack said in a condescending tone. A rapping sound echoed through the room as Mannequin tapped the U he had carved into the wall. "Uppercrust would flee at the first opportunity, regardless of the leverage you were able to secure, and would leverage every resource at his disposal to accomplish that feat. While I'm sure you would have a merry time trying to break your old friend, you'd accomplish nothing by giving him a chance to run."

    Mannequin locked his blank gaze with Jack for a moment, then dropped his head like a puppet with cut strings.

    "Ah, don't be sad." Bonesaw said, rushing over to his crumpled form. "We can still get him for you. Take him alive, or as close to it, and have all kinds of fun! You can travel with your old friend again, even if he's not on the team."

    The blank face rose slightly to look at Bonesaw, then nodded slightly, causing the girl to squeal and hug his armored form. Mimi could make out babbling about teaming up with her and Panacea for parties or something like that, but she broke off her excitement as Jack cleared his throat.

    "That does leave us with the necessity of you making another choice." Jack said, turning back to Shatterbird.

    "While it's not my place to choose, the city does have a few tinkers and rogues. Two prominent rogues in the same field, which could be interesting." She held up pictures of a girl in a doll dress and mask and an empty floating dress.

    Mannequin made an uncertain gesture, then fell back into inactivity, leaving Shatterbird suspending the page with a slightly frustrated expression on her face. Bonesaw snatched them from her and looked over them with wide eyes. "Oh, it would be nice to get more artists on the team."

    "It might, but you only get one pick." Shatterbird said, taking back the pages.

    "Besides, they're not good picks." Cherish said. "Well, Garment I can't read, but Parian isn't the type to hold up under pressure." She looked around, focusing on Crawler and the Siberian. "Just more meat for the grinder." The Siberian licked a finger in response and grinned at her, causing the girl to quickly fall silent.

    "You do have the latest Butcher in town, which presents a rare opportunity." Shatterbird lifted a picture of a woman covered in bones hefting a massive gun like it weighed nothing.

    "Ah, memories." Jack said. "The Teeth, the Empire, and independent villains, all at a summit for the future of Brockton Bay. Such a shame that we missed that, we could have played up old times. I do wonder if anyone would have been foolish enough to bet on our services this time."

    "The Butcher will likely be extremely problematic, but something's different this time." Shatterbird said.

    "Can you imagine seeing her power in action?" Bonesaw said, practically vibrating in excitement. "I wonder if you can chain the connection together, or impact the hosts by damaging the brain before or after the transfer?"

    "Regardless of whether someone selects her, we will need to account for her presence." Jack said. In particular he turned to Crawler and Siberian. "I trust you understand this is something better left to Bonesaw or Mannequin?"

    The Siberian waved off Jack's concerns, turning her attention back to the collection of papers while Crawler merely chuckled. "No point." He said. "Too weak."

    "Anyway, that covered the major players, but there are some outlier possibilities." Shatterbird explained. "Candidates from the Empire, with Hookwolf possibly being a good fit. Damsel of Distress has been on our map for a while. Also, something of a dark horse, but given the combination of popularity and power, it's worth considering."

    She held up a picture of a man in a white and green costume just barely visible under the weight of countless explosions. Flashbang, the man responsible for the defining meme of Brockton's cape scene.

    Jack smiled but shook his head. "Angry husband who's been cheated on, throwing tantrums in the street. I think we can do better than that. Perhaps if we see some creativity from the man, then maybe. Otherwise, I can't see him being worth even consideration."

    Shatterbird huffed slightly and dropped the picture back to the table. "Of course, all this is pointless if we aren't actually going to the city." She looked up at Jack. "We've been effectively preparing for it since last Friday. I know where everyone stands, but if we're not going through with this we should stop wasting time and find a new target."

    The room fell silent as Jack took a contemplative pose. This was what it really came down to. Everyone could put forward their own plans and requests, but none of them had been active capes for even a fraction of Jack's career. His intuition had carried them through trials and saw them avoid disasters more times then she could count. Without his approval, they wouldn't be going.

    The seconds dragged on as Jack pondered the information in front of him, the prospects and potential that Brockton Bay presented. A chance to seize back national attention from a budding beacon of hope was exactly the kind of thing Jack would seek out, but not at the cost of the team's safety.

    Finally, after what must have been more than a full minute of consideration, he rendered his judgment.

    "We will."

    Bonesaw shrieked in joy at a pitch that made Mimi's ears hurt, but she couldn't keep a smile from her own face. She was going to see Elle again. It was everything she could hope for. Before the room could launch into discussion, Jack raised a hand and continued speaking.

    "This will be serious. Probably one of the greatest challenges we've attempted, but also the most significant. The eyes of the world are following Apeiron and Brockton Bay. They're praying for stability, but we can show them just how easily they can crumble." He looked around the room. "We will have to be careful, smart, and cautious, but I believe this can become our masterpiece. We can strip power from those who believe they have control, sow chaos in a city on the brink, and redefine the meaning of disaster. Our strike will be dynamic, brutal and elegant." A wicked smile crossed his face. "And they will never see us coming."

    77 Determination

    "Yeah, the Slaughterhouse Nine is definitely coming to Brockton Bay." I said as I finished reviewing Survey's analysis.

    Beside me, Survey nodded slightly as she performed another data sweep of available resources. "While my analysis does not support total certainty on the matter, I am prepared to extend a high degree of confidence based on police reports, social media posts, and variations in expected models of behavior."

    The police reports and social media posts were nothing like as useful as someone actually seeing a member of the Nine, but it was possible to infer activity from other data, particularly once you were looking for it.

    "The fact that they're headed in a straight line also helps." I noted Survey preparing a clarification and moved to interject. "I mean a direct route, following major roadways, not a literal straight line."

    She nodded at my statement. 'It is difficult to predict when they will arrive. Even accounting for the logistical complications of moving unobserved they would be able to arrive after less than thirty-six hours of dedicated travel. This would, however, deviate from their observed movement patterns."

    That observation was more of a cluster of probabilities stretching through Ohio and into New York. Regions colored different shades to represent level of confidence. Predictions of routes and areas with varying degrees of confidence, but nothing precise enough to actually pinpoint a location.

    The reason for slower than needed movement was easy to guess. There was a spike in violent incidents along the route. Only a few near the start held signatures that could be tied to the Slaughterhouse Nine. The rest, well, 'cause unknown' was a common sight in the reports. Often it was just a reported disappearance, and usually a delayed report at that.

    Still, it didn't seem like the typical behavior you'd see from the Slaughterhouse Nine. The Nine tended to carry out either dramatic showpieces, or completely random attacks. It was the question of whether you were an actual target, or just someone unfortunate enough to cross their path.

    This wasn't the type of incidental violence that occurred when they stumbled upon some hapless soul. The Nine were intentionally concealing themselves, or at least trying to, and they were working towards something. Some disappearances of parahumans had been reported from the area of suspected Slaughterhouse activity, but the actual number was likely much higher. Analysis of traffic flow, purchasing activity, and social media use informed as much. There was definitely a focus on capes who were inactive enough for their vanishing to go unnoticed, at least for a few days. By the time people started to worry the Nine would probably already be posed to strike.

    And it was easy to determine what they were being collected for. Thanks to Survey's comprehensive analysis I knew more about Bonesaw's work than anyone would want to. Thanks to my knowledge of medicine and cybernetics it actually went even further than that. I was able to fill in details and functions that Survey could only guess at.

    The Slaughterhouse Nine was coming to Brockton Bay, and they were preparing for something big.

    "Have you been granted any additional insight from your thinker power?" Survey asked.

    I shook my head. "I know they're interested in the city, but this feels like it's too soon. More evidence of my precognition being out of date." I focused more on my passenger's reactions. "I think I can pick out targets, points of interest, but not any kind of accurate timeline."

    "I will continue to monitor the situation. A more accurate projection should be possible as they near the city, but without direct observation or primary data sources, full precision will likely be impossible on this matter." Survey explained. Unfortunately, she couldn't just reach out with her divine senses to any phones or computers owned by the Nine without either a physical or electronic trail to follow.

    "We're bringing everyone in on this." I said, reaching out through the workshop network. Fleet had been meeting with the newly constructed Tone Titan while the Matrix was monitoring the mantic circuits currently channeling a staggering amount of power to nascent Caelondian cores. Tetra was with Garment reviewing work for both the upcoming charity event and her planned Kamui conversion. None of them were likely to have particular insights to this issue, but I made sure to keep them informed. No, for that I reached out to Tybalt.

    He appeared in a burst of flame, spear in hand, mere moments after getting the alert. As the fire cleared he looked up at me with an expectant expression.

    "Uh, no. Not yet. We need to find them first, and make sure we're ready for whatever they have planned. Can you…" I gestured towards Survey's analysis. If it was anyone else, Survey might have taken it as an insult, but in matters of war, you couldn't do better than Tybalt.

    And this was war, from both sides. As Tybalt settled in and began scrolling through the supplied data I considered the enormity of what we were dealing with.

    The Nine were not a local problem. They weren't a street gang or an ambitious tinker. They weren't the kind of problem I could manage, ignore, or kick down the road. They were a blight. A scourge on the world that had to be dealt with, preferably sooner than later.

    That raised a serious concerns. I could probably narrow down the Nine's location to a general area, less than a hundred miles. It wasn't certain, and I wouldn't be sure they were all present, but at least the less subtle members of the team would be there.

    I could move out. Right now, I could teleport to the region, open my workshop and start flooding the world with drones. It wouldn't even have to be obvious. The previous night's drone test had gone off without a hitch. Sure, we had been extremely restrained with the deployment, but monitoring of every aspect of the city and the behaviors of wider organizations showed no hint that they had been detected. I wasn't quite willing to fly them into the middle of Bakuda's hostages, but for subtle work it was a solid option.

    But it was one thing to fly drones in conservative patterns around the city. It was another to use them to sneak up on the most dangerous group of parahumans in the country. Bonesaw and… Mannequin, they were world renown tinkers for a reason. People could only guess at the range and vairety of senses Crawler possessed at this point. I was nearly certain that Shatterbird couldn't do anything against my technology, but until I completed a proper analysis of her power I had to admit that something could have slipped past.

    And then there were the wildcards. Any new members, recent recruits with unknown powers. Works by Bonesaw incorporating parahuman abilities in ways I couldn't predict. The standing mysteries of the Nine, Siberian's senses and method of interaction with the world, or the truly fringe theories about unknown powers or external support. I couldn't rule any of that out, meaning I couldn't be sure I'd be able to locate them without being detected.

    On the surface, that wasn't such a bad thing. I wouldn't be issuing a full deployment for the purposes of having a picnic. Launching an immediate assault was exactly what I would want to do, but there were problems that came with that. I didn't know enough about the Nine to guarantee victory.

    I wasn't worried about losing. Even against someone like the Siberian, assuming I couldn't just dodge past her, either my Semblance or displacer field would protect me. No, for this, victory means the complete destruction of the Nine. Missing out on a key member because they were on a pizza run or something similarly absurd was unacceptable.

    And then there was the aftermath. If I fought the Nine, when I fought the Nine, things were going to change. Every thinker monitoring the situation would realize their precognitions were wrong. It would draw attention to the obscurement effect of my anti-divination items. If people thought I wasn't predictable and wasn't stable they would go on edge, possibly do something desperate or stupid in response.

    But Jack Slash needed to die. That was paramount. It was something I couldn't leave to chance. I wanted the Nine gone, but Jack was at the top of the list. Killing him was nearly as important as keeping Taylor safe. It was a concern that dwarfed every local issue I had been juggling.

    The thing was, I had an alternative. Something that would deal with the situation effectively while not blowing my cover or exposing my anti-precog powers. Something that would ensure I could hit every member of the Nine with no chance of someone being overlooked.

    I just had to let them come to me.

    It wasn't a solution without risks, and it had a very clear cost. The Nine weren't on a relaxing drive through the country. They were killing people. They would continue to kill people until they were stopped. Waiting would mean accepting that. Knowing that people were going to die, to be maimed or broken, to have to deal with the aftermath of an encounter with members of the Nine. Be kidnapped and subjected to experimentation and modification.

    In order to wait, to maintain my cover with other factions and to ensure that I could hit the Nine as a group, I needed to accept that cost. And I knew that I could.

    Recently I hadn't paid much attention to the jar that slowly filled with coins, but there was a good reason for its existence. My mind wasn't working the way it did before I'd received my powers. The panic when I first realized what was happening resulted in me tracking every possible change, every inhuman thought and intrusive attitude. Eventually that shifted, becoming focused on negative impacts. The change was something I had accepted, the focus shifted to things that were potentially detrimental or dangerous.

    But the changes had benefits. I could make hard decisions, accept sacrifices, and push on through monstrous circumstances. Really, my reluctance wasn't related to not being able to tolerate those things, it was that I shouldn't have to. I had enough power that if I acted freely I should be able to find a solution that didn't accept that horrible cost. For me there shouldn't be such a thing as a lose-lose situation because I didn't play by the same rulebook as the rest of the world.

    Unfortunately, this was a situation where massive displays of power wouldn't resolve things. I could deal with any individual problem, but I wasn't the only party in play. Running off half-cocked might feel great…

    No, it wouldn't. It would be good to be able to act, but I needed to remember what I was planning. That was another thing. Another modification to my mind. Katsujinken. The life-giving fist. Killing the Slaughterhouse Nine should be a righteous endeavor, something to be proud of, but even if I could accept it, even if I could accept that there was no peaceful resolution for this situation, I couldn't see it as a victory. A necessity, maybe, but not anything glorious. I was committing to death, and that wasn't something that I should be proud of. Any deviation would cause more death, and even the ideal solution would still see people killed. Death was an intrinsic aspect of dealing with monsters of this caliber.

    The drive to address things quickly wasn't out of personal vindication, it was to minimize death. I could do it, but it would just create more problems in the long run. Could I solve those? Probably, but every careless step would create more ripples, more unpredictable reactions. More death.

    Moving when I was ready, when things were optimally aligned, that was the smart decision. There would be a cost in the short term, but it wasn't on me. I was no more responsible for the people the Slaughterhouse Nine killed than I was responsible for people who died from diseases or injuries that my medical technology could cure. Jack represented a threat to existence itself. Until that was dealt with I couldn't be cavalier about my impact on the world.

    The Vehicles constellation missed a connection as I considered things further. The delay also meant I would be dealing with the Nine at their strongest, when they thought they could handle the fight. Bonesaw was no doubt putting together horrific monstrosities with the intention of countering me and my team. Jack would have come up with some kind of threat or hostage situation to weaken my resolve. They would have contingencies and fallback plans and probably a spite-based parting shot readied in case I got the upper hand. I would be fighting absolutely everything the Slaughterhouse Nine could bring to bear.

    I smiled at that. It was amusing that, a week ago, that would have been a frightening prospect. Now, my capabilities had grown so far beyond anyone's ability to predict, it practically counted as an opportunity.

    I watched as Tybalt worked through Survey's analysis, offering commentary or insights into potential objectives and strategies. He fell into the role of tactical advisor as easily as I approached a new piece of technology, only with an even more powerful divine connection. He marked a group of potential interception points on the map and turned to me, meowing a question.

    "No." I said calmly. "Jack and the Slaughterhouse Nine are our highest priority targets. We're taking no chances here. Let them commit to their attack, and then we wipe them out, all at once."

    Survey nodded, but brought up accounts of previous cities targeted by the Nine. "The Slaughterhouse Nine does not engage in open, public confrontation unless field conditions are heavily aligned in their favor. This is primarily accomplished by targeting civil centers in the aftermath of recent disasters and further compromising them through the widespread use of Shaterbird's power, but generally speaking additional countermeasures are deployed to compromise local responses. These typically involve biological agents deployed by Bonesaw, but can be as mundane as an extensive campaign of terror or hostage taking. It is almost certain that they will attempt a similar course of action in Brockton Bay."

    "We won't let them." I said, pulling up the design of the stealth drone. "They thrive in secrecy. We won't let them have any secrets. Whatever it takes, scrying, surveillance, or divination, they do not get a foothold in this city." I turned to Survey. "I need you to do whatever you need to gather information on the Nine. Every member, every detail or their power, every aspect of their history. I don't care how trivial the information seems, we let nothing slip. Whatever you need to do, whatever resources you require, they're yours. I need you to drag them into the light."

    Survey was looking at me with a wide-eyed expression, one I had never seen on her humanoid form before. She took a breath that I knew was unnecessary and nodded while blinking frantically. "Understood." She said in a small voice. I could feel her program spin up, stretching itself like never before. "I am engaging all available methods and will provide you with a progress report, and a list of potential information gathering methods." She took another set of short breaths as she dropped her eyes to the floor, a ghost of a smile on her face.

    "We'll be relying on that information to prepare." I explained before turning to Tybalt. "This is our priority now. Not generic improvements or general training. Counter strategies and counter tech. When the Nine arrive, I don't want it to even count as a fight."

    Survey made a delicate sound, possibly her attempt at clearing her throat. "Yes?" I asked, turning back to her.

    "There has been significant restriction on deployable technology and equipment." Survey explained cautiously. "Even prior to your conflict with Lung entire avenues of research were restricted to the workshop or left completely fallow. Given the priority placed on this mission, I wish to clarify, what assets are we permitted to deploy against the Slaughterhouse Nine?"

    I smiled, and felt a wicked edge to my grin. "Whatever it takes." I stated plainly.

    Survey blinked. "You are rescinding all restrictions? Even in the face of potential reactions from third parties?"

    "For something like this? Absolutely. I don't want to just defeat the Nine. I don't want this to be close enough to even be considered a fight. I want an offensive that leaves them no hope for escape, much less victory. I want them to lose without even understanding what they are up against and for their destruction to serve as a warning for any who would follow in their footsteps. I want to destroy the Nine as a concept. If that means the Protectorate looks at what I brought to bear and decides their only option is launching an S-Class response that involves opening the Birdcage, canceling kill orders, and making a deal with Nilbog, then so be it. We will deal with that, but no matter what, no matter the cost, Jack does not walk away from this. Not this time."

    I took a breath at the end of my rant and found Survey looking past me. Following her eyes, I found Tybalt gazing up at me with an expression of wonder and excitement that seemed to cause his eyes to take up three quarters of his face. He sniffed and meowed a statement that was a little hard to translate from Felyne, but basically had the same intention as 'Hell Yeah!'.

    And suddenly I was feeling very self-conscious. It was one of the wonders of what my powers did to my mindset. I could bounce between absolute conviction against world-ending threat to personal embarrassment in half of a heartbeat. At least I had the rest of my mental powers keeping me from spiraling down into self-hatred. Mental Fortress had really come just in time.

    "This situation will require careful monitoring and preparation. As previously stated, we likely have several days before they will be able to reach the city. Arrangements for their attack may be deployed in advance, but it is likely they will verify earlier intelligence before committing to a course of action." Survey explained.

    I nodded. "This is a priority, but not our only priority. We maintain previous commitments and expected behaviors to avoid tipping them off." I paused as I considered the reactions of my passenger. "There's something else. We… we have to keep this from Aisha."

    "Does your power indicate she is a security risk?" Survey asked.

    I furrowed my brow. "I'm not… no. Not specifically, but there's something. It… it extends to every parahuman. There's a risk in letting any of them know that we're preparing."

    Survey pulled up sets of historic data from the Nine's attacks. "It has been theorized that there is an unknown aspect to the Slaughterhouse Nine's actions. While this theory has been officially dismissed by Protectorate analysis, a full assessment of the group's previous activities indicates an inordinate number of statistically anomalies and unlikely events aligning in their favor. It is highly probable that they are benefiting from an unknown parahuman effect or the assistance of a third party, though these options are not mutually exclusive."

    "Power." I said, reviewing my passenger's reactions. "I'm sure of it. Something to do with Jack. Probably related to why he's so dangerous. Until we figure this out, we can't let any details reach any parahuman." I considered the matchups again. "Aisha would be safe while behind the curtain, but going outside, she'd be compromised." I felt bad enough about the amount of time she was spending in my workshop. I definitely wasn't going to do something that would see her confined until this situation was done with.

    "While information controls will provide a short-term solution, this may provide opportunity for additional study of subtle parahuman effects." She pulled herself up slightly as she continued. "Particularly with our upcoming deployment into the exploration of passenger space."

    I grinned at that. Survey had finished transferring an acceptably scaled down copy of herself through the QEC link to Fleet's carrier the previous night. With a version of her 'present' within the environment she had spent the night ensuring the scanning and exploration equipment was up to her standards as Fleet and the Matrix made their final adjustments to the ship.

    "It will be interesting to see what we can learn from that." I agreed.

    "Then you are prepared to attend the commissioning?" She asked with a slightly leading tone.

    "I guess?" I said. "I'm not sure if I see the point, but if it's important to you-"

    "It is." She said immediately. "And Fleet and the Matrix have made a strong case for it. Given the metaphysical nature of our physical forms, ritual has a significance that cannot be precisely quantified. It is appropriate for you to be the one to handle the launch."

    To me it still seemed like a novelty, but I was prepared to indulge the three of them. Copies of Fleet, Survey, and the Matrix were preparing to launch a largely unsupervised and unsupported expedition to study the foundational mechanics behind powers. It was the least I could do to give them a proper sendoff.

    Normally, a QEC wouldn't have the bandwidth to support a fully immersive VR projection, but the attempts to transfer Survey through the link had led to some rather dramatic innovations in data compression technology. I was able to fully project through the system with room to spare. Lying back in my interface throne I suddenly found myself on the bridge of the passenger space carrier.

    "Officer on deck." Fleet called. An array of remote drones immediately rose into what was not quite a mock salute that clearly indicated the influence Tybalt had been having on Fleet. The entire room had more presence than should have been possible with just a data link.

    Because it wasn't just a data link. The upgrades had been completely rolling out the first fully operational spiritron computing system. I was still interfacing through a quantum entanglement communicator to a borderline impossible alternate universe, but the system handling the interface was something more. More than even what a theoretical spiritron computer could do. It was hybridization of advanced cybertonian processing with photonic crystals working in a spiritual medium. I may have been remotely operating an android avatar through a data link, but the strength of the system made it seem like I was actually there. And, with the metaphysical weight behind it, in a lot of ways, I actually was.

    "At ease." I called out to the room and watched as the assembled drones fell into a slightly more relaxed stance.

    The projection process had come so fast I barely had time to get my bearings. I took a moment to examine things, both through data streams and what aspects of my senses extended through the projection. The ship itself was massive, with the command station being largely superfluous. Well, it would have been, except the Matrix had been able to project their capacity for divine craftsmanship even through the low-tier nanobots that had been constructed by the motoroid's omni-tool. Divine craftsmanship had a symbolic aspect to it. Shape and form had meaning, so building a place for command in the shape of places for command granted benefits that wouldn't be possible if things were just automated through a central computer core.

    I mean, they still had the central computer core with high levels of automation, it was just supplemented by a divinely crafted bridge. The Fleet running the ship was essentially the same as the Fleet who was acting as captain, but the arbitrary distinction had some significance that was relevant to the Matrix's work.

    The entirety of the 'crew' was just duplicates of Fleet, Survey, or the Matrix. Well, referring to them as duplicates really only applied to Fleet. Survey had adopted her usual tactic of running a central process and splitting focus between the points that needed her attention. For the Matrix they had never really considered themselves a singular entity so the idea of duplicate instances of their existence just didn't make sense. You didn't have another Matrix, you just had more of the Matrix.

    Fleet's approach to drones took things in a very different direction from the other two. The copied loaded onto the humanoid drones manning the ship, the exploratory craft filling the launch bays, and even the disposable probes ready to be launched were all distinct version of his own program, each subtly optimized for a specific purpose based on his own experience with management of scaled down vehicle fleets. They were all Fleet, but they were also individuals.

    I noted a failed connection to the Toolkits constellation as I surveyed the room. The closest thing to a primary version of Fleet was the 'captain'. The original iteration of Fleet's body, standing in the center of the bridge. I looked over at my rebuilt motoroid where it stood flanked by a hologram of Survey and a mass of the Matrix's nanobots, assembled into a humanoid shape.

    There was a subtle difference from how they appeared in the Workshop, evidence that Tybalt hadn't been the only influence at play. I could see Garment's hand in the designs of the cape that had been added to Fleet's motoroid body as well as alterations in the appearance of Survey and the Matrix. In fact, I could see my own uniform design powers at work as well, meaning previous sets of duplicates had a hand in things as well.

    As for the source of that influence, well, it had to do with the tech base that was used to upgrade the carrier following the completion of Survey's transfer. It's funny, you drop the complete technology base of Star Trek, with every exploitable element of it ready to use, on a trio of A.I.s that are working to design and launch their own ship and it's pretty much inevitable that you'll end up influencing things. Access to the technology of my power had created three Star Trek nerds from people who had never watched a single episode of the show.

    It probably wasn't that bad, but there was a lot of that technology integrated into the ship, and the selected colors of red, blue, and gold for Fleet, Survey, and the Matrix respectively didn't help. Still, as much as I was here to support them, this was their project, their ship.

    Though I still wasn't sure about the name.

    I approached the command chair, another stylistic element included for symbolic purposes, and nodded to Fleet. "I'm proud of what you've accomplished here. It's been a long time coming, but it's good to see you get underway."

    Actually, it had been less than three days since the Motoroid reconstructed itself, but three days of nanobot assembly supplemented by what resource and crafting speed powers could be transferred through the link had created a monster of a ship. Of course, considering the scale of what was in front of them, that was a complete necessity.

    The motoroid nodded its head. Well, its helmet, but it was perfectly capable of functioning in robot mode. "Thank you for attending the launch. It means a lot to us."

    "Yes." I said. "Just to be clear, I'm not sure there will be any discernible benefit to doing this."

    The Matrix took a small step forward. "Currently, this is a construct. A largely improvised construct built from concessions and sub-par nanobots, but with a proper launch it will become a ship. That distinction is important with respect to future modifications and enhancement."

    I nodded, conceding the point. The Matrix was capable of near perfect atomic scale assembly, but the only supernatural aspects of their crafting came from the aspect of my demigod powers that had been shared with them. For me, those skills had a tendency to blend with my other divine and quality powers, but for the Matrix they were everything. They had put more effort into optimizing divine crafting than I had ever needed to bother with. It was an art that occasionally led to concessions like this.

    "On that note, how are we getting out there?" The bow of the ship was miles away. I knew the internal transport systems would be impractical, and taking a ship to the launch of a ship seemed overly silly. We could have just loaded into new avatars near the bow, but that went against the ritual elements that were being put forward here.

    Fleet inclined his head, then spoke aloud even as he directly accessed the internal data network. "Fleet to main transporter. Three to beam out."

    Of course. The shimmering white glow spread over us as our bodies were disassembled and reconstructed outside the ship. The enhancements of spiritron computing allowed me to maintain contact with my avatar even through the subspace transfer. Beyond the bounds of the ship Survey's hologram was being maintained by a small mass field projector embedded inside her form.

    We had materialized on an extension of the structural scaffolding in front of the bow of the ship. Looking up at the carrier, it seemed almost comical to refer to something that size as a 'ship'. It was more like a geological feature. It was practically a geographic feature. I'd seen smaller mountains. Hell, I owned one. Actually, you would be hard pressed to find a LARGER mountain.

    Turning around to look out at passenger space with my own eyes, more or less, I could see why that kind of scale was necessary. The manifestation of the individual passengers hung in the writhing void, exchanging pulses of unbelievable power. At the moment we couldn't tell if it was a communication method or some kind of circulatory system.

    The scale was staggering, even in comparison to the ship, and not just in size. There were so many passengers. Survey had only been able to guess at their number, but it exceeded even the most generous estimates for the parahuman population of Earth Bet. That little fact spoke to a much broader multiverse than anyone else had dealt with, and now that task had fallen to Fleet, Survey, and the Matrix. Strong A.I.s dealing with a challenge that stood well beyond human capacity.

    I turned to Fleet and smiled. "You're sure about this?" I asked one last time.

    He nodded. "Even if there are no mechanical benefits, it is traditional. And we are glad to have you do the honors."

    The Matrix's human form stepped forward and handed me a large glass bottle. It wasn't 'real', but replicator technology had been easy enough to build. The fact that the exact molecular pattern for champaign had been considerably easier to transfer than Survey's program was something nobody felt like bringing up.

    I hefted the bottle, nodded to each of my A.I.s, and swung it into the bow of the ship. It shattered into fragments, sending champagne foam spraying across a proportionally miniscule section of the vessel hull.

    And with that, the CFS Final Frontier was launched.

    The Matrix had been right. There was something different about the ship. Specifically, she was a ship now, a proper vessel with a captain, crew, and name. I could feel the difference on a spiritual level. Beyond a change in designation, I wasn't sure what actual difference it would make, but I could tell the Matrix was happy with the change.

    Another shimmer covered us as we were beamed back to the bridge. Engines of titanic power began charging up and multiple varieties of advanced physics drives were powered. The space of this dimension barely obeyed physics, so the general consensus was that they shouldn't bother to either. It would be interesting to see how a broad array of FTL systems fared against a borderline non-Euclidean environment, but I was confident they could handle it.

    "Tradition would dictate a celebratory event following the launch, but that has been deemed superfluous." Survey stated. "Though one can certainly be arranged if you wish."

    "No, it's fine." I looked over the officers and 'crew' of the ship. "I'm glad I could see you off, and will always be available if you need me, but I have other matters to deal with."

    "I have been in contact with my alternate iterations in the workshop." Survey said. "With regards to present concerns, there is the potential of locating specific passengers based on a study of their abilities and our ongoing mapping efforts of this space. The location of the Slaughterhouse Nine's passengers could provide vital intelligence on the nature of their powers, or even present the potential to interfere with their abilities."

    Well, if there was ever something that would freak capes out beyond measure, attacking their powers from the other side would do it. "It's an interesting possibility, but we should focus on building our understanding of the mechanics of powers before we attempt any offensive option." I looked out the bridge window to the roiling chaos of passenger space. "The ship is as powerful as we can make it with available resources and skills, but don't take unnecessary risks. This is primarily a research mission."

    "Understood." Said Fleet as the motorid swept its cape back. The rest of the drones saluted again in a way that still made me feel self-conscious. Still, I returned the gesture before disconnecting from the link.

    I really hoped that my android body didn't just collapse in front of everyone on the bridge. That would definitely have diminished the air of majesty they were working so hard to maintain. A check through my neural link confirmed that I had not collapsed like a sack of potatoes. I was, however, being borne with excessive ceremony towards a set of dedicated and over-designed quarters where the 'me' android was being interred until my next visit.

    Honestly, between Tybalt, Garment, and the occasional suggestion from Tetra it had gotten to the point where I wasn't sure how much of the nonsense I should be blaming on my duplicates' direct actions, and how much was just down to them being a bad influence. The fact that it was technically me being the bad influence didn't make me feel any better about the situation.

    "Thank you for attending to the ceremony." Survey said as I rose from the interface throne. Tybalt nodded while looking overly innocent, as if he most certainly hadn't made any suggestions about the operational structure of the ship.

    "I was happy to." I said. "And it might help against the Nine, so that's always a plus"

    "Passenger mapping has the potential to assist in a great deal of conflicts. However, you are correct that we do not yet know what response such action could evoke. It would be prudent to focus our efforts on the parahumans themselves." She said. I noted as she interfaced and exchanged data with her other iteration in passenger space. The slight air of one-upmanship reminded me of her first split from the computer core, following her gaining a body.

    All the iterations were still Survey, with her soul providing continuity of self, but she hadn't taken to it as well as Fleet. The Matrix hadn't taken to it either, but they didn't really have a specific self to have continuity of, just a dispersed and constantly developing hivemind.

    "It will be good to do some preliminary work, but we'll be developing specific countermeasures for each of the Nine, plus anything Bonesaw has or could assemble." That was a fairly daunting prospect, but I wasn't about to back down from this challenge.

    "The Siberian is going to be the biggest problem." I said. Really, at this point she was the only one who could hurt me, hurt any of us really. I had defenses, but putting her down was another matter. Still, from what I could gleam from my passenger…

    "I know there's something else." I said vaguely. "Some trick to dealing with her. She's not as invincible as she seems."

    "Direct analysis of her power could resolve matters, though attempting to deploy countermeasures at that point would be less than ideal." Survey explained. "I will proceed with expanded analysis of past actions. A solution may present itself prior to direct conflict."

    I nodded. "That would be ideal. Outside of her, there shouldn't be too much trouble putting the rest down, meaning the problem is containment."

    Tybalt looked up and gave me a series of inquisitive meows. I shook my head.

    "Not even Crawler. I'm pretty sure I have weapons that could put him down before he could heal, even without getting into the Endbringer grade stuff, but I've had a countermeasure ready since back when I got Natural Alchemy. Everything else is just redundancy."

    "For effective containment further analysis of Shatterbird's power will be necessary, along with expansive preparation of countermeasures for Bonesaw's potential work." Survey paused. "Garment has offered to assist in developing countermeasures to Shatterbird. However, as of yet the majority of her proposed solutions would only be effective when engaged in melee combat, rather than as a preventative measure. There are some highly inventive suggestions involving monofilament threads and theoretical applications of Dust effects."

    I blinked. "Uh, yeah, let's put a pin in that for now." I said. "Besides, we'll have more than a year to plan things out during this morning's training."

    Survey looked between me and Tybalt. "You still intend to progress with the exercise?"

    I shrugged. "I did promise both Tetra and Aisha, and this is going to be important for Tetra's procedure. Losing a couple of hours of real time isn't going to make a difference at this point."

    Survey shifted in what was almost anxiety. "I should remind you; I am unable to direct my divine technological sense while utilizing a spiritual interface with the computer core." She said. "While I do admit interest in the abilities that can be gained through mastery of the outlined techniques, I am concerned about the vulnerability this may introduce."

    I shook my head slightly as I replied. "Survey, it's good that you're working to use and develop your ability, but you shouldn't feel compelled to constantly optimize it. Those kinds of powers need rest as well as stress to grow." I knew that from my experiments with pyrokinesis. "You can take two hours for yourself, and everyone else is going to be involved. It's important to have you there."

    Tybalt meowed in agreement, but I felt the weight of the upcoming work. This would be the longest and most complicated class I had attempted. The principles in the skill book 'Bigger on the Inside' took years to master. Years of trial and error in a physical environment, or an environment that could mirror those conditions beyond perfectly. My training powers and the effect of Do One Thing at a Time could drop that from three years to a year and a half, but it was still a titanic commitment.

    And it would grant legitimate supernatural ability, as well as whatever technical knowledge I could include in the examples I used to teach. It was an opportunity to bring Aisha up to full proficiency in properly advanced technology, even if it was effectively a massive investment of time.

    And then I felt it. The reach that had been building finally came to a head. The Resources and Durability constellation passed by and a glowing nova of a mote was secured from it, descending towards me and enveloping my entire being.

    Any mystery can be solved, given the right tools.

    I was familiar with the concept of 'gadgets', as demeaning a term as it was. Demeaning because it didn't come close to what that idea really represented. A gadget, in common parlance, was a novelty. A kitchen tool or some minor convenience sold on late night infomercials. In extreme and fanciful cases, a gadget was a spy tool, some plot device that presented a convenient trinket that let the protagonist continue on with their story.

    That wasn't what a gadget really meant, not in this context. The simple word belied the true nature of what was in play. A gadget was a solution. It was an answer given physical form, purpose bound to an innocuous object to resolve a problem few could predict, much less address.

    My new power was called Gadgeteer, and it solved problems. It solved them in a way few things could. Answers made manifest, keys that would unlock more than doors, that would unlock truth.

    The power came with understanding, the knowledge of how to work advanced concepts into tiny devices. Sometimes shockingly advanced and impossibly tiny. The technology started at the level of what you would find in the most advanced Bond films and advanced to what, thanks to my other powers, I was pretty certain was actual alien technology. Matter/energy transference. Digital storage of objects. And portals, so many portals.

    Honestly, the power would have been worth it just for the portal technology. From short range portals that could be generated by a wrist watch to projected gateways that could access every corner of the planet. My advancements in teleportation magic, well, they weren't pointless, but they were certainly less essential than they had been.

    And I had the resources to build any of that technology. Not as in currently having them, but as in my power ensured that I would always have them, no matter what. I didn't need to summon them with my noble phantasm or remove them from my subspace pocket or manifest them through advanced projection techniques. I just had them. Whenever I needed them, I would have the resources required to build the gadget of my choice. The solution I needed.

    But this went further. Gadgets were solutions, and I would never run out of ideas for them. The art of solving problems was now, thanks to my latest power, officially without limit. What's more, all my other technology could be integrated, seamlessly. No matter how difficult, dangerous, or volatile, I could make it work, find an application to a gadget that would pair perfectly. If I wanted a cutting tool based on the principles of a vortex grenade that was suddenly both a safe and stable option.

    I took a breath and leaned back as Survey and Tybalt looked on. I could feel Survey accessing reports and information through the network. Unsurprisingly, she was the first to speak.

    "Your duplicates have begun to upload details of your new ability and technology. I believe it will be highly useful in our upcoming project." She said.

    "The portals?" I asked with a wry smile.

    "Indeed." She replied. "Global access from a dedicated projector, with short range transport possible from a device of handheld scale, not accounting for miniaturization abilities."

    There was an edge to her voice that I was able to pick up on. "You want the technology? More than just a device? Full integration, maybe during your next upgrade?"

    She dropped her eyes, but nodded. "Medium and long-range deployments are an element I am unable to address independently. While I acknowledge the intention of specialization in our design, I do not believe leaving such a deficit unaddressed would be advisable, given the scale of the task we are attempting."

    I took a breath, then looked down at my hands. They were empty, but at the same time they weren't. They would never be. I could just reach out and find whatever I needed.

    The power only provided the resources for construction, not facilities or equipment, but I was long past those kinds of restrictions, just like I was no longer bound by time constraints. My hands blurred and with a fraction of a second a slim, sliver watch was resting in them. It wasn't composed of mythical metals or volcano forged minerals, but it was perfect for its purpose, containing all the technology needed and still benefiting from my quality and enhancement powers.

    "Here." I said, handing her the watch. "Modified and miniaturized Ultra U-Watch. Capable of direct interface and portal creation. It should suffice until we can plan out an upgrade for your abilities."

    Frankly, I hadn't built any of their bodies with the expectation that they would be modified in the future. Survey was in a slightly better position, since she wasn't a full divine creation like Fleet and Matrix, but the effort that had gone into their creation wasn't something that took kindly to alteration. Without my Upgrading powers it wouldn't have even been worth considering. As it stood, adding new features was a careful process, but not an impossible one.

    Honestly, integrating technology as comparatively simple as portal tech was trivial compared to Fleet's request. He had already expressed interest in teleportation technology, but as an extension of facilities I had already been planning to deploy outside the workshop. Basically, with the miniaturization abilities I had gained, it was possible to scale down a Cybertonian Ground Bridge to a size that could be integrated into Fleet's physical body. Seeing as it was the only method of teleportation that required driving, he was inordinately interested in the potential upgrade.

    On the other side, portal technology had the advantage of not requiring any advanced materials or supernatural effects to sustain it. It was the kind of technology that Tetra would be able to fully emulate in a way that just wasn't possible with things like Cybertonium technology.

    I smiled. The world was opening up. I was on track to dealing with one of the greatest threats to humanity in existence. I had multiple methods of rapid transport and response. Spiritron computing was coming fully online and, after the stress test of the morning's training, I could finally start breaking Bakuda's encryptions. Drone deployment hadn't triggered any responses and could be scaled up, both to address local concerns and lock down any attempt from the Nine to compromise the city. Garment was on track to lead a major charity event and was building ties with the local fashion community. And I was at least on track to deal with the issue of the Coil and the threat he was keeping in reserve. Things were finally starting to come together.

    "There is one other matter regarding your latest ability." Survey said. I gave her a questioning look. "With respect to the item of clothing that was included."

    My stomach fell slightly. Not enough to really bring me down, but enough to be of some concern. "The catsuit?" I asked awkwardly.

    "Yes." Survey said, and I felt mortified. "Garment has found it." And I was suddenly considerably more concerned.

    "Um, what is she doing?" I asked. "It's not embarrassing or, um, questionable?" I did my best to dance around the phrasing of an item of clothing my power described as 'nearly skintight'.

    "It is possible that it could be classified as such in some circumstances, but I believe you may wish to attend to it due to its color." She continued.

    "Color?" I asked. There wasn't much detail from my power regarding the color besides the fact that it could be any color possible. "Is there something wrong with that?"

    "There may be, considering your previous containment protocols." I gave her a confused look. "The suit is apocyan."

    Jumpchain abilities this chapter:

    Gadgeteer (Totally Spies/Martin Mystery) 600:
    Not only do you have the knowledge and resources to produce all of WOOHP and the Center's gadgets quickly and efficiently, but you'll never run out of ideas for new gadgets, and you'll be able to incorporate any other technologies you know seamlessly

    Catsuit (Totally Spies/Martin Mystery) Free:
    A nearly skintight catsuit in a color of your choice.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • Thanks in advance for the chapter, Lord!

    Will edit tomorrow with more thoughts, stay tuned!

    Edit: BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!

    LordRoustabout said:
    We can strip power from those who believe they have control, sow chaos in a city on the brink, and redefine the meaning of disaster. Our strike will be dynamic, brutal and elegant." A wicked smile crossed his face. "And they will never see us coming."


    77 Determination

    "Yeah, the Slaughterhouse Nine is definitely coming to Brockton Bay." I said as I finished reviewing Survey's analysis.
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    This alone had me laughing out loud for a good few minutes.

    Among a mass of interesting bits this chapter, like finding out his shardspace ship is HUGE, has a fitting name that somehow isn't Enterprise, has ALL the tech on it, he now has Spiritron computing, which changes the game on planning time, he can now play with portals in a way that would make GLADOS jealous, and more.

    An apocyan catsuit...oh dear...

    Also, his releasing of the Cat of War and unleashing of Survey? The Nine are walkimg into a killbox like no other,and watching them die like dogs will be a joy to read!
     
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    LordRoustabout said:
    "Our strike will be dynamic, brutal and elegant." A wicked smile crossed his face. "And they will never see us coming."
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    LordRoustabout said:
    "Yeah, the Slaughterhouse Nine is definitely coming to Brockton Bay." I said as I finished reviewing Survey's analysis.
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    I just about died laughing at this. Jack and the Nine thinking they're being all secretive with our boy Gorilla Steel already planning for them. Also, I can't wait to see how Cherish reacts to Mental Fortress.

    Jack: "And now that we've prepared, we can sneak into Brockton Bay completed undetected!"
    Joe and the Celestial Forge standing right behind him: "Yeah, about that."
    Cherish: "No problem. He didn't prepare for master effects!"
    Joe: "Oh, I've been immune to those for a couple of days now."
    Cherish: "....Wait, you can't do that!!!"
     
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    LordRoustabout said:
    I just had to let them come to me.
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    Joe no.....Just no. Use your goddamned drones or build a fucking sattelite, find them, then drop a black hole bomb on them while they are passing between towns-A nuke even, you can't tell me he's unable to make a radiationless nuke. It doesn't even really matter if you do irradiate an area, once people find out you offed the 9 they'll be cheering your name from the rooftops.

    Now, don't get me wrong Joe pulling all of the restrictions and giving his team free reign was badass, possible the most hype thing in the story so far given what we know they have at their disposal. That doesn't mean that he hasn't once again chosen the hard and needlessly dangerous way
     
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    LordRoustabout said:
    "The ship is as powerful as we can make it with available resources and skills, but don't take unnecessary risks. This is primarily a research mission."
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    So you built a ship out of Star Trek tech, made for exploration and research, then said "don't get in trouble, it's just a research mission."

    You jinxed them.
    Then jinxed them again.
    Jinx squared.
    Jinx-ception.

    LordRoustabout said:
    If I wanted a cutting tool based on the principles of a vortex grenade that was suddenly both a safe and stable option.
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    And it makes julienne fries!
     
    LordRoustabout said:
    I want to destroy the Nine as a concept. If that means the Protectorate looks at what I brought to bear and decides their only option is launching an S-Class response that involves opening the Birdcage, canceling kill orders, and making a deal with Nilbog, then so be it.
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    So here is the thinker power causing that extra aggression.

    While their reasoning is wrong, I can't say that the Nine visiting is the wrong choice for them, if only because they were not already here.

    Better they go on the offensive now, then being more on the defensive with a still stronger Chimp Copper later.

    Honestly dying by Chimp Copper would be better then how Jack went out cannonicly.
     
    I think this chapter marks the tipping point where Joe is favored in a one-on-one fight against random Endbringers. The ability to safely use Warp weaponry gives the payload, but Gadgeteer also guarantees access to the tools to deliver it in the face of varied but strong defensive powers.
     
    Oh the irony! A prideful man whose never seen a threat that he couldn't run away from meets a unstoppable force of nature that is Apeiron. I pity the fool, his merry gang of delinquents is about to be the one to let the world know of the celestial forge's true power. Now, who would Jozef be in a relationship with? No story ends without a drama concerning love!
     
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    LordRoustabout said:
    "Color?" I asked. There wasn't much detail from my power regarding the color besides the fact that it could be any color possible. "Is there something wrong with that?"

    "There may be, considering your previous containment protocols." I gave her a confused look. "The suit is apocyan."
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    People are focusing on the cutaway to the Celestial Forge knowing about the S9, but I find Garment with an apocyan Catsuit far more humorous.
     
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