(Author's note: Half chapter this week, due to limited free time. Should be wrapped up next week with another Joe-focused chapter.)
91 Callout
The call disconnected and I let the floating screen wink away. Taylor had not done as good a job of downplaying things as she seemed to think she was. I mean, assuming she was even trying to conceal in the first place. The mention of Emma's name had caught her completely off guard and pretty much proved that it was about as far from 'not important' as possible.
You didn't need to be a genius to piece together the clues. I don't know what kind of relationship they'd had before high school, but with Taylor's admitted troubles in school and her focus on Emma it was easy to connect the dots. The fact that Emma had clearly had a traumatic event, one bad enough that her family had at least made an attempt at therapy before dropping the idea, suggested she wasn't in the best mindset.
Emma had a spotless school record, but I was well aware of how deceptive that could be. If a student was getting away with bullying they tended to be either hopeless discipline cases, in which case the harassment of a single student would be the least of the administration's concerns, or perfect students who could deflect the very idea of blame. Regrettably, teachers tended to classify good and bad students based on how much trouble they caused for the staff of the school, not any objective assessment of the student's behavior.
Then there was the fact that Taylor had triggered. Specifically, she had triggered as a master, and a ridiculously powerful one. Master triggers have a social component, usually tied to isolation with some kind of inciting incident. Based on Taylor's reaction it was a safe bet that Emma Barnes had at least been involved in the buildup, if not the trigger itself. In fact, my passenger seemed to indicate as much. Emma was definitely mixed up in Taylor's trigger.
Honestly, there was a decent chance that a search of public information sources would reveal some hint to Taylor's trigger, but odds were just as good that it had been something contained. The thing was, I knew full well how personal and traumatic trigger events were. I didn't want to go digging into Taylor's before she was ready to share the details herself.
Which was all well and good, but didn't address the problem that Taylor was still going to school with a girl tied closely to her trigger. That would basically be the equivalent if I was still living at home in the wake of my own trigger, only with Natalia there as well as my mom. Yeah, I had a very good reason for shooting down that little suggestion from Alena. Of course, if no one knows about the trigger event or what it meant then it's easy to gloss over the significance and effectively tell the person to tough it out.
That may have been what happened with Taylor. I didn't get the sense that things had gotten any better for her recently, and her reaction to Emma's name painted a fairly clear picture of the state of their relationship.
This wasn't something Taylor needed to deal with right now. Specifically, it wasn't something I wanted her dealing with right now. With the unfolding mess with Coil and his contingencies, Taylor's own highly concerning secret mission, and whatever importance my passenger ascribed to her, dumping extra drama into her civilian life was more than a little unwelcome.
Still, while there was plenty I could do I doubted it would be a welcome intrusion. This call was already probably pushing the limits of Taylor's boundaries. Without her actually requesting my help, it was better to stay hands off.
But only hands off. That didn't mean I would be ignoring the situation. I messaged Survey, asking her to keep an eye on things, though outside of an emergency, to limit what she shared to the bounds of privacy and the unwritten rules. Broadly speaking, that was my standard request for her investigations. There was a lot of attention directed at me, and it was important for me to be able to honestly claim that I hadn't violated the unwritten rules.
The fact that I was basically a single request to Survey from being able to on a scale that would be staggering by any reasonable metric wasn't the point. Apeiron having resources that could reveal a cape's identity and dive into their personal life was something that was probably broadly suspected. Apeiron actually using those resources was another matter.
Actually, I had another call to make with the primary vector for that strategy. Conversations with Tattletale inevitably turned into a game of 'I know you know I know you know I know'. Having gaps in that information, even if they were about trivial things, was a major source of reassurance to her. Sure, I could spy on their every breath, but our interactions were tense enough already. It wasn't worth introducing additional concerns.
Of course, if I didn't have Survey as a fallback I'm not sure I would have been quite so cavalier about that kind of thing. Her analysis was a safety net, something that could act as a fallback if things were set to go really wrong. Even if I didn't see the vast majority of the information she collected, I could trust that she would bring anything truly serious to my attention.
Of course, there were some matters I had even asked Survey to avoid. Mostly at Tattletale's request, but that was a cornerstone of our agreement, and one of the few things that would hold our relationship together long enough to actually deal with Coil.
After that… well, normally I have some deep concerns regarding the future of the Undersiders as a team and how I would interact with them, but considering the resolution of the situation with Coil would either sync up with or be shortly followed by dealing with the remains of the ABB and the concerns over the Teeth, as well as Dragon's situation, there was probably going to be enough turmoil that things like the status of a minor gang in a mid-sized East coast city wouldn't be anyone's priority. Not when the next objective on the list was the Endbringers.
I did a quick check of my surroundings as I prepared for my next call. It would put off my talk with Tetra, but it was better to get all my outside commitments wrapped up before I dove into that and the project to follow.
I was in my office. Not the office attached to my bedroom in the central house, but the Office. The one that had arrived along with the computer hub. It had been relocated to the Housing Complex when the buildings had materialized, part of the shuffling of the Workshop that seemed to happen following any major addition.
The Office was only slightly luxurious, not the deliberate opulence that had been applied to everything associated with the Housing Complex. It still had the signs of my duplicates' renovations on it, but that just drew it more in line with an optimal work environment than the more luxury focus found in the houses.
I had made my call to Taylor behind hastily assembled a blank backdrop, but for Tattletale I sank into my office chair and relaxed my transformation slightly. She was already aware of my 'true' form, to a point, and having less layers of obvious obfuscation would be better for everyone.
As I drew up the connection to Tattletale's watch I felt the Vehicles constellation miss a connection. I centered the display screen in the air in front of me and managed the projection of my own image for the call. Honestly, the screen wasn't necessary considering my ability to sense technology. I could read the video feed as it was being generated, making that actual display somewhat redundant. Still, having both me and Tattletale use the same medium was a good point of connection, and we didn't need to complicate things more than necessary.
The call connected, causing the display to go live. The screen showed Tattletale in casual clothes sitting at a kitchen table. Her surroundings showed a marked difference from the Undersiders' hideout, looking more like the apartment of a young professional. Probably the place I had tracked her knife to but never investigated further.
"Hi Lisa. Did I catch you at home?" I asked.
She shrugged, shifting some papers to clear the table in front of you. "Things were wrapped up at the hideout, and I figured that not trying to set a scene was probably for the best when it came to your manipulation sense." She paused, looking at me closely. "Except you can see the manipulation in trying to come across as non-manipulative, which registers as a form of manipulation to reframe other interactions for manipulative purposes."
I watched as she slumped in her seat. It was true, I could basically read the intent behind the apparently casual way of answering the call and the way it was designed as an attempt to work around my power. Even if she wasn't trying to pull something during the call, starting things with that kind of intent set a tone for the interaction that she definitely didn't intend.
"Maybe you should try not to overthink things." I recommended.
Tattletale huffed. Considering her power, that was probably a lost cause, but it wasn't like she had many better options when working against Mental Fortress. Honestly, the mistake was probably trying to work against it in any capacity in the first place.
"We never set a schedule for the check-ins." She said, changing the subject. "I was going to send you a report and take an early night."
It was a flippant statement, but I could tell she needed the rest. Honestly, I'd be happy if she did turn in after our conversation. I had personally seen the state she could work herself into when pushing to her limit and that wasn't something I wanted from a person trying to take down a crime lord.
"Probably best to do calls rather than texts, though if evenings don't work for you we can set something else." I said. "Honestly, this doesn't need to be anything formal. I just want to touch base so we can stay on top of things."
"We." She said softly, then shook her head. "I heard about your call with Alec." There wasn't any accusation in her tone, just more exhaustion.
"He was the one to reach out." I said. "Had some concerns, mostly personal stuff."
"He was worried about the team." She said, filling in the blanks. In a way it was oddly convenient, having Tattletale read the situation. Neither me nor Alec needed to betray the other's confidence to bring Tattletale into the loop. Whether we wanted her in the loop was another matter, but that was largely immaterial when dealing with someone with her powerset.
"He knows something's going on, and the rest of your team has raised individual concerns." I said.
Tattletale shook her head. "I know Alec had good intentions." She sounded amazed by the words coming out of her mouth. "But there are information security concerns with what we're working on. Serious ones. You might want to consider limiting communication a bit more."
"Lisa, this impacts the rest of the Undersiders. They can't be kept in the dark forever." I stated plainly.
"I know." She sounded slightly defensive. "But there's a difference between bringing them onboard right before we're ready to move and revealing details before we even have a plan set up."
"Well, I suppose that's better than announcing it to them after the fact." I admitted. "I imagine they'd be a bit confused and aimless at the news."
She gave me a direct look. "I guess that brings up the main point. What happens to the team after Coil is dealt with?" She asked.
I shrugged. "I guess that's up to them. The debt isn't a major issue, and I'm not going to push for cape work for repayment. If people want to split up or find new lines of work, I'm not going to stop them. It's not like I need a strike force of capes."
That elicited a slight sound of agreement from Tattletale. The Celestial Forge had done their job perfectly, changing the dynamic around my cape persona. I wasn't a single threat that could be bogged down or distracted. I was the leader of an entire faction, and that was something that needed to be approached very differently.
I examined the girl on the monitor. "That said, I imagine you might have some plans for your team."
She let out a sigh. "I have some contingencies of my own in place. They aren't perfect, but they should be able to get the team through. Though I suppose that will really depend on what the world looks like at that point."
"Are you asking about my long-term plans?" I asked.
"No." She said sternly. "Because honestly I'm not sure you have any that aren't going to be turned on their head the next time that 'three day old technology' meme circles around. I know that you have something big planned and that it doesn't involve us. At this point, that's enough for me."
It didn't sound like it was, but I wasn't about to press her over it. She wasn't entirely correct about my long term plans. The days of my power flipping the board with every new addition had started to drop off. Now it was less my plans being revised and more the intensity of them being ramped up. I mean, I hadn't changed the way I planned to deal with the Slaughterhouse Nine, I'd just become much more proficient at doing so.
"Look, I have this covered." She said, "You don't need to worry about it. When the time comes I can break things to the team."
"Are you sure you have this covered?" I asked. "Because a lot of those concerns over stability didn't seem unfounded."
"I can…" She paused and I could practically feel her power working. If I was there in person I'd have been able to literally feel it working, but that was probably a contributing factor to why she wanted to do these discussions through remote calls.
"You spoke with Taylor." She said, "About her situation at school."
"Not directly." I clarified. "And I still have concerns about the rest of the Undersiders, but yeah, I got enough to put things together concerning Taylor."
Tattletale sank back in her chair. "Taylor's dealing with a lot, but she's been handling it better than she did when she joined the team." There was a tired smile on her face. "Probably the only one of us to come out ahead after that mess. Anyway, it's a long term problem, not the kind of thing that will come to a head in the next few days."
"And the rest of the team is good for that long?" I asked. "I don't want someone to burn out or crash when the critical moment comes."
She blinked. "Jesus, I meant that as a figure of speech, not a proposed timetable."
"I didn't mean it that way." I clarified. "But if you want to get into the timeline…"
"Days." She said, "Plural, very plural. Probably at least a week. And no development since yesterday, because it has only been since yesterday."
"You haven't heard anything from Coil?" I asked. Mentioning the man directly seemed to make her uncomfortable despite the layers of security around us, including perfect soundproofing and active scans from her watch.
"I have, but official channels only." She explained. "The same analysis I usually put through."
"What are you looking at?" I asked.
"Right now, same thing the rest of the city is focused on. I mean, when they aren't concentrating on your team. It's all about the Teeth." She said.
"Oh." I said.
"I know you aren't worried about it, but you do understand that Butcher Apeiron is pretty much the nightmare scenario for the entire world?" She asked. "As in the kind of thing the wall off or level cities to contain."
"I understand." I had seen Survey's full analysis on the matter. "But really, there's no risk of me becoming the next Butcher."
"Then also please understand that no one is willing to put that to the test." She continued. "Look, I know you are completely confident in your defenses, but nobody else will be. It's really, really important that you stay out of this."
I nodded. "As long as they keep things contained, I plan to."
"Believe me, none of the gangs are going to press you on that. The Teeth not so much, but even the Butcher knows what it would mean to bring you down on her."
I frowned. "Do you know why they're still in the city?" I asked. "Whatever deal they set up with March would be long gone. I don't get why they're taking this kind of risk."
Tattletale looked uncomfortable. Actually uncomfortable. She was still aware of the impact of appearing uncomfortable, but wasn't trying to leverage it for manipulation purposes, though she was aware that projecting that she wasn't attempting to manipulate based on her emotions could be read as a level of manipulation, and from her it was.
She blinked several times and rubbed her forehead. "Damn it." She muttered before taking a breath and turning back to the screen. "Okay, the Butcher had some deal with March about the insanity that played out around your broken tech and whatever turned the container yard inside out. I'm not even trying to get into that now, strictly for the sake of my sanity. Best I can tell, she's mostly holding out on the hope that she can dig up whatever March was promising, which is probably something concerning the Butcher mantle."
"And the rest of the Teeth are alright with that?" I asked. There was gang loyalty, and then there was moving to the most dangerous city on the East coast at the word of a madwoman.
"The Butcher practically is the Teeth. Not a lot of room for dissention in that gang. Still, officially the rest of the gang is being sold on the cover story, which is actually true." She explained.
I raised an eyebrow. "What, they seriously think they can take over from the ABB?"
Tattletale shook her head. "Not really, at least not among the realists in the gang. They're here because the ABB is paying them."
I gave her a strained look. "Uh…"
"Standing instructions." She explained. "There are brokers who handle money for villains and gangs. If something is set in place with them, the payments can continue until someone authorized to make decisions cancels it. Odds are the remnants of the ABB either want the Teeth sewing chaos in the city, or without Lung they don't have anyone with the authority to cancel the contract."
I nodded. "I think I ran into one of those brokers." I said, remembering my exchange during my attempted raid on the ABB's finances. "So that means…"
"It means that the Teeth are getting paid as long as they're in the city." She said, "They can drag things out, fight a defensive game, and give the other gangs the runaround and make bank until the money dries up. Then they cut and run."
"Great. Any idea how long that will drag out?" I asked.
"Not as long as they'd want it to." She replied as my power failed to connect to a large mote from the Toolkits constellation. "The Empire is out for Blood. One of the Butchers killed Kaiser's first wife. Skidmark's going to try everything he can to make a statement. He's got dreams of the Merchants becoming a major force and knows that can only happen if he maintains momentum. The Butcher showing up threatens that. And that's not getting into anyone who would jump into the fight to keep you out of it."
"You're expecting something to happen soon?" I asked.
"Very soon." She said with a nod. "The Teeth have been calling up other cells. Great for the cities who don't have to deal with them, but if they can amass all their forces they'd outnumber the Empire. In capes, not in unpowered members."
"Is there anything planned?" I asked, checking over Survey's own assessments on the matter. She hadn't been directing as much focus on the local gangs as she had towards the Slaughterhouse Nine and I wasn't keen to start juggling objectives.
"A few groups have been located." Tattletale explained. "Mostly unpowered forces, probably preparing sites for the groups that are moving into the city. The Empire's going to make the first move. Kaiser's making sure of that. It will probably happen during the charity event planned for tomorrow, since a lot of the heroes will be tied up there."
I actually did an excellent job of schooling my reaction, but I was also dealing with Tattletale, and to be fair she probably had concerns even before I called. She watched my reaction like a hawk before continuing.
"Are you involved with the event?" She asked me directly.
"Somewhat." I said. "I've been keeping an eye on it and taking some steps to make sure everything goes smoothly."
"Figures." She said with a nod. "Things were coming together much too well to be coincidence. How much did you… never mind." She shook her head. "That was a good call. It's going to be a big deal for the city. The Empire might be going after the Teeth during the event, but they'll be staying the hell away from it. Everyone will, after you laid down the law on Sunday."
"That's a relief." I said. "And I know people are going to be careful, but I was serious at the summit. People can't take another disaster like Thursday night. If things get out of hand I'm going to step in again."
"Trust me, nobody wants that." She said firmly. "Not even Skidmark is going to press his luck there."
I nodded. It wasn't ideal to have more cape violence, but the idea that it might actually function the way it was always sold to the public, limited to fights between parahumans with the absolute minimum amount of spillover to the rest of the city, that was at least marginally acceptable.
"Just to be clear, you're not going to show up?" She asked. "I mean, at the charity event or against the Teeth? Because a personal appearance at either will be way too much of a disruption."
She was putting it mildly. I imagine the sight of me at a cape battle would cause mass surrenders or retreats from all but the most extreme of combatants. As for the charity event, while there was a certain appeal in making a public appearance, Tattletale was right. It would basically shut down the event and probably result in a dozen containment and diplomatic procedures being put in place.
The rest of my team could act a little more freely, but even then, there were limits we'd need to work around. Limits that weren't going to go away, just change as our place in the world developed.
"You don't need to worry about that on either account." I said. "I have another project that I'll be focused on for a few days. Once that's taken care of I'll be ready to start making moves to resolve the local situation."
Tattletale dropped her head and let out a long breath. Eventually she raised her head and gave me a hard look. "You seriously think that's a long time, don't you?" I shrugged. "Joe, I'm sure everyone will be grateful for the respite, but 'a few days' isn't that long by most people's standards."
"I'm not going to fly off the handle the moment I'm done." I said, leaving no hint as to the nature of my work. It wasn't something I could risk, not with the full nature of Jack's power still unknown. "I'm just letting you know I'll be focused on other things. I get that you'll need a couple more days…"
"A week." She said, "If everything goes perfectly, including actions against the Teeth, we might get that meeting early next week. There is no way I can accelerate it any further."
"I'm not going to push you on that." I said. "Not with how concerned you were about Coil's contingency."
"Thank you. I…" She paused. "What did you find out?"
"Nothing." She didn't look convinced. "Seriously. I haven't looked into it. I've even asked Survey to leave it alone until she gets the go ahead from you."
"But you've found out something?" She pressed.
I nodded reluctantly. "Thinker power. With the nature of your concerns it was likely you were talking about either a strong trump or something with epidemic protocols. My power suggested it was both."
Tattletale fell very quiet. I could tell it was a real concern, not an attempt to play me. Part way through she realized that as well and started to get sucked into the loop of 'not manipulating to manipulate which is manipulating so don't manipulate which is manipulating'. This time she managed to drag herself out of it on her own.
"I really don't want to confirm anything, but it's bad. It's potentially apocalypse level bad and… Look, just please let this stand for now? I can promise you that it's contained for the moment and I will let you know the second there's even a suggestion that's going to change."
"Alright." I replied. "Like I said, I have other things to focus on."
"Right. Another three-day cycle." She quipped. I just shrugged. Honestly, I'd rather she thinks I was caught in a tinker upgrade loop than planning the public destruction of an S-Class threat.
"These actions against the Teeth?" I asked. "Are the Undersiders going to be involved?"
"Not with tomorrow's strikes." She replied. "Kaiser is glory hounding for all of those. The next steps will depend on how successful the Empire was and how the Teeth respond, but if there's a coordinated effort, then there's a good chance we're going to join in."
I wasn't a fan of that, but it was probably required to secure the meeting that Tattletale needed to feel comfortable unleashing my team on Coil. It was a situation I would need to keep a close eye on. That kind of escalation had a tendency to come to a head at the worst time, which in my case would probably involve the Slaughterhouse Nine's arrival.
Well, at least I was keeping a close enough handle on that to ensure they didn't cause a complete disaster. I would know their arrival time down to the second well before it happened and could even shift it at my convenience. Even if things did somehow go to hell with the Teeth, I would be able to make sure the Slaughterhouse Nine remained a separate issue.
Also, the Undersiders were probably the best protected group in the city. Definitely the best protected in Taylor's case. It wasn't an absolute level of protection, not with multiple annihilators running around, but as long as they weren't reckless they should be fine in a conventional engagement.
Which basically meant everyone but Taylor would be fine. Well, at least she had the best protection in the group. That, combined with the nature of her powers, should ensure that she stays well away from any major conflicts.
"If we sign on for anything we'll alert you in advance, as per our agreement." Tattletale said formally.
I gave her a level look. "Lisa, we're kind of working beyond the terms of that agreement here. You don't need to focus on technicalities or try to game the terms of our agreement." I explained.
The concept seemed to throw her for a loop. Even with manipulation being impossible and a stated intent to openly assist with the situation, she was still following the avenues she understood.
"How exactly do you want me to approach this?" She asked.
I shrugged. "However you think will work the best. Following the terms is for the best to keep up appearances for the rest of the team, but you don't need to lock into it, or restrict yourself to what we outlined back then." An agreement made before the Ungodly Hour seemed a bit out of date given the current circumstances.
"Right." She said, "I'll let you know if anything serious happens."
"Kind of the point of the daily check-ins." I said, trying to lighten the mood. "And that applies to the rest of the team as well. If there's something I can do to help take the pressure off, let me know. You don't need extra problems while you're also trying to manage this."
A brittle smile appeared on her face. "That's the kind of offer anyone on the planet would kill for, while also badly underestimating." She shook her head. "Overt actions won't help now. The team has too many things they're focusing on, personal and professional. Or both, in Rachel's case."
I nodded. "Her 'date' with Fleet?"
Tattletale let out a breath. "The kind of thing I wanted to head off."
"It'll be fine." I assured her. "I doubt it'll be romantic, but Fleet enjoys that kind of stuff, and it seems like a good sign for Rachel, particularly compared to how we met."
"See, anyone else would be terrified about having set their dogs on Apeiron." Lisa stated.
I gave her a questioning look. "You're worried about something like that with Fleet?"
"I'm worried something will happen, and with Rachel it's not unfounded. Her power… I'm not certain, but there are signs that it affected her mind. How she processes things and interacts with people. There's a good chance she could make misstep here and I don't want that blowing up on us, or on the rest of the city."
"You don't need to worry about Fleet losing his cool." I assured her. I could tell she badly wanted to ask questions about Fleet, and probably the rest of my team, but she restrained herself.
"After what he pulled against Lung there are entire nations worried about Fleet losing his cool." She said, "It would just be a lot easier if we were dealing with this after things had settled, not everything all at once."
"Yeah, that does seem to be the way things are playing out." I said, with my comment earning a nasty look from Tattletale. It probably came off as a bit callous, considering I was kind of the source of the majority of the 'everything all at once', at least in her perspective.
"Look, I'll keep an eye on things tomorrow, make sure they don't get out of hand." My assurance didn't seem to particularly reassure her. "With the Teeth, do you need me or Survey to dig into their actions or locations? We could pass the info along to you."
"No." She said. "At least not yet. Coil knows the data sources for my analysis and does his own checks on my conclusions. If I pull fresh information he'll know I've brought someone else on board. That might change after tomorrow, once more people get involved, but until then please, just stay hands off on this."
"I will." I said. "And we can touch base tomorrow and plan the next move."
"Right." She slumped back. "Tomorrow." She shook her head slightly. "Sounds great. Good night, Joe."
"Good night." I said in turn, letting the call end. It had played out about as well as I expected. Tattletale was still terrified, desperate for control, and flailing her way through social interactions in the wake of her primary method of interaction turning against her. Frankly, I was grateful she was managing as well as she was.
Okay, maybe that was a bit condescending for Tattletale. I knew she at least had good intentions, broadly speaking. She wasn't concerned with the plights of orphans, but she definitely didn't want the city she was living in to be destroyed or quarantined. Maybe it would be better to term it as enlightened self-interest rather than good intentions. Still, it was something I could work with.
The prospect of a week to bring down Coil seemed like a lifetime away, but to be fair I was dealing with time in a different way from most people. The important thing was that as long as the situation stayed contained it could be delayed, and I benefited from those delays. It was the same principle I applied to the Slaughterhouse Nine. Coil wasn't someone I had that level of control over, but he also wasn't a threat on that level.
If I had moved sooner I would have been doing so without Craftsmen of the Gods, without Titan's Blood, without enhanced psionic abilities or perfect replica droids or whatever I was about to gain from the connection that was forming with the Toolkits constellation.
It was a tiny mote, absolutely dwarfed by the size of the one I had missed with the previous failed connection. It was an item called The Toolkit, with the definite article included.
It was a small set of tools with the ability to completely restore any device, regardless of the state of damage or number of missing components. It could turn some scrapped armor plates and a broken tread into a perfectly restored tank in showroom condition, and do so shockingly fast.
I could already repair pretty much anything, but that was largely due to my own skill, not enforced aspects of my power operating on fiat principles. The closest thing I had to this was Machines, They Just Speak To Me, but that power was explicitly about quick and dirty fixes, not taking destroyed devices and spinning them back to full functionality, completely with components that had been lost, stolen, or completely destroyed.
It wasn't an earthshaking power, but it was something that had potential. About what I would have expected for a mote its size, as they were becoming increasingly rare. However, as was often the case, it was the free extra that was included with the mote that really caught my eye.
This wasn't some fundamental power or means of upsetting the laws of nature like I had received in the past. In fact, it was barely significant at all. Probably the most notable thing was the fact that the item appeared in my hand, rather than stored in a locker.
The item was a simple CD case, still wrapped in that overly tight plastic. The cover showed five men in military themed clothing with all but the central figure sporting long hair. The colors were washed out and the background was filled with images of explosions and buildings being torn apart. The name of the band was printed across the top of the image in a sharp, stylized font, with the name of the song included at the bottom.
"Sabaton: The Ungodly Hour"
I had just received a power metal single based on the worst fight in my life performed by a group I had never heard of, presumably delivered from another dimension.
"Huh." I said, looking at the case. Even in the wake of everything I had received from the Forge, it seemed it was still capable of surprising me.
(Author's Note: With the perk from this chapter, all non-repeatable 100 point perks in the tables have been obtained. As there are no longer any unique powers that can be gained for 100 points, I will be changing the methodology and rolling for powers every 200 points, meaning rolls will occur every 4,000 words. The rate of point gain will remain the same, but the lower number of rolls will mean fewer rolls will occur where there is no chance of any power being obtained.)
Jumpchain abilities this chapter:
The Toolkit (Sabaton) 100:
When wielding this toolkit, you can repair devices most would think broken beyond salvation. You could find two twisted armor plates and a couple of treads and before you know it, you have a tank that's as good as new.
Primo Victoria (Sabaton) Free:
In all of these cases, a CD will appear in your hand once you make your choice – a single by Sabaton in both English and Swedish concerning one of your previous adventures.
