"Okay, let's try this again…"
Colin watched as he always did. There were other uses for his time, such as installing new hardware into his suit or making upgrades to his halberd. There were dozens of plans to counter Strix, but the only way to prove their effectiveness was to stress-test them. Instead, he was doing something he hadn't done in a long time.
Watching Chris tinker.
The weapon looked eerily close to a railgun, with pylons sticking out of the barrel and the barrel itself being half as long as the teen building it. The weeks spent building the "Alternator Cannon" as it was dubbed were nothing short of stressful for Chris. The theoretical use and practical applications required dozens of reviews and oversight, and it was still being revised and altered so as to adhere regulatory protocols. Its early conception was deemed A-Class weaponry, meaning it was only to be used when fighting criminals and villains the likes of Lung or against Endbringers. Ordinarily it would have been fine, but Chris was still a Ward. The idea of allowing a kid to possess such dangerous weaponry gave the pause, hence the edits.
The Mark II was the current version, specifically built for B and C-Class villains. In theory, it's power output was considerably lower. And much less lethal, as the PRT hoped it would be.
In Colin's mind, it was idiotic. The weapon was only dangerous if it was used incompetently. Half of his equipment certainly was. The same could be said about any tinker-made equipment, regardless of how roughshod it may be. Chris was no different in that regard, and while he was overeager, he wasn't as idiotic was some others he could name.
"Alternator Cannon Mk.2 test is about to begin." As was also standard protocol, any and all tests with tinkertech and/or parahuman abilities were to be recorded and documented extensively. "Energy output is to be set at 59%, and target is outfitted with standard PRT defensive gear with no tinkertech." Chris stood up and backed away until he was behind the blue line. He was tense, jaw tight and hands shaking slightly. He glanced at Colin on occasion, clearly nervous.
It had been a long time since Colin watched Chris work. The last time he did was…was…
…I don't remember.
His fingers dug into his armor, as if trying to crumple the metal. A feeling he wasn't used to, but grew accustomed to feeling since two months ago, resurfaced and grabbed him by the throat.
Colin ignored it.
Chris took a deep breath. "Test will begin in three, two…"
He pressed down on the button. The Alternator Cannon thrummed to life, circuits and pylons lighting up like a Christmas tree. Plates shifted and opened up, reforming as if to provide better stability. Energy flowed through the gun, cycling and growing until it reached the desired output. The cannon roared, unleashing a blue burst of power from its maw and sent it flying.
The training dummy fell apart the moment the energy blast touched it. Actually, it would be more accurate to say it was
disintegrated, reduced to little more than flakes of ash and smoke.
Colin watched Chris' face turn crestfallen, wisely saying nothing.
"Dammit," the Ward swore, frustration quickly mounting. "I thought I had it this time."
"You made a mistake," Colin said after a moment of thinking. "It happens, Win."
"I-I know that, but I was hoping I got it right!" Chris walked over to the Alternator Cannon, glaring at it in a mix of anger and sadness. "It's not supposed to blow the dummy to chunks at that output. It's supposed to knock 'em down. What am I doing wrong?"
What was he supposed to say? Do better? You'll get it right eventually? Encourage him maybe?
Why is this shit so complicated, Colin thought.
A communication line buzzed in his helmet. The appropriate facial gestures opened it. "Hey, Armsy, Piggot wants a meeting ASAP," Ethan said. "Take a minute to stop being anti-social, yeah?"
"In a moment, Assault," Colin sighed. "I'm busy."
"Let me guess, making more modifications? You need a life man. Seriously, get out some more. Take Dragon out for a date."
He knew better than to rise to the bait. "I'm helping Kid Win with testing. Unless an Endbringer has shown up or Lung's decided to raise hell in the city, it can wait."
"…wait, you're helping Kid right now?" Colin felt his eyebrow twitch at Ethan's disbelief. "Are you feeling okay? Do you need a minute or two in M/S chambers?"
"It's fine!" Chris put on a smile. It was shaky and unconvincing. He was clearly
not fine. "I'm sure whatever's going on is more important than this. I just… I-I just need to make a few calibrations, make tweak some things. I can do that stuff myself."
"…if you're sure."
Colin did not know this feeling. It was irrational and frustrating. The words tasted vile, wrong. He wanted to say something else, but like most times when interacting with Chris, he couldn't find the words. He left the test area, looking over his shoulder to see Chris working on the cannon. He couldn't see the Ward's face, but he could tell by his body language he was angry.
Part of him wondered if it was his fault.
The meeting was pointless. Director Piggot went over nothing new. Strix was a high-priority threat, the Fallen needed to be investigated thoroughly, and their victims needed to be found before Purity took matters into her own hands or Kaiser went to war. The former matter was of peculiar interest to him, since Purity willingly gave away part of her civilian identity. Things had to be dire if she was willing to give that information. It was equally possible she was lying, of course, a means to invoke some sympathy or an attempt at manipulation.
In any event, Colin barely paid any attention to the meeting and it was over by the time he decided to return to Chris. To his chagrin, the test area was empty and the Alternator Cannon gone. The tinker was nowhere to be found.
Colin sighed.
"That's rare." Hannah walked up behind him. "You usually don't sigh unless there's something eating away at your mind. Half the time, it's wondering what kind of mod you want to install or how affective it will be."
"I didn't realize you were a thinker," Colin said dryly.
The woman smiled under her bandanna. "You're not the only one Dragon talks to. Every girl appreciates a ladies night out, even if she spends the entirety of it behind a computer screen."
Dragon mentioned something along those lines before the other day. He knew he was hardly the only person she talked to, but he felt a childish irk that didn't make sense to him. Another thing that was becoming blatantly obvious as of late. Things shouldn't have gotten so complicated, so confusing. He had half a mind to wonder whether he was being Mastered, but evidence suggested otherwise.
"Are you okay?"
He wanted to say he was. Maybe he was overthinking things. Or maybe…
Colin sighed again. "I don't know," he confessed. "This situation has me disoriented."
"You mean the Fallen?"
He shook his head. "About Vergil."
That was when all this started, when he found himself seeing the things he ignored or pretended weren't there. Shadow Stalker was rambunctious and wild, but she had talent. She had experience and spent a few years taking down low level criminals, and even managed to come out on top in a cape engagement once or twice. That said, her callous and caustic view towards criminals left much to be desired. When she pinned a man to a wall with a crossbow bolt and nearly killed him, the Protectorate moved to apprehend her. Armsmaster hoped being in the Wards would straighten her out, but she only got worse.
She obeyed her orders, but only begrudgingly. She never showed respect, and acted like a feral animal locked in a cage. In retrospect, it seemed only natural she needed some kind of outlet, something to take her frustration out on.
That outlet being a bullying campaign taken a step too far.
He didn't know about it immediately, of course. None of them did. As far as they knew, what happened to Taylor Hebert was just a case of staff negligence and bullying gone wrong. The situation would be resolved in time, and it had nothing to do with him or the Protectorate. Taylor Hebert became a subject of interest for obvious reasons; crisis point investigations and PRT protocol wanted to know if the girl underwent a Trigger Event, and if she did, whether she would try a life of normalcy or join the Wards where she could learn how to control them.
As it would turn out, however, the situation was more complicated and dire than it seemed. Taylor Hebert wasn't just some girl who was tormented for no reason besides pettiness. No, the one responsible for her condition and month-long coma was one of his own Wards. The truth came out when the girl's father, Danny Hebert, and a lawyer named Alan Barnes launched a lawsuit against Winslow and began compiling evidence, among which were various complaints and notices written by Taylor to the Winslow staff faculty, as well as several journals' worth of incriminating evidence.
It seemed ironic that the one who informed them about all of this was Sophia's own mother, Naomi Hess from the Junior Adult Safety Organization; a relatively new subsidiary of the Youth Guard who catered towards normal, average youths instead of superpowered ones. When she brought them the damning evidence, a full-scale investigation was launched into Sophia's activities.
Director Piggot did not get rid of her immediately. The situation in the city was still too volatile, but that wasn't to say she wanted to hold the ticking time bomb forever. Sophia Hess was a PR disaster waiting to happen, a bomb that could ruin the PRT immeasurably. The director was calling in favors, setting up meetings, forming plans for preparation of a transfer. When all was said and done, Sophia Hess would be gone forever and face punishment. The "official report" would be that Shadow Stalker's troubling behavior grew out of control and was taken off the team and sent elsewhere.
In reality, she would be facing a judge and jury, awaiting sentence and a one-way trip to federal prison.
Colin should have been satisfied with that. He should have been happy such a glaring problem would be out of his hands. The reality was that he wasn't. If anything, it opened his eyes.
It was all his fault.
He saw the signs. He made the reports. He informed Director Piggot about Shadow Stalker's behavior, but never once did he make an attempt to correct it or discipline her. He did not try to reign her in or pull her aside for a scolding. He was content to shove his duties off to others, focusing on proving he was not obsolete, that Dauntless couldn't replace him. The Winslow v. Hebert case forced him to look at what he neglected and remind him
he was in charge of the Wards, not Miss Militia or anyone else.
It was his fault a poor girl ended up Triggering. His fault she ended up trapped in a locker full of god knows what.
"It wasn't your fault." Hannah put a hand on his shoulder. She looked at him with pity and reassurance.
He wanted neither.
"I should have tried," Colin said sadly. "I didn't. I was so busy with my own priorities I didn't think about my responsibilities. Shadow Stalker, Vergil; those two were
my responsibilities."
"It's not too late. You're trying to make things work with Chris again, aren't you?"
"And he made it perfectly clear I fucked the dog there." He wasn't an idiot. He saw how nervous Chris had been. How he jumped or twitched every time he made a suggestion. It hurt more than it should have. He knew Chris wanted nothing more than to meet his expectations and prove himself. When he first met the kid, he had high hopes for him. "He doesn't want anything to do with me."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that."
"How do you figure?"
"You haven't seen the way he's been smiling lately."
Colin raised a brow. "Did he get himself a girlfriend?" Hannah just
stared at him, looking unsure what to express or even say. He frowned. If Chris didn't have a significant other, then what got him in such a good mood? Or was the smile just for show? How did the saying go? 'Fake it until you make it'?
BEEP BEEP BEEP! BEEP BEEP BEEP! BEEP BEEP BEEP!
Any thoughts or questioned the tinker had were out the window when his HUD flooded his vision with alerts and notifications. At that same time, Hannah's work phone began to ring.
The timing was not coincidental.
Hannah answered her phone while Colin the notifications. All alerts about activity near the south-eastern part of Brockton Bay. It was flagged as parahuman, meaning PRT had top priority and authority.
"Velocity, what's going on?" Hannah demanded. "Has something happened?" He couldn't hear what the speedster was saying on the other end, but whatever he relayed to her, the woman's eyes became the size of dinner plates. "What do you mean we might have a bio-tinker in town?!"
Images and feeds from nearby security cameras were uploaded to his HUD in seconds as part of the first-response program. He was lucky in that regard, since it gave him an idea of what they were dealing with. The first thing Colin saw was a familiar head of white-hair, wearing a black visor and a leather jacket bearing icy-blue wings on the back, flame-encroached
shirasaya in hand. Next to her was a cape he did not recognize in amateurish tinker gear.
The creature staring them down came next. Only one thought came to mind when he saw it and the devastation surrounding them.
Endbringer.
"Shit."
Shit indeed.
The first interlude of Muscle, and giving some much-needed spotlight on Armsmaster and my character for him going forward. I'm taking some creational liberties regarding his thoughts on Shadow Stalker and Taylor based off his portrayal in Worm-in-Waiting and Parabellum. (Speaking of which, for the love of GOD Stranger! Update it already, I'm dying of anticipating over here!) To be honest, I was kind of hesitant to write his character this way, but when I remember his early character pre-Leviathan, it does kind of fit. The man holds himself to high standards, after all.
I've also given you guys a "look" at the villain and demon Taylor and "Shielder" will be facing at the end of the arc. Don't expect this fight to play out like in Worm, though. This right here is when shit gets crazy.
What did you guys think of my portrayal of Armsy here? Bad? Good? Please let me know!
