Many thanks to @BeaconHill, @Assembler, ShadowStepper1300, and @GlassGirlCeci for betareading.
-x-x-x-
"How goes the patrol?" Dragon's voice, coming unexpectedly through my earpiece, broke the night's silence.
I smiled. The interruption was a welcome reprieve from monotony. "Well enough. How are things at base?"
"Boring," she complained, but I could hear the smile in her voice. "I didn't understand why you were bothering to go out on your own, but I think I get it now. Nothing happens here."
"Nothing's happening out here, either," I admitted, looking around the dark, deserted street.
"No sign of Lung?"
"None. Are you sure he hasn't left the city?"
"I'm not sure of anything," Dragon admitted. "All I know is that Vilya doesn't seem to think he'll be showing his face in the near future, and that I didn't spot him leaving. My best guess is that he's laying low."
"
Really low," I mumbled, looking over at a restaurant's sign. Japanese, by the characters, but I couldn't read it. The wall beside one of the windows had been tagged with graffiti in the shape of a familiar red eye. "I'm walking around in the heart of his territory, alone. Not even trying to be stealthy. And yet—not a peep."
"He's scared," said Dragon. There was a vicious satisfaction in her words. "And he should be. You're the one in charge now."
I grinned as I stepped into an alleyway. "And I won't let him forget it anytime soon."
"So, what now?" Dragon asked. "He's not going to come out on his own. Do we flush him out, or focus on something else, since he's not really being a problem?"
I drummed a rhythm on the leg of my armor as I passed by a dumpster. "Not sure," I said. "I think—" I stopped. Turned.
There was a man huddled there, crouched behind a dumpster, staring at me in horror. A knife fell from his nerveless fingers with a clatter.
"Annatar?" Dragon asked.
"Sorry, give me a minute," I said, taking a step towards the would-be mugger. He tried to scramble away, but I was quicker. My hand was out in a moment, gripping his throat and squeezing. He choked momentarily before I loosened my grip enough to allow him air. I pulled, lifting his limp body up so that his face was level with my own. My nose wrinkled involuntarily at the stench of sweat, alcohol, and what was probably meth.
"Please," he gasped, his cracked fingernails scrabbling at my gauntlets. "Please, I didn't know it was you! I'm sorry, I won't, I'll stay away from here—"
"Are you with Lung?" I interrupted.
"I—yes!" he shouted, still struggling in my grip. "I was! But the ABB hasn't been active for two weeks now! I'm just trying to—"
"I get it."
He fell mostly silent, but a few terrified whimpers still escaped him.
"What's your name?" I asked.
"Jared," he whispered, his eyes rolling frantically in his head. "Jared Huang. Please, Annatar! I didn't mean—"
"Hush, Jared," I said, giving a warning squeeze to his throat. He let out a pained squeak and fell silent. "I'm feeling generous," I said, my voice silken. "So, as a gift from me to you, I'm going to let you live."
"Oh, thank you," he breathed weakly. "Thank you, thank—"
"But, Jared," I interrupted, "this is your one chance. I don't tolerate people like you on my streets. Clean up, shape up, and don't make me catch you like this again."
"I won't!" he gasped. "I won't, I swear! I'll—"
"I never forget a face, Jared." That brought him up short. "I never forget, and I'll
know, Jared. And I will be
very annoyed that you wasted my gift."
He swallowed. His Adam's apple bobbed against my finger. "I'll—I'll stop," he whispered. "I'll figure something out, get a job if I can, leave the city if I can't. You won't see me out here again."
"See that I don't," I said, and dropped him. The moment his hands and feet hit the ground he was skittering away, an animal bounding on all fours. I didn't stay to watch him go; I was already turning and continuing to walk. "Dragon? Sorry, caught a mugger."
"I heard," she said, sounding amused. "You'd think they'd have learned by now."
"They have, for the most part," I said. Crime rates were at an all-time low in Brockton Bay, although given how high they usually were, that wasn't all that impressive. "But some people learn more slowly."
"Well, that man sounded like he's learned his lesson, at least."
"I don't think I'll be seeing him again," I agreed. "And he confirmed what we guessed. The ABB's basically disbanded."
"The rank and file, at least. We should go after Lung eventually, but I guess it's not urgent."
"My thoughts exactly." I turned and began walking south. "I'm on my way back. We should talk about our plans."
"Want me to call Piggot?"
"No need. Let her sleep. We can talk to her in the morning."
-x-x-x-
"Where are you?" I asked into my earpiece as I entered the PRT building's lobby.
"I'm in the lounge," Dragon said. "I've got something to show you. Just finished it today."
"All right, I'm on my way." I passed through the security gate and took the elevator down.
When I emerged, Dragon was standing in the middle of the room. I only recognized her by the Ring on her finger and the faint singing of her
Fëa. She looked almost totally human, with lightly tanned skin and brown hair. She was a little shorter than me, and wore a yellow blouse over blue jeans. But her nature showed itself through her eyes, electric blue and glowing faintly.
She smiled nervously at me as I stepped out of the elevator. "Hey, Annatar."
I grinned back. "Dragon, I love the new look. Congratulations."
She visibly relaxed. "Thanks. I was already working on this before, but I could never use it." She grimaced. "I wasn't allowed to try to blend in."
I crossed the room and hugged her. "That part of your life is over," I said gently. "You can be whoever you want to be now."
She hugged me back. "And I owe you everything for that, Annatar. Thank you."
"Don't thank me. You earned this." I pulled away. "Speaking of new looks, I've been thinking of trying out a few things."
She raised an eyebrow. That action derailed her for a moment, and she stared up at her own eyebrow for a second before blinking and looking back at me. "Oh? With your shapeshifting?"
I nodded, closing my eyes and letting the image in my mind's eye take hold of me. I hummed low, then began to Sing wordlessly, allowing my will to take shape in the world. I felt my ears, already slightly pointed, elongating to a proper taper. My height increased a couple more inches, my cheekbones rose slightly. My hair took on a faint luster.
By the end, I was the spitting image of one of the Eldar. They may have been my enemies for much of their history, but that didn't mean they weren't worthy of respect.
My eyes opened. Dragon was staring up at me, her eyes wide. "Wow," she said, a touch breathless.
"Do I still look recognizable?" I asked.
"Yeah," she said. "But—well. You don't exactly look
human."
I smiled as I took her hand, and we sank into the couch side-by-side. "That," I told her, putting my feet up on the coffee table, "is nothing to be ashamed of."
She flushed red and looked away. "Thanks," she said, her voice a little shaky. "Um. Want something to drink?"
"Please. Hot chocolate?"
"Sure." Her hand wriggled shyly out of mine as she stood back up. I watched her move towards the hot water tap without looking at me, and couldn't help the upward twitch of my lips. She was adorable.
Still, we were due for a change of subject. "Where is everyone?"
"Mostly in bed," she said. I could hear the hint of gratitude in her voice for the escape. "Panacea's in the gym, and Triumph and Miss Militia are on patrol."
"Triumph's doing well, then?"
"For the most part," Dragon replied over the sound of pouring water. "He's having trouble sleeping, I think. He's been talking to Assault about it, though."
"Good," I said. "They both need someone to talk to. How's Battery?"
"Still not really talking to anyone," said Dragon, and there was a grim edge to her voice. "Besides her therapist, I mean. She's starting to open up to Assault again, though."
"That's a relief," I said. "Hopefully she'll recover in good time." I shook my head. "Enough brooding. Let's talk plans."
"Sure." Dragon stirred the chocolate mix into my cup. "Lung's gone underground. What about the Empire?"
"We haven't heard from them in a while, either," I said. "Not since Heartbreaker."
"True, but they have Oracle," said Dragon. "Didn't you say she mastered Shadow Stalker? And Armsmaster?"
I looked at her. "Dragon." My voice was thick with dry amusement.
She chuckled. "I know. Still, though, she was
involved in Shadow Stalker leaving, right? Even if she clearly isn't a master."
"I certainly wouldn't be surprised if she planted the seeds in Shadow Stalker's head," I acknowledged. "But she's responsible for her own decisions… and she'll come around, eventually. She's reveling in newfound idealism, is all."
"The group she and Armsmaster are building is getting significant," Dragon cautioned. "Narwhal and Chevalier have both joined them. And Shielder, from New Wave."
"Shielder? Really?" I rolled my eyes. "I'll talk to Clockblocker, see if I can figure out what might have caused that."
"That's not really the point, is it?" Dragon asked, coming over and sitting beside me, handing me a steaming paper cup. "Shadow Stalker and Armsmaster have international heroes on their side now. Chevalier and Narwhal aren't exactly weaklings, but more importantly, they have the media's ear. If they fight you openly—"
"They'll lose," I said with a shrug. "I mean, really? We have Alexandria. We have
Cauldron."
"Yeah, but we don't want to be seen fighting them until we've dealt with their reputations," Dragon said, flipping her hair over one shoulder as she leaned back into the couch. "There shouldn't be
any contest when it comes to your public support. You've brought crime down, you've shut down two international villains and sent more running, you've got the PRT and Protectorate running like a well-oiled machine here."
"Feel free to keep singing my praises," I said, grinning at her and sipping at my drink. "You know I love it."
She snorted, an amused quirk touching her lips. "My
point," she said, "is that the metrics aren't enough if you don't have good PR. Right now you've got a lot of people on your side, but a lot of bleeding hearts are still on the fence. You need to win those over unless you want things to get really messy at some point down the line."
"Okay," I said, bringing my hands together around the warm cup. "What do you suggest?"
"Easiest option is just running a smear campaign. Publish the truth about what Shadow Stalker did to you in Winslow. Get testimonies about Armsmaster from his co-workers—take it from me, sometimes he was really hard to get along with."
I studied her for a moment. She wasn't looking at me, instead idly rubbing her fingers together in apparent fascination. "You cared for him," I said.
She didn't answer for a moment. "I did," she admitted. "I guess I still do. He was—
is—a bit of a mess, but he's a good man. I always thought he respected me as a person, you know? Not just as a hero it was useful to be allies with. He'd ask me for input on his tinkertech." She smiled slightly, still not looking at me. "He didn't do that for anyone else."
"You were important to him."
She sneered, and seemed for a moment almost surprised that her own lip had curled. "Not
that important, clearly," she said. "He didn't even tell me he was leaving."
"You said it yourself—he's a bit of a mess." I reached out and put an arm around her. "He'll come around. Might take a while, but we'll show him. He'll be back."
She leaned slightly into my embrace. "Maybe. I don't know if I want him back, though. I don't know if I can trust him again."
"Trust isn't an easy thing," I said. "You certainly don't need to force it."
She smiled at me. "Thanks, Annatar."
"I'd rather let you break things off on your terms, though," I said. "That'll be hard if we run a smear campaign against him. Besides, it doesn't really sound like our style. It's a bit
backseat, you know? I'd rather be more active."
She grinned, her white teeth flashing. "You read my mind," she said.
"Then you have another idea?"
Dragon nodded. "The obvious alternative is to outdo them on their own terms," she said. "If they want to take this to a larger scale, well, be the better hero on that scale, too."
"How so?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "We've already taken out two national villains. What more do we need?"
"You took out villains who came to you," Dragon said. "What if you took the fight to the villains?"
My eyes narrowed thoughtfully as I took another sip of my hot chocolate. "You're suggesting we go after an international target. Someone the whole world wants dead, and no one's managed to kill yet."
Dragon nodded. "No one could really question you then," she said. "You're bringing order to the whole
world, not just your little slice of it. Anyone who questions you is just whining."
A slow smile was spreading across my face. "Mm. Yes. I'm starting to like this plan."
"I thought you might. Do you already have a target in mind? The Slaughterhouse Nine—"
"No, no," I said. "No, I have a better idea. Better to hit two birds with one stone."
She cocked her head. "What do you mean?"
"Well," I said, thinking through things as I spoke, "Piggot's never been totally on-board with me, right? Just because I'm a quote-unquote 'parahuman,' and she has her hangups. She hasn't got a problem with my methods, but it's hard for her to really trust me. Right?"
"Right," Dragon agreed slowly. "But what's your…" She trailed off, staring at me. "Wait…"
"Piggot used to command PRT troopers in the field, right?" I asked. "And she was injured in the line of duty. That's why she needs dialysis."
"Yes," Dragon said. There was a note of awe in her voice. "You're not seriously…"
"Two birds with one stone," I said. My smile was practically splitting my face now. "Which villain was she fighting?"
"Nilbog," Dragon said. "You know him?"
I nodded. "Conquered Ellisburg, still holds it under quarantine, right?"
She nodded. "Yes. If you could really take him out…"
"I'd win a massive PR boost,
and secure Piggot's loyalty in one fell swoop," I finished for her.
Dragon laughed. "I love parallelizing," she said. "Oh—it gets better. Piggot was one of only two members of her PRT force to survive. Guess who the other was?"
I blinked. "I have no idea."
"Thomas Calvert."
I stared at her for a moment, and then I started to laugh. After a moment, she joined me.
"Oh, my," I spluttered. "Does she even know he's still in town?"
"Probably," Dragon said. "He does side work as a PRT consultant. Never for her, though. I imagine there's a story there."
"Oh, I'm sure," I said. "I'll have to ask him about it, the next time I see him."
"In the meantime, though, we should plan an assault on Ellisburg," said Dragon. "Do you want to bring everyone for this?"
I shook my head. "No. In fact, I think it's best if we keep most of the team here and set them to root out Shadow Stalker and Armsmaster's little rebellion while we work. If we can shut down the core of the opposition while the world is distracted by our operation in Ellisburg, that will be ideal."
Dragon nodded. "Makes sense. Panacea should have no trouble finding them with Nenya. We can leave her here, and I'll come with you to Ellisburg. Who else do you want to bring?"
"Piggot, of course," I said. "Beyond that… I don't know. We'll take volunteers, I suppose. We can probably plan around any group."
"All right. So we'll talk to them tomorrow?"
"I suppose we will." I glanced at the wall clock. About two in the morning. "Still a few hours before then."
"You sure you don't want to wake Piggot up?"
"There's no real need," I said. "There's no rush." I smiled at Dragon. "How about we head down to the forge and tinker for a few hours?"
She smiled back—a quick, almost nervous thing. "I'd like that."
-x-x-x-
