One More Trigger (Worm AU)

[Genesis09]

That was a cruel cliffhanger to drop the story at but despite the fact that this message might get marked spam I still want to say thank you for writing this. Even if it never gets finished I greatly enjoyed the read. One of my favorite worm stories.

 

[edale]

That was a cruel cliffhanger to drop the story at but despite the fact that this message might get marked spam I still want to say thank you for writing this. Even if it never gets finished I greatly enjoyed the read. One of my favorite worm stories.

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This is the voting thread for my SFW stories (look in my sig for the full list). For those who are new to this: Original Voting Thread The stories up for voting are: Alea Iacta Est - Taylor triggers with a variation on Dinah Alcott's power. (the title is Latin for 'let the die be...

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[Ack]

One More Trigger

Part Thirty- Nine: Moving Right Along

[A/N: This chapter beta-read by Lady Columbine of Mystal.]



Mere Seconds Before

Purity

Kayden normally landed on the roof of the apartment building, but this time she didn't care. Also, they already knew about her secret identity, so there was no point. So she came in fast and low, arriving feet-first through the window into her bedroom.

And there Aster was, lying in the middle of the bed, crying loudly. The terror which had gripped Kayden's chest all the way from the PRT building loosened its grasp and she scooped her daughter up, holding her close. Just like that, her touch soothed Aster and her wails faded away.

She was just about to open the door and see where Theo was when she heard the voices emanating from just on the other side.

"Oh, bullshit!" That was a masculine voice, impatient and irritated. Kayden recognised the slight echo that came from PRT closed-face helmets. "We know she is! We got the report on the way here!"

Another voice intervened, sounding more curious. "What makes you say she isn't, junior?"

Junior. Whoever's out there has Theo.

He managed to keep them busy until I got here.

Taking a deep breath, she placed Aster in her crib, off to the side of the door, then powered up again. Hovering a little off the floor, she opened the door.

Theo was lying face-down on the floor of the living room, his wrists secured behind him with handcuffs. Standing over him were three PRT troopers. But just to make life interesting, there were also two police officers, pointing their pistols at the troopers.

She didn't make the mistake of thinking the police were on her side. In her experience, very few people in the world were on her side, and most of those wanted something from her in return. Of those who did not, Theo and Aster were the only two she could think of right then. Aster was safe; Theo was not.

She only had one thing to say about that. "Get. Away. From. My. Son."

<><>​

Sergeant Gary Eastman, BBPD

Being a cop in Brockton Bay was no picnic at the best of times. If they weren't having to contend with the ABB, it was the Empire, Uber and Leet, or the irritating smash-and-grab artists like Circus or the goddamn Undersiders. Fortunately, SOP was to call in the PRT to situations like that, and let them handle the problem. And the fallout.

Sometimes, though, disengaging wasn't really an option, and the PRT wasn't always there to be called in. For those types of circumstances, they'd all had de-escalation training. It wasn't a million miles away from hostage negotiation, and indeed used a lot of the same techniques.

Step one was to gauge the level of danger they (and the general public) were in if the villain decided to cut loose. Step two was to try to put the villain at ease by reducing visible aggression. Step three was to attempt to calm the confrontation down. This was usually done by finding out what the supervillain wanted, and making the judgement call on whether it was worth it just to let them have it and leave.

This last point had been emphasised over and over: if the bad guys were just stealing shit, ninety-nine times out of a hundred it would be covered by insurance. Cash could be replaced, artwork could be recovered. Dead people stayed dead.

When lives were at risk, that was when things got hairy. Some villains were in it specifically to hurt people. Mainly, this was the Empire; the ABB had been bad for it too, but they were no longer so much of an issue now that Oni Lee was also in holding.

And then … there was the situation in front of him right now.

Step one was easy: this was Purity. Her blasts were on record as being able to destroy buildings, so the overall danger level could be described as 'fuck that'. Unfortunately, step two looked to be a shitload harder, given that the PRT troopers on scene seemed intent on increasing the aggression level instead of decreasing it.

Step three looked paradoxically easier to figure out; she wanted her kids. Gary wasn't inclined to separate a mom from her offspring, especially—and this was important—if she was able to vaporise him for saying no. But again, the PRT idiots were complicating matters by (if junior was to be believed) wanting to take the baby into custody. Kidnapping her, as the boy put it.

He figured there must be stupider things to do while standing at ground zero, but he really couldn't think of any right at that second.

"Lopez," he ordered. "Eyes front. Ma'am, we're not here to take your baby. Or your son. You three, weapons down." He added emphasis with a twitch of his pistol.

"Sarge." Lopez was still side-eyeing the blazing figure in the doorway, but at least his pistol wasn't drifting her way anymore.

The PRT troopers were being less cooperative. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" demanded the one wearing sergeant's chevrons on the shoulder-piece of his armour. "She's a villain! We need to take the children into protective custody!"

"Stand the fuck down, mister!" Gary wasn't inclined to afford him sergeant-to-sergeant courtesy, not when they were both seconds away from becoming fuzzy outlines on the nearest load-bearing wall. "You busted in here with no warrant and assaulted this kid! That's about as far from any definition of 'protective' as I ever saw!"

"Are you on her side? Why are you on her side?" That was another trooper.

"Because you're breaking the goddamn law! Now, stand down! I'm not going to tell you a third time!" Gary wasn't sure if he was really going to open fire on these lunatics, but he wanted to go home at the end of the day.

"I told you, it's exigent … wait." The PRT sergeant held up his hand. "Wait. That can't be right."

That was when Glory Girl drifted in through the open window behind him. "If by 'that' you mean you've just been told to leave Purity alone, trust me that it's right. I'm here to verify."

"Jeez!" The PRT sergeant spun around, his shotgun coming up. The other two reacted as well, just not as violently. "What do you know about this?"

She shrugged, pushing the barrel aside. "Not a lot. Just that Brandish talked to Director Piggot, and they decided to cut Purity a break. You guys aren't needed here anymore." She gave them a finger-wave. "So … buh-bye."

His shotgun lowered to point at the floor. "Shit. Okay, we're going."

Gary didn't relax; he was pleased to see that Lopez didn't either. Some people just didn't know when to quit, and these troopers might be among that number.

But the PRT troopers stepped past him and Lopez and started toward the busted door. Gary raised his voice. "Hey!"

"What?" The sergeant stopped and turned. "We're going. Isn't that what you wanted?"

Gary took one hand off his gun and pointed at the kid. "Cuffs, dumbass. Also, gonna need your name and badge number for the report."

After just long enough of a pause that Gary thought he was going to leave anyway, the sergeant came back and unlocked the cuffs. He didn't help the kid up, though. "Farrell," he said. Another long hesitation. "Three one four seven six two."

Gary watched him leave, then holstered his pistol. Beside him, Lopez did the same. Something about the quality of the glare changed; Gary hoped that meant Purity was no longer ready to obliterate them on the instant. The kid went to climb to his feet, and Glory Girl helped him up. "You okay?" she asked. "Want me to get Panacea in on this?"

The boy shook his head. "I'll be fine," he mumbled. "Thanks."

"Yes," Purity said belatedly, as though she'd just remembered that common courtesy was a thing. "Thank you for … for helping us. Now please leave my home."

"Sure thing. See you around." Glory Girl climbed out the window and flew away, because of course she could.

Gary didn't want to hang around either. "Let's go, Lopez."

"Yes, sarge." Lopez followed him out of the apartment, pushing around the end of the sofa and past the ruined door. They were halfway down the corridor to the elevator before he cleared his throat. "Uh … aren't we supposed to get a statement …?"

Gary turned to look at him directly. "Yes, we were. But sometimes it's better to exercise discretion and skip certain steps. That was one such time. And once we get back to the precinct and fill out our reports, I'm certain that nobody will disagree with us."

"Yes, sarge."

They rode the elevator down in silence. Gary spent the time scribbling in his notebook to make sure he didn't forget the highlights of the encounter. At the ground floor, they headed out toward the police cruiser; as they were getting in, Lopez cleared his throat again.

Gary gave him a raised-eyebrows look. "What's on your mind this time?"

"Would you have really shot him? If he'd done something stupid, I mean?"

That question had been gnawing at Gary's mind too. He gave Lopez the best answer he had. "I'm glad I never had to find out."

"Me too, sarge. Me, too."

<><>​

Director Emily Piggot, PRT ENE

Emily stepped out of the elevator into the ruins of the lobby, still holding the assault rifle. As far as she knew, the danger was over, but she preferred to make sure for herself.

The Samaritans had shown up; or rather, they'd shown themselves. She was certain that the mass collapse of the Empire goons outside the building was their work. The result of another unholy collaboration between Panacea and Ladybug, no doubt. Just another thing to keep her awake deep into the night.

On the upside, it had worked impressively well; had the attackers managed to breach the building and swarm inside, the defenders may well have been overwhelmed in the first rush. As it was, the capes had still forced their way in, but had gotten no farther than the lobby. The Protectorate and PRT forces on site were to be thanked for that.

"Hi, Director!" That was Sparx, striding over cheerfully. With her were Ladybug and Aerodyne. Flechette and Vista were also present, hanging back toward the entrance, apparently guarding against any unwanted intrusions. Meanwhile, Panacea was already healing those troopers and heroes wounded in the assault. She was accompanied by Athena (who of course looked irritatingly smug) and a black-haired girl with a strong resemblance to Bonesaw (who didn't). "How did it go? Nobody seriously hurt, I hope?"

"Not that I'm aware of, no." Emily had made it a point to check on everyone's welfare as a first priority; nobody had died, and there were no critical injuries among her people. "Thank you for the warning, and for attending."

"You're welcome." Ladybug tilted her head slightly. "But are you okay there? You're limping a little."

Emily shook her head dismissively. "An old injury. Too long on my feet. Not an issue."

Aerodyne nodded. "Are you alright with letting Panacea have a look at it, or would you rather not?"

Emily glanced again at where the former New Wave healer had just finished with one trooper and was starting on another. As Panacea performed her work, she was laughing and joking with the men. Emily could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times she'd seen the girl smiling, and still have a couple left over; laughing, never.

But even if she'd been inclined to put aside her natural antipathy toward cape healing, Athena was also there, with maybe-Bonesaw standing next to her. At that moment, the blonde Thinker glanced around and treated Emily to her trademark smirk. It was easy to read her expression: I know what you're thinking.

Emily looked away again; the cape formerly known as Tattletale almost certainly did know what she was thinking, and Emily hated that idea. "No," she said curtly. Then, because it was a stupid idea to snub a cape team with such capability under its belt, she gestured toward Bonesaw and Athena. "Have either of them been giving you any trouble?"

"Not so you'd notice." Butter wouldn't have melted in Aerodyne's mouth. "Athena's been a positive asset to the team ever since she jumped ship from the Undersiders, and Riley's starting to come out of her shell now that his influence is starting to wear off."

'He', of course, was Jack Slash. The man was dead, courtesy of a twelve-gauge shotgun to the eye-socket. His corpse would be kept under guard until it could be ferried out to Alamogordo and immolated by way of a small tactical nuclear device. The background radiation count wouldn't even go up by much.

Not that any of this was Emily's direct concern. She had other things to worry about. "It's been less than a week." She wasn't going to directly call the girl a liar, but she was allowed to be sceptical. "This isn't some Disney redemption movie."

"No, true," Ladybug agreed. "She isn't some misunderstood loner who needs to learn how to accept friendship into their heart just in time for the credits to roll. It's a lot sadder than that. She's a six-year-old girl trapped in the head of a serial killer that was manufactured by a monster and turned loose on the United States for fun."

"The serial killer's still in there," Emily warned. "Just because you killed the monster who made it doesn't mean it went away too. It's still looking out through her eyes. Waiting for its chance."

Sparx nodded. "We're aware of that. On the upside, we've got Athena poking and prodding at it. Give her thirty seconds to talk to someone, and she can make them doubt everything they hold dear." She used her hair tendrils to pull over a chair, brushed debris off it and offered it to Emily. "She's had days. There are buttons, and she's pressing every single one she can find, as only she can."

Emily shuddered. Good cause or no good cause, the thought of having someone like Athena—with the power of a top-flight Thinker coupled to all the restraint and good judgement of a teenager—digging through her head on a daily basis was frankly terrifying. "I'm still not sure that doesn't count as cruel and unusual punishment."

Accepting the chair, she sat down; her legs were starting to ache again. Around them, troopers were clearing out the worst of the debris.

Ladybug chuckled. "According to her, Bonesaw is hating every second. Riley, on the other hand, is doing okay. She's not embracing life away from the Nine with open arms yet, but that's because she's still internalising the idea that she's allowed to. Stockholm Syndrome—"

"There have been studies that discredit the concept," Emily interrupted, just as Bonesaw smiled at something that Panacea had apparently just said. "In case you were basing everything on that."

"Not when Masters like Jack Slash make it a reality," Aerodyne countered. "We know it's not the traditional, accepted version. But it passes the duck test, so why bother making up new names when everyone knows what it means?"

Emily mused, not for the first time, that there were several things she needed to keep in mind when talking with the founding members of the Samaritans. First, they had their act together. Second, they were absolutely willing to back each other up to the hilt. Third, they got shit done. She still hadn't forgotten the revelation about the booster bugs across Brockton Bay, though a solution to that particular conundrum had yet to present itself.

And of course, fourth: it was vitally important to stay on good terms with them, because she needed the intel they could provide her about the Brockton Bay criminal cape scene far more than they needed her cooperation.

Not to mention, if she tried to play fast and loose with the rules, they were also liable to poach her Wards right out from under her, which was not a good look for the PRT under any circumstances. She was still smarting from the dressing-down she'd gotten from Chief Director Costa-Brown about that little fiasco.

"Granted," she allowed. "So, with the city officially free of major criminal gangs, what are your plans going forward?" That they had plans for going forward, she had absolutely no doubt. These girls knew what they were doing, and weren't about to let anything stand in their way. Thus, the question: if she knew which way they wanted to go, she could plan accordingly.

Instinctively, she glanced around the lobby; everything seemed to be going well, and nobody was listening in on them.

"Well, the majority of the capes are gone, but there are still criminals." Sparx' tone was thoughtful. "Uber and Leet might hire on a few of them, but the rest have better sense than that. A city full of unoccupied criminals is basically a magnet for villains to wander on in and set up camp."

Emily had been thinking about this herself. "Boston Games all over again."

Ladybug touched her nose then pointed at Emily, in a gesture she had to have learned from her parents. "Got it in one. We've been talking to Panacea and Glory Girl about what it was like then. Boston's bigger than Brockton Bay, but our cape population's always been higher. If they decide that we're a wide-open frontier, who knows what kind of costumed idiots will decide to crash the party."

Emily raised her eyebrows. "If I've learned anything about how your team operates, you never just stand around wringing your hands and hoping that someone will do something about the problem. You get in there and create a solution yourself. So, what's your solution?"

Aerodyne gave Sparx what Emily interpreted as an amused glance. "I believe she's onto us."

Sparx nodded, a grin on her lips. "I believe she is." She turned to Emily. "Well, one thing we're not doing is drawing down the booster bug population. Ladybug gets to keep her city-wide bug control for the foreseeable future. Second, we're collecting the dossiers for every villain who could possibly decide to show up here. Third, based on the information in those dossiers, as interpreted by our Thinker contingent, we're going to be developing tactics and strategies to deal with them, en masse and individually."

"If they're small-time," Ladybug continued, "we'll explain carefully to them that it's healthier basically anywhere else, and send them on their way. If they're big-time, we'll hand them over to you. And if they have kill orders, and they don't want to surrender … well, it won't be pleasant, but we'll do what we have to do."

"Which reminds me," noted Aerodyne. "What actually happened to Manton? Because he seems to have fallen into a hole that nobody knows about."

Emily gritted her teeth, just a little. The only thing that irritated her more than having prisoners whisked away on orders from above was being queried about it with no good answers to give. "Athena needs to refrain from sticking her nose into PRT business."

"We all know that's never going to happen." Ladybug tilted her head. "So you really don't know where he's gone? Huh."

Aerodyne spread her hands. "Well, in a way it's a good thing. If the Dragonslayers had brought his transport down, taking out Jack Slash this time would've been a whole lot more problematic."

"Actually, that raises another point." Sparx' voice held a note that put Emily on guard. "We can't just let the Dragonslayers pull crap like that anytime they want. By bringing down Dragon's craft and giving Jack Slash the chance to come back at us, they caused the deaths of at least a dozen people, and they clearly don't care. That attitude needs to be remedied."

Emily held up a finger as she pushed herself to her feet again. "I suggest you rein in that Messiah complex a little. You're good, but you can't fix every problem in the region. I'd strongly advise you not to stretch yourself too thin by trying. We're already going to have our hands full with a potential Brockton Games, don't forget."

Sparx smiled, showing a few too many teeth for Emily's liking. "Oh, don't worry, Director. We don't even need to leave town. They'll be coming to us. We'll have all the time in the world to prep for them."

"I don't understand. How are you going to do that?" Emily knew better than to gainsay the claim that they could beat the Dragonslayers on home ground. Between Ladybug's coverage of the city and at least one Thinker (possibly two) on their strength, the intruding villains would be on the back foot from the moment they entered city limits.

They wouldn't even see the Samaritans coming.

"Armsmaster?" asked Ladybug.

Sparx nodded. "Armsmaster."

"Thought so." Ladybug turned to Emily. "Please ask Armsmaster to come and speak to us, under conditions of absolute discretion, as soon as he's free."

Emily frowned. "Are you intending to use one of my capes as bait in some kind of trap?"

"Bait will be used, but it won't be him," Aerodyne assured her. "I can guarantee, he'll appreciate it once we fill him in."

"You'll tell him, but you won't fill me in first?" She tried not to sound offended.

Aerodyne shrugged. "He can choose to tell you, or not, as he sees fit."

Which was the best deal she was going to get, she knew.

Fortunately, Armsmaster answers to me.

<><>​

The Evening of Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Hebert Household

Ladybug

Dad leaned back in his armchair. "Alright, everyone. The Empire event today. Let's have a breakdown. Emma, what did we do wrong?"

Emma considered the question seriously. "About the only thing I can think of is that we were being too clever with crashing the car into the bollards. Several things could've gone wrong with that; it could've veered off-course, or hit too hard and hurt one of them badly. And we should've let the PRT know it was us, and where they'd come from, so they'd know about Medhall straight away."

"And thus the Empire wouldn't have had the leeway to gather resources for the attack today," Mr Barnes finished off. "Does anyone else have anything to say about that?"

Riley raised her hand from where she sat on the sofa beside Lisa, with Missy at the far end. It should've been seriously overcrowded, but it wasn't. Even though eight people were sitting on it, there still seemed to be room to spare. Bullshit cape powers are bullshit; news at eleven.

"Uh, yeah, I do. I mean, if that's okay?"

"Absolutely," Dad assured her. "I was actually going to call on you at some point, so go right ahead."

"Oh." She blinked, apparently assimilating that, then went on, the words tumbling over each other. "Well, um, I think you're bein' too hard on yourselves. That whole thing with the villains was perfect misdirection an' showmanship. I learned some really bad stuff from Jack Slash, that's true, but he also taught me a ton about presentation. Sure, you framed 'em for drink driving an' ram-raiding, but once the PRT saw the costumes, that didn't mean jack anymore. They figured it out, collected the evidence, an' took the ball across the goal line all by themselves. Those charges could be dropped tomorrow an' not change a thing."

Mr Clements frowned. "But the attack—"

Riley shook her head. "Not your fault. Yeah, you coulda tried to intercept the capes on the way there, but that woulda split your forces and the unpowered mooks woulda still attacked the PRT building. If Vista and Flechette had gotten there sooner, things mighta gone better, but that's a really big if. Vista's good against opponents who are pretty far apart and Flechette's better with one-on-one situations. That wouldn't work well for what happened out there today." She gestured upward. "Rune and Stormtiger were the problem they coulda dealt with, but Aerodyne an' Ladybug already had that in hand." She stopped and took a breath. "Anyway, that's what I wanted to say."

Lisa nodded. "Perfect is the enemy of good. We could've been perfect today, but it would've taken a lot more effort and coordination. As it was, we beat them anyway."

"I'd still like to keep pushing toward perfect," I noted. "Slacking off just because we're 'good enough' is not a great way to stay in first place when it counts."

Madison nodded. "Totally. Nobody here's going to be slacking off any time soon." She broke off when Emma's phone rang. "You want to get that?"

"One sec." Emma checked the screen and her brow creased. "Shit, it's D – uh, the one we rescued from Coil." Because Riley didn't need to know everything right at that moment.

"Better see what she wants," Dad advised; not that anyone was in disagreement. Every time she'd called us out of the blue, it had been with information that we really needed to know.

"On it." Emma got up from her chair and wandered into the kitchen. "Heyyy, munchkin. What's up?"

Dad looked at the rest of us. "Okay, what did we do right, that we can maybe incorporate into other situations?"

I held up my hand. "Got something in between. A shortfall we can improve on. I remember thinking that we needed more ketamine bug hives. The reason you had to literally drive a bunch of them across town is because I've only got a few hives, and nothing near Downtown. If I'd had more near the Medhall building, I could've dropped nearly every cape before they got close."

Riley rolled her eyes. "I still think it's unfair that you can get Panacea to just make you up more bugs like that. Jack totally didn't see that coming, the first time around. Neither did I." But her tone indicated rueful amusement rather than actual upset.

Vicky snorted derisively. "In case you missed the memo, short stuff, capes are all about being unfair. In my experience, the ones who scream the loudest about 'unfairness' are the ones who're used having it in their favour. When it bites the other way, it's a real shock. Tell me I'm wrong, Ames."

"Haha, nope." Amy shook her head and chuckled. "I've seen it too often. Because I'm usually not the one in the middle of the cape fight, I can observe both sides, and the sudden look of 'I didn't know they were that strong' is impossible to miss. And the whining afterwards, while I'm healing them." She rolled her eyes. "So much whining."

"Well, we can definitely see about establishing new nests for them," Dad said. "Start looking for potential sites, and we can go from there."

Emma emerged from the kitchen, phone still in hand. "Uh, guys? You know how we were talking about Brockton Games? Looks like we've got our first contender."

Dad's head came up. "That was fast. The Empire only went down today."

"No, she actually got into town a few days ago." Emma nodded to Lily. "It's your old friend March."

Lily sagged. "Oh, shit. Guys, I am sooo sorry."

"March?" asked Riley. "Who's she?"

"We got powers around the same time." Lily sighed. "You know the old 'evil twin' schtick for cape shows? She's mine. Nearly the same powers, no sense of proportionate response, and will hurt anyone and everyone to get what she wants."

Riley spread her hands. "And what's that? Money? Power?"

"My attention," Lily said heavily. "If I ignore her, she comes after me. If I go after her, she organises people to hamper me, then she kicks the shit out of me. To her, it's all a big game, and she changes the rules anytime she feels like it."

"So, basically like Jack Slash would be if he had an obsession for one particular person," Lisa filled in helpfully. "Right down to his ability to keep people all lined up and pointing in a particular direction."

"Huh." Riley frowned. "And what'd you ever do to her?"

"Nothing, I swear." Lily shook her head. "Like I said, we got our powers at the same time, and hers are a lot like mine. I'd be fine with never seeing her again, but she just keeps coming back, injuring my teammates and playing with me like a cat with a mouse."

I caught Emma's eye. "Sophia," I murmured.

She nodded silently.

Lily was still talking. "I mean, I'm good on my own, but her power lets her organise people for group efforts. Every time I've gone against her, I've lost."

"Kiss-kill," Riley said, nodding. "I've seen that occasionally. People who get powers at the same time either end up bonding really close or wanting to murder each other."

"Yeah, well, with her it's both at once," Lily grumbled. "She wants to be close to me, but only so she can hurt me."

Sabah put an arm around her and hugged her tightly.

Mr Barnes dusted his hands off. "Alright then, we'll read up on her powers. Flechette, you let us know about anything that's not in the files. Sparx, what's she up to right now?"

"Building a gang," Emma said promptly.

Lily nodded gloomily. "Yeah, that's her way."

I grinned. "And that way worked in New York, but it's not gonna work here. Do we have an area of the city that she's in?"

"Boardwalk," Emma reported. "Closer to the southern end, near Downtown."

"Working on old information," Lisa noted. "She thinks Flechette's still in the Wards."

I mimed cracking my knuckles. "Well, my bugs are on the search right now. What am I looking for?"

"Oh, right." Lily nodded. "She wears a rabbit-head mask and a fake military uniform, like from a hundred years ago. All bright red and blue, with shiny buttons."

"Well, that's definitely a good marker to look for." I submerged myself in the bug sensorium as they began sweeping the area that Emma had noted. A mask like that would stand out even to the crap senses I had to work with, and bright primary colours with shiny brass was even better.

Madison leaned close to Emma, and I heard a murmur of 'five bucks …'. Emma shook her head, clearly unwilling to take the bet.

"So how long do you think it'll take?" Lily asked.

I grinned. "About now, actually. I've got someone with a bright red and blue shirt with fringes and shiny buttons. Also, a rabbit head mask with a little cap on top."

"That's her." Lily shook her head in disbelief. "Jeez, that was fast."

Leaning back in my chair, I crossed my legs at the ankles and put my hands behind my head. "To paraphrase the movie from that show, 'bugs go everywhere, and I go where the bugs are'."

"Seriously, wow. You're worse than Lisa." Emma reached across and poked me in the ribs.

I squawked and brought my arms down to protect myself. "Hey, hands off the merchandise!"

Mr Barnes ignored the byplay. "So, as I was saying, now that we've located her, we'll read up on her abilities then devise a plan for cutting her off from her power base and taking her down. Then we'll execute." He looked over at Riley. "You're invited to this planning session. Any insights you can offer will be greatly appreciated."

"What, really?" She looked severely taken aback. "I thought I was just observing. Learning how superheroes did things."

"You are," Mr Clements agreed. "But that analysis you gave us shows you've got something to offer in the planning stage. So if there's anything you think needs to be said, we're ready to listen."

She seemed to be having trouble with the concept. "And you'll actually pay attention? Not just pat me on the head and tell me to go play or something?"

"Hardly," Dad assured her. "You think we'd do that with Vista?"

Missy giggled and got up from the sofa. Heading down to the far end of it, she gave Riley a hug. "You've got more experience at being a cape than anyone else here. Of course we're going to listen to you."

"We'd be stupid not to," Madison added. She tilted her head. "I'm guessing Jack Slash didn't invite input like this?"

"What do you think?" Riley rolled her eyes. "He was good at finding out what we wanted and getting it to us, but he had to make the plans, every time. The trouble was, he was also too darn good at shooting down any suggestions we made. So usually, it was easier not to try."

Lily nodded. "March definitely comes across as that sort of control freak, yeah."

I gave her a grin. "Well, let's see what we can do about that."

<><>​

Later That Night
A Parking Structure

Armsmaster

Colin slowly rode his motorbike up the ramp to the top deck of the multi-level parking garage. The cycle was set to silent running, and he had every available sensor feeding into his helmet. The largest life form on any but the top deck were a few birds he'd disturbed three levels down. On the top level, four people awaited. They showed no particular surprise when he motored into view; in fact, the tallest one waved and gestured him over.

Low-light vision identified the costumes as belonging to Sparx, Ladybug, Aerodyne, and Vista. He also spotted Sparx' hair waving where there was no breeze, and bugs flying in large looping swarms around them. Every data point he could collect indicated that these were indeed the Samaritans; not that he'd doubted it, but a meeting with this much stress on secrecy naturally brought out the paranoid in him.

Stopping the bike a dozen yards from them, he dismounted and closed the distance. "I'm here," he said quietly. "What's the situation?"

Sparx held up her hand briefly. "We need to make sure nobody can listen in. Our phones are turned off and wrapped in aluminum foil. Please shut down all outgoing signals."

He wanted to ask why, but decided it would be a useless question. Better to do what she said, and find out afterward. As he started shutting down his transmissions, he noticed Sparx' hair flowing out into a cage around them. Tiny dots and crackles of discharge jumped from one hair to another. Beyond that, the swarming bugs surrounded the cage of hair with their bodies in a constant swirl of motion; he almost thought he saw flickers of silver among them.

"What are you doing?" he asked. "I'm not transmitting anything."

It was Ladybug who spoke. "We can't risk anyone being able to tap into your suit remotely. Sparx is making a Faraday cage, and my bugs are carrying tiny pieces of tinfoil for chaff. Aerodyne's also holding us a fraction of an inch off the ground, so not even a microphone stuck to the concrete will pick anything up."

Vista raised her chin. "And I've just expanded the space on this rooftop to a mile in all directions. Nobody gets to listen in on this conversation but us."

"Alright then. You've got my attention." Colin folded his arms. "Now what's all this about?" Though he'd never admit it out loud, he was moderately impressed by how thoroughly they'd embraced the concept of opsec. They were quite effective, for non-Tinkers.

Sparx took a deep breath. "Athena is sure there's a mole somewhere in Dragon's organisation, feeding information back to Saint and the Dragonslayers. They've hacked her communications, and they have backdoors into her tech. When they grabbed the transports carrying the Nine, they directly caused the deaths of at least a dozen people. We want to take them down."

Colin's jaw hardened. "I'm aware of most of that, except for the situation with the mole. Why aren't you bringing her in on this?" Half a second after he asked the question, he realised how stupid it sounded. "Sorry, scratch that. They're reading her mail."

"Bingo." Ladybug nodded firmly. "We want to remove the Dragonslayers as a problem for her. The trouble is, we can't leave town because there's at least one villain here to cause problems, and more will likely be arriving soon. So we want to draw them here, where we can take them down and hand them over to you guys."

"And how do you intend to do that?" Colin knew the girls couldn't see his raised eyebrows, but he did it anyway. "They're notoriously slippery to deal with."

"This is where you come in." Vista stepped forward. "Our plan revolves around you pitching a collaborative project for a new and improved Dragon suit. One that you're going to construct—with her assistance, either remote or in-person—right here in Brockton Bay. Let it be known that you're doing this, and word will get back to them. They won't be able to resist."

It was actually a good idea. Simple, effective and workable. There was just one flaw. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but for your plan to work, I'm going to need to deceive Dragon about what we're doing. Lie to her face."

Aerodyne nodded. "That's true, yes. She can't know about the plan. We don't know how deep this mole has their hooks into her personal computer setup, but any slip at all means we'll have to start from scratch, with them fully aware that we're going after them. Worse, Athena suspects they might have the capacity to take it out on her if someone tried to get them, and missed."

He shook his head. "She's a good friend. I don't like lying to her. Get someone else to do it."

"Armsmaster." Vista spoke with the authority of someone closer to thirty than thirteen. "There's nobody else in the city who works with her as closely as you do. Nobody with the same level of Tinkering reputation. There is no-one else who can do this. Tell me I'm wrong."

"I can't." He looked down and shook his head. "You're not wrong, but I can't bear to lie to her like that. Even if the plan comes off perfectly, she'll never be able to trust me again."

"That's a 'then' problem." Sparx folded her arms. "The Dragonslayers are a 'now' problem. Anyway, do you really believe that she won't understand, after the fact? Is she so unreasonable?"

"No, she's not unreasonable—" Colin cut himself off, fully aware that he'd been outmanoeuvred. "I just hate the idea of lying to her."

Ladybug tilted her head. "Would you be okay with a mole siphoning all your sensitive information back to a bunch of villains? So they could use your tech to commit crimes with?"

"Well, no!" If he found out that was going on, he'd move heaven and earth to get to the bottom of it.

"And would you be okay with Dragon pulling a sting to trap the mole? Lying to you, to make sure he got sucked in?" Aerodyne's sweet tone belied the trap they were setting for him.

He grimaced. "Yes. I would be. I'd be stupid to be angry over it."

"And Dragon's not stupid, is she." Vista made it a statement rather than a question.

There was no arguing with that. "No, she's not."

Sparx made a hand motion and all four girls shut up then; the only sound he could hear was the faint crackling of Sparx' hair and the buzzing drone of the surrounding bug swarm. They'd presented their arguments and broken down his objections. Now, they were waiting to see which way he jumped.

Colin Wallis considered himself a logical, pragmatic man. Emotions had little to no say in his decisions, or so he'd thought.

He'd been wrong.

Even when it was Dragon's welfare at stake, he found it hard to separate the emotional from the important. Intellectually, he knew what he needed to do, but it was difficult to square that with his personal view of himself. And of course, there was the other problem.

"I …" He hesitated. "I'm not used to lying. Even harmless lies don't sit right with me. I honestly don't know if I could pull it off. She'll see right through me."

"So, don't focus on the trap." Sparx' tone was entirely reasonable. "Actually figure out some tech that would work well with her suits, and really help her build the suit. We'll do the rest. She gets a new suit out of it, and gets the Dragonslayers off her back at the same time. Win-win."

"Yeah," agreed Ladybug. "And I guarantee you, she'll forgive you for the deception before you've even finished apologising."

Colin looked at Vista and Aerodyne. They both nodded in agreement, then Vista took half a step forward. "If I can just say something here?"

"I'm listening." This was the first chance Colin had had to speak with the girl since she quit the Wards, and he had more than a few questions for her. But it was only polite to let her speak first.

She took a deep breath. "When I left, I didn't do it because I hate the Wards, or the Protectorate. It had nothing to do with Aegis' leadership, or yours. You're a good hero. One of the best. Someone I still see as a role model to follow."

He rubbed his chin, then smoothed his beard. "I notice you didn't say you had no issues with the PRT."

She looked him directly in the eye; or rather, in the visor. "You'll have to take that one up with Director Piggot. Or Aegis. He was there too." Her tone had become uncompromising and hard-edged, giving him the hint as to where the fault lay.

"Understood." He would touch base with Aegis as soon as he could manage a quiet meeting, but this other matter had precedence.

He looked away, seeking some kind of epiphany within the river of fast-moving insect bodies surrounding them. No signpost showed itself within the swirl of black and silver. Which meant he had to reach inward, not outward.

What do I care more about, the way Dragon sees me, or her well-being?

When he found the answer to that question, he knew what he had to do. "Well, I suppose I should go and figure out what sort of tech I can offer Dragon to be incorporated into her suits."

Sparx smiled, Vista nodded, and the other two girls high-fived each other. "Excellent," said Sparx. "Lowering security now." As she spoke, the makeshift Faraday cage vanished as her hair settled back into drifting strands. At the same time, the bug swarm dissipated altogether, revealing a perfectly normal expanse of concrete.

"Thank you for this." Colin held out his hand; Sparx shook it, followed by each of the others. "I appreciate you bringing it to me."

"No problem," Ladybug said cheerfully. "See you around."

That part, he had no problem believing, given that she had 'eyes' in every corner of the city. Director Piggot had been savagely eloquent regarding the matter.

He gave the girls a nod, then went back to his bike. They stood, watching, as he stepped astride it then rode away down the ramp.

They'd given him a lot to think about, but the most important aspect was simple enough.

What can I offer Dragon to build into her suits?

It was an intriguing proposition, and one he was going to enjoy delving into.



End of Part Thirty-Nine

 

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One More Trigger

Part Forty: What Tangled Webs We Weave

[A/N: This chapter beta-read by Lady Columbine of Mystal.]



Wednesday Afternoon, May 4, 2011
Hebert Household

Ladybug

"Alright then," Emma announced, looking around the living room at everyone. "We're all here? Good. We currently have two separate problems facing us; well, they're the ones at the top of the list, anyway. Number one is March, who is in town to screw with Flechette until she gives up and goes back to New York. Number two is the Dragonslayers, who turned a perfectly good capture of the Nine into a debacle. We nearly lost some of our own because they couldn't keep their sticky fingers off Dragon's tech. So, we're taking them down, with Armsmaster's assistance. Taylor?"

I took a deep breath. "Emma, Madison, and I met with Armsmaster last night and presented him with our plan to deal with the Dragonslayers. He was dubious but came around in the end. We're leaving him to sort out that side of the preparation, which allows us to focus on March for the moment. Lily, I know we've already spoken about her, but can you give us a refresher?"

"Right. Um." Lily stood up from the sofa but didn't let go of Sabah's hand. "So, getting down to basics, March and I are part of a cluster trigger. This gives us each a set of related grab-bag powers. Any move I've ever made against her, she's either anticipated it or read it on the fly, and I've never been able to read her the same way, which is really annoying. And she can apply this to her minions too, so they're basically extensions of her will."

"Marching in step," Mr Clements supplied.

She gave him a nod. "Exactly. And when she's fighting, she can charge her weapons like I can, or just touch stuff for an explosive Striker effect. This will kill anyone she's charged like that, or turn any object into an IED. Plus, she's way too accurate with thrown weapons."

Madison nodded thoughtfully. "So, what I'm hearing is that we never let her know it's us she's up against, so she can't make plans against us."

I leaned back in my chair. "And we don't get into hand-to-hand with her if we can help it. Also, don't let her touch us with a weapon. Or her bare hand." I paused thoughtfully. "I've had bugs on her all night and most of today, keeping track of her current minions. Is there any kind of pressing reason I shouldn't just swarm her with ketamine bugs?"

"Tempting," mused Dad, "except, she's clearly resourceful. I'd rather we didn't take her down with our best shot, in case she manages to escape custody and then comes at us with full knowledge of that. Also, if she's already anticipated your involvement, attacking her with bugs right now will make certain that she'll include our actions in her planning."

Mr Barnes nodded. "This is exactly why we have you handicap yourselves during training. Also, when we do move against her, we'll have to do it from a position of surprise, so she has as little time as possible to react."

"About that." Lily took a deep breath. "When she's actually fighting, she reacts faster and more accurately than most people. Even me, and I've got perfect timing. So, we have to keep that in mind too."

Missy leaned back on the sofa. "Well, that's a relief," she snarked. "We wouldn't want everyone we went up against to be a pushover. It'd get boring, otherwise."

Vicky cleared her throat. "I have a force field. Would she even be able to tag me through that?"

"Yes." Lily's tone was uncompromising. "When she charges a weapon, it works like my power. I've never encountered anything I couldn't cut through. Best to assume she's the same way."

"Please don't test that," Amy requested. "Carol's already pissed off with me enough as it is. If she found out I had to rebuild your arm or leg, she'd be impossible to live with."

"That's still so weird to me," Riley murmured to Lisa, so quietly that only my bugs picked it up. "I always thought hero teams were all happy and cooperative. It's the only way they could stand each other."

"Hah, yeah, right." Lisa snorted, just as discreetly. "When we've got a minute, I'll tell you some stories."

"And if Glory Girl can't beat her in hand to hand, it's a good bet nobody else can." Emma gave us each a direct look. "So keep that in mind. Now, we're aware she's building a gang, and we have her under bug observation. Any ideas on what her next move is?"

Lily raised her chin. "Finding me. Kicking the shit out of whoever's with me. Beating my ass. Rinse and repeat until I return to New York."

This time, Riley cleared her throat. "Uh, can I just say something?"

"Certainly," Emma agreed. "We've all got a voice here."

Riley stood up and paced across the clear space in the middle of the room, then back again. "You all know who I used to run with. Jack Slash. He wasn't just a mass murderer. He was all about the psychological effect. His powers let him get into your head and screw with your mind until you did what he wanted. Mannequin was another one like that. He hated seeing people make things better where he failed. So he loved to ruin good works in front of the people who were trying to make them happen."

"And what March is doing is something like that?" asked Lily, in the tone of someone who's just learned something new.

Riley turned again, and walked up to her. "What she's doing is exactly like that. She isn't kicking the crap out of you for the fun of it. She's deliberately setting out to ruin your cape career, to isolate you, and she's making sure you know it's her doing it. All so you'll surrender to her and let her take control of all your actions. And she's focusing on that, which makes it her biggest weakness."

I snapped my fingers, drawing all eyes to me. "Bait. You're saying that if Lily goes out as bait for March, she won't be looking out for the rest of the trap."

"Well, I wasn't saying it, but …" Riley shrugged. "It sounds like the most effective strategy to me."

"We've tried trapping her before." Lily grimaced. "Didn't go well. They attempted to dogpile her, and people ended up in the hospital. I got stabbed through the calf, just to explain to me why I shouldn't have done that."

Lisa steepled her fingertips. "So, we build a better rabbit trap."

From anyone else, it would've sounded vastly overconfident, at the very least. But from Lisa … it was safe to say that we were all paying attention.

Dad cleared his throat. "Go on."

<><>​

Protectorate ENE Base

Armsmaster

Colin drew a deep breath and licked his lips. He knew he shouldn't be so nervous—he'd faced down any number of murderous villains in his career, and survived every time—but the butterflies currently multiplying in his gut gave the lie to that. The moment he opened the channel, he'd be working to convince not only the Dragonslayers but Dragon herself that he was on the level with his proposition.

Unfortunately, he couldn't argue with the logic put forth by the Samaritans; this was why he was doing it at all.

After double-checking that the door to his lab was locked and the 'TINKERING IN PROGRESS' sign was active, he activated the correct menu item in his HUD and selected the option to place a call through to Dragon.

She only took a second or so to respond. "Hi, Colin. What's up?"

"I have a proposition for you." He'd tried to script this conversation out half a dozen times, but each one ended up more stilted and unnatural-sounding than the last. Finally, he'd given up in disgust and just jotted down the points he wanted to cover, on an actual paper notebook sitting on his workstation out of the range of any cameras. "A collaboration. If you're interested, that is."

She smiled warmly. "Of course I'm interested. What do you have in mind?"

"A new type of suit for you." He worked to keep his tone level and his expression calm. This wasn't anything special; one Tinker contacting another for a joint project. Nothing to get excited over. "I've been experimenting with high-efficiency systems for the type of hardware you tend to prefer, and I think I might be able to help you figure out how to improve your capabilities across the board."

None of this was actually a lie. Over the previous twenty-four hours, he'd thrown himself whole-heartedly into figuring out exactly how he could help her for real; there was no way he could pass off a fake offer well enough for her not to spot it as such. He had the specs for most of her suits on hand, of course, and he'd delved into them as deeply as the time allowed. While he hadn't located any weak spots, he had identified several systems that his own speciality could potentially make more efficient.

"Why, Colin." Her expression and tone became bemused. "Are you trying to Tinker-splain my own tech to me?"

"Not at all. Your technology is versatile and robust." He tried not to rush his explanation. Speaking in a more measured cadence, he'd read somewhere, made any pronouncement sound more credible. "I wouldn't dare try to redesign the whole of any of your suits. Especially since you've incorporated tech into each of them that I'd have trouble replicating. Too much effort for too little return."

"Noted." On the screen, she nodded. "So if you're not doing that, what are you doing?"

This was the crux of the matter. He tried not to rush into it, but it wasn't easy. "Your suits have a lot of tech from a lot of sources. Each of them is usually constructed around one specific type of technology. I was thinking we could work together on a single proof-of-concept model based on my tech, building as many of my modifications into it as possible, to see how it works as a whole. Once we're finished, you put it through its paces and see how well it performs. Anything you think is still viable, you're perfectly capable of reverse-engineering and building into your other suits." He paused. "It was just an idea I had. And seeing the suit built from the ground up might give me some ideas, too."

She frowned thoughtfully. "That's … something new, alright. Where would we do this? I could set up a workshop for you in my base …"

His frown was only partially assumed. This also had to sound totally natural. "I'm sorry, but I've got ongoing situations here in Brockton Bay that I can't walk away from. Would it be too much of an imposition for you to do it here? I've already floated the idea to Director Piggot, and she seemed to be in favour of using our facilities here."

That had been a discussion he didn't want to repeat in a hurry. She'd known there was a sting operation in the offing, but as with Dragon, he hadn't been able to tell her exactly what was going on. Deliberately attracting a supervillain gang like the Dragonslayers to Brockton Bay was not something she'd lightly agree to, after all. As a result, he'd been forced to pledge a large chunk of his Tinker budget toward the project before she approved it.

"Oh." She blinked. "Well, of course I can do it remotely." Was that a tinge of relief in her voice, or was it regret? He wasn't quite sure, and while his lie detection software was possibly good enough to tell the difference, he wasn't about to use it against her. Dragon was his friend, damn it, and there were lines he refused to cross. "When would you like to start?"

"Whenever you're good to go." Relief of his own bloomed in his chest, but he worked at keeping his voice level. "Also, while we're talking about it, I was thinking we could trial some improved firewall algorithms at the same time. Reduce the chance of hostile actors remotely hacking the suit in the future. I mean, if you're interested. You've probably got that all sewn up anyway, so we probably don't need to bother."

When she replied, her tone held studied casualness. "Well, it couldn't hurt to look over your code while we're working on the other stuff. If nothing else, I can critique it for you."

He knew damn well, as did she, that the Dragonslayers were in the habit of hacking her suits and absconding with them. Neither of them, of course, was about to mention this over the channel; her because she had her pride, and him because the whole point of the damn deception was to draw the Dragonslayers in. And hopefully, the threat of having their ability to grab Dragon's tech imperilled would attract them like flies to honey.

"And I would totally accept any critique you wanted to give me." He smiled. "So, when do you think we can start?"

She paused, eyes flicking offscreen to check on something. "How does Friday sound to you?"

Any day of the week would've worked for him, but he nodded judiciously as though she'd picked the perfect day. "Friday sounds ideal."

"See you then."

"Likewise."

He cut the call, and sagged against his workbench. That had taken as much out of him as any actual combat against a physical foe. Perversely, even though he hated lying to Dragon, he also knew he was deceiving a deadly enemy, and that had been a thrill unlike any other.

But he still needed a shower; the entire inner lining of his armour was soaked in sweat.

God, I hope this works.

<><>​

A Rooftop Near Downtown

March

Another bug buzzed past May's face, and she irritably swiped at it. She didn't know if it was the part of town she'd chosen to lair up in, the time of year, or the fact that Brockton Bay was on the coast, but there were more insects in and around the hideout than she'd ever had to suffer in New York. Not that the gang she was assembling seemed to notice. I swear, the mouth-breathers in this city are dumber than dogshit.

At least the lair didn't have cockroaches. That would've been a deal-breaker.

"Joseph!" she yelled. "Get over here!"

One of the teenage boys loitering a discreet distance away jolted into motion and came in her direction. "You wanted me, ma'am? It's just that my name's actually—"

"Don't give a fuck," she interrupted him. "These are my orders. Flechette's a rooftop runner, so find rooftops around the PRT building. Spread yourselves out, from one block to three blocks, complete perimeter. If you see her coming out, call in the sighting and the direction. Don't let her see you, and if she sees you, for fuck's sake don't engage her. Can you idiots manage that?"

"Uh, yeah?" He didn't quite make it into a question. "What if she sees us and confronts us?"

May rolled her eyes. "Tell her you're a cape fan. Tell her you're birdwatching. Tell her a fucking lie. I don't give a fuck."

"Wh-what if she makes us tell her we're working for you?" It came out almost as a quaver. "What if she already knows?"

The rapier came out, smooth as silk and faster than thought. She rested the point on the tip of his nose, razor-sharp steel just barely kissing the idiot's skin. "She doesn't know," she explained carefully, "because she has no fucking idea I'm in town. So don't tell her. And if you or any of your people happen to tell her anyway, that person can fuck all the way off out of town, because if I see you again …" The rapier pierced his nose just enough to start a bead of blood welling. "… I'll kill you."

As he recoiled, she flicked the tip of the rapier then resheathed it. "Is there any part of that you don't understand?"

He was cupping his nose now, staring at her with cautious respect. "N-no, ma'am. I totally get it."

"Good." She waved a casual hand. "Fuck off and get it done. As soon as anyone sees her, I want to know."

She watched as he scurried back to his friends; with more than one fearful look in her direction, they left the rooftop. They'd do what they were told, she knew. Her power already had enough of a hold over them to be sure of that.

And the moment one of them gave her a vector on Flechette …

… she would be ready.

<><>​

Dragonslayers Base, Toronto, Canada

Dobryjna

"This could be bad. This could be very bad."

Mischa came out of the workshop, wiping his hands on an already oily rag. "What could be bad, Geoff? Is many things you could be referring to."

Sitting next to her husband at the console, Mags turned toward Mischa and rolled her eyes. "Geoff's panicking over nothing. Dragon just got an invite from Armsmaster to collaborate over building a suit for her, in Brockton Bay."

"Yeah, but he's also talking about upgrading the suit's firewalls. If it's his programming instead of the AI's, our usual backdoors won't work." Geoff gestured toward the screen. "And if that happens, what next? It figures out we can't touch it there, and starts replicating the code elsewhere? That could be the start of a very slippery, very dangerous slope."

"Then we do same as before." Mischa couldn't see the problem. "We get suit before programming goes active. Access to Armsmaster's tech would not be bad. Also, find backdoors in program so Dragon cannot hide. Simple."

"Exactly." Mags started massaging Geoff's shoulders. "Chill, love. Relax a bit. We've got this. If we play our cards right, we'll have whatever Armsmaster chooses to put into the suit, as well as his upgraded firewall."

Despite his apparent concern, Geoff seemed to relax a little. "I suppose. How far is it to Brockton Bay, anyway?"

Mags fielded that one. "About seven hundred klicks or so by air, closer to a thousand by road. It's near enough to Boston, isn't it? I was looking that up the other day."

"From what I remember, da." Mischa gave Saint a firm nod. "Is next to ocean, and they have few fliers. If need quick escape, we fly out to sea, loop north. Not south. South is Boston and New York. Legend."

All three Dragonslayers shared a nod of perfect understanding. Nobody in their right mind engaged Legend in aerial combat. It was the ultimate in bad career moves.

"Alright, then." Geoff sat down next to one of the side-screens and started typing on an auxiliary keyboard. A map popped up on the screen, and he moved the cursor. "We drive into the US and post up in, say, Concord. Then we fly our suits to Brockton Bay, locate where Armsmaster is building this suit for the AI, and take it away from them. And we destroy whichever iteration it has supervising the project, so it knows not to do it again."

Mischa eyed the map, mentally calculating distances, then nodded. "Sounds possible. Will go and prepare for road trip. Dragon will not know until we are there and gone, with new suit."

"At least, that's the plan," Mags agreed. She looked at the screen containing the transcript of Dragon's conversation with Armsmaster, and rubbed her thumbnail over her bottom lip. "Just to cover our bases, what's the chance that this is some kind of sting operation from Armsmaster's side?"

"Minimal," Geoff assured her. "Everything I've ever seen or heard about Armsmaster, he's about as straight-arrow as they come. The man couldn't tell a believable lie if he was paid to. And even if he was trying to set up some kind of sting, he'd fill Dragon in. Why wouldn't he?"

"Da," agreed Mischa, on firmer ground now. "He swings halberd and rides motorbike. Very straightforward."

"Yeah, that's what I thought too, but I just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page." Mags leaned forward and gave Geoff a kiss, then stood up. "Let's go get ready for a road trip. Time to take a suit away from a dragon. Again."

"Again," Geoff echoed, and gave her a high-five.

Mischa nodded and went back into the workshop. The suits were all operational, but he decided it couldn't hurt to give them a thorough once-over before they went out into the field. Even if the enemy never saw them coming, it was a good idea to plan for everything.

The fewer nasty surprises, he decided, the better.

<><>​

Thursday Afternoon, May 5, 2011

Flechette

Lily carefully fitted the Bluetooth earpiece into her ear, activated it, then pulled her mask down over it. "Testing, testing, one two three," she said quietly.

"I read you five by five," Emma replied from three blocks away. "How about you?"

"Loud and clear." Lily smiled and got out of the car, closed the door, then slapped the roof twice. With Mr Clements driving, the car pulled a quick U-turn and left the dead-end street before anyone could show up to be an inconvenient witness.

There was a fire escape nearby—which was why he'd pulled up where he had—so she started climbing. Her arbalest was ready to go, but she preferred to get up high before she started using it. A minute later, she climbed out onto the rooftop and looked around.

A bug settled on her shoulder for a moment, then flew on. "Okay," Emma said. "According to Ladybug, March is still putting people around the PRT building. It doesn't seem to have occurred to her that you might be somewhere else."

"Well, it kinda makes sense." Lily started toward the PRT building, visible in the distance. "She's got limited manpower, so she puts them around where I'm most likely to be seen, coming or going. As soon as they start getting information on me, she can build a picture of my patrol routes and timing. Which allows her to set up an ambush. Trust me, I've been through this a few times before."

"You are the on-site expert," agreed Emma. "We're just here to make sure this doesn't go the way she wants it to." She paused. "Okay, new information. Aegis and Kid Win are coming out on patrol, and it looks like they'll be heading your way. Did you want to divert to avoid them?"

For a moment Lily nearly said yes, but then she reconsidered. "What the hell. Aegis backed me up when I needed it, and Kid Win's a good guy. Might as well find out what they're saying about me in the Wards common room."

"Probably not a bad idea. Would you like some privacy?"

Again, it was tempting. However, she decided to keep her eye on the bigger picture. "… no. Whatever they've got to say, I'm good with you hearing it. Also, I'd hate to be attacked out of the blue while I'm in private mode."

"Which, as you've already noted, has been known to happen. Okay. I'll be keeping an ear out but muting myself so I don't distract you. Have at it." Emma fell silent then.

While this conversation had been ongoing, Lily hadn't slowed in her progress; a few moments later, she spotted Aegis' rust-red costume, contrasting with Kid Win's bright red and gold. She knew they'd spotted her in turn when they altered course to intersect with hers. Slowing to a halt on the rooftop, she waited for them to arrive.

Aegis was the first to land on the rooftop, but Kid Win wasn't far behind. Stepping off his flying skateboard, the young Tinker moved up alongside his patrol partner. "Hey, Flechette," he said, a little awkwardly. "Nice seeing you again."

"Good to see you too." Lily nodded to Aegis. "And you as well. Not sure if I ever thanked you for backing me up that day, but … well, thank you."

"You're welcome." Even through his visor, she could feel the weight of his gaze. "The Samaritans treating you okay? I mean, here you are, out on patrol on your own. Don't they like to patrol like we do?"

She wanted to tell them what was going on, but refrained because she had no idea how they'd react. Also, because opsec was a thing that had been drilled into her. "It's a training exercise, you might say. They're really into training exercises." That part, at least, was true. "So, uh, is it too soon to ask how people feel about Vista and me leaving?"

"They figure you had your reasons." Aegis rubbed his chin. "Clockblocker misses Vista, and Gallant's still wondering if there's something he could've done. Browbeat actually came up to me and asked if it was something he said. I might've given him a few hints about what actually happened. But anyway, how's Vista doing? She was really gung-ho when she was just the liaison. That still a thing now she's joined for real?"

Lily chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Oh, you have no idea. The harder we train, the harder she pushes herself and us. She's eating it up with a spoon."

All of which was also the truth. The hand-to-hand classes had gotten a lot more exciting after Danny had suggested Missy start training with a staff.

Kid Win smiled. "That's really good to hear. Say, would you like us to come along with you for a bit of your patrol? It'd be like old times."

In absolutely any other circumstance, she would've jumped at the chance. Not because she missed her time in the Wards, or regretted leaving when she did, but because Carlos and Chris were her friends and she would've liked to spend more time with them. As it was, however …

"Sorry, guys." She grimaced. "Remember the training exercise bit? The whole point of this is doing it on my own. But it's been really nice seeing you again."

"You too." Aegis clasped her on the shoulder. "You've got our numbers, right? Text us sometime. We can get burgers when we're off duty or something."

Lily smiled. "I'd like that."

Right on cue, Emma's voice sounded in her earpiece. "And they've just spotted you. Two of them are making phone calls right now. No prizes for guessing who to."

"Anyway," she continued as though finishing a thought, "I've got to get going. Say hi to Clock and Gallant for me." The temptation to add and tell Piggot she can still go and get fucked was strong, but she knew they probably wouldn't go through with it, and it would add a sour taste to the meeting. Anyway, Aegis already knew her opinion of the Director.

"Will do," agreed Aegis, while Kid Win nodded.

She watched as the latter stepped onto his board and started ascending. "Bye. See you around, guys."

"You too." Aegis reached out his fist to bump knuckles with her, then took off himself.

She turned her head and watched as they flew away, then drew a deep breath. Okay, let's make this happen.

Heading to the edge of the roof, she took aim with her arbalest at a nearby building. Her chosen course would send her past the watchers—which she would totally fail to notice, of course—and onward to the site of the ambush.

Of course, who was due to be ambushed was rather a matter of opinion.

<><>​

March

"Okay, she's where?" May listened to the response. "Good, good. And headed in which direction?" She leaned over the map of the city, located the spot, and traced the direction with her fingertip. "Alright, gather everyone and relocate to just outside the library. I'll give you your final orders and we'll stage from there."

She ended the call and reached for her mask. A vicious grin danced over her lips, quickly hidden as she fitted the accessory in place. It was all coming together, just as it should. Just as it always had before.

Exactly why Flechette was breaking off from the other two Wards she had no idea, but May didn't give a shit. All that mattered was Flechette was now within reach.

And she intended to take full advantage of that.

<><>​

About Forty Miles to the West

Saint

As Geoff hit the indicator and eased the truck over onto the cloverleaf that would take them from I-89 onto I-93, he couldn't help but feel a strong sense of relief. The mission wasn't over; in fact, it had barely begun. The biggest hurdle, however, was out of the way.

Sixteen hours previously, they'd flown across Lake Ontario in the dead of night and picked up the truck from where he kept it in storage for exactly this kind of situation. The drive to Concord had been more than a little tedious—he would much rather have flown the whole way—but going by road meant they had far more options for when they hit Brockton Bay proper.

"Mischa." He didn't raise his voice, but the big Russian stirred in the sleeper cab, parting the curtain to look through.

"We are here?" he asked.

"Concord, anyway," Mags clarified from the passenger seat. "We've got a ways to go before Brockton Bay, but at least we can get some shuteye before tonight."

"That's the general idea," Geoff agreed. "Mags, go online and book us rooms in a motel with parking for this ungainly beast. Preferably on the edge of town, so not everyone and their dog sees us take off. Mischa, do a remote check on the suits to make sure they're ready to go."

"On it, love." Mags had her phone out already, and she started tapping on it with new purpose.

Mischa yawned. "I am to be standing watch until time to go?"

Glancing over at him, Geoff shrugged. "Once you're finished checking the suits, yeah."

"Da, da. Will check suits now." Pulling his head back into the sleeper cab, Mischa closed the curtains.

<><>​

Ladybug

About the only person apart from me who knew everything that was going on right then was Lisa, and only because she was a cheaty cheating cheater. Of course, she'd be the first to make the claim that I was cheating by putting my bugs everywhere I wanted information.

Well, duh. If the bugs were there, I was totally going to use them.

Personally, I was of the opinion that she was butt-hurt over me seeing around corners better than she could, and I didn't even get headaches from it. Which she thought was thoroughly unfair. I always maintained it was only my right and proper due. Which was generally about the time that she threw a cushion at me.

Right at this point, however, she wasn't bitching about fairness or the lack thereof. We each had a job to do, and so we were doing it. Hers involved figuring out who was going to do what, and when, based on the bug display I was putting up for her. As such, she was being kept back out of the way with Amy and Riley and the Dad Brigade; if things went sideways, the Dads would roll in with the heavy artillery.

I could've stayed back and done the Master thing, controlling my bugs from afar. (With the advent of Amy's booster bugs, 'from afar' basically meant 'from anywhere in Brockton Bay'.) But I didn't roll that way. My costume was as protective as Emma's and Madison's, so I was totally stepping up.

I didn't let this distract me from running the battlefield as my own personal chessboard, though. As it was, I knew the exact location of everyone on both sides of the incipient conflict, and our training had long since included ways for me to guide people into advantageous positions. Also, for people to understand they were being guided, and what each signal meant.

So, as Lily approached the upcoming ambush with apparent obliviousness, March and her people closed in from all sides, and we closed in on them. It reminded me of something Dad had said once during a training session: 'If your attack is going really well, it's an ambush'. I just had to hope that it applied to them and not us.

March gave an order over her walkie-talkie, and Lisa tapped a specific bug half a second before the associated goon began to move forward. The firefly on Vista's visor double-blinked, giving her the go-ahead; she bent space, crossing half a dozen rooftops in a single step, then shoved her staff in between the asshole's legs, tripping him up. Before he had a chance to respond, she gave him a face full of pepper spray then jammed a stun-gun into his ribs. As she proceeded to flex-cuff him, I put Vista's bug next to his and made his bug roll over and wave its legs in the air.

Some may have considered the takedown to be excessively brutal; I considered it entirely proportional, considering that he was armed. Also, he outweighed her twice over. I personally would've done much the same, only with more bugs.

There were more of them than there were of us, so I was kept busy over the next few minutes. Vicky in particular was having a ball, moving up as directed and tapping the mooks on the shoulder before smacking them silly. Emma was being more circumspect, but the training was paying off in spades; we were whittling down March's forces, and she had no idea we were there.

At least, that's what I hoped.

<><>​

March

Something was wrong. May couldn't quite make it out, but the whole cadence of her attack on Flechette was subtly off in some way she couldn't define. Nobody was calling in a problem, which she'd told them to do if anything went awry.

However, neither were they calling in that they'd engaged her. It was total radio silence, which she didn't like. Zero feedback meant she couldn't adjust her tactics to meet the changing situation.

By now, Flechette should've been surrounded, beset from all sides, staggering from pinpoint nerve strikes. May wasn't getting anything back. She wasn't even hearing sounds of fighting.

But maybe they were just being quiet. It was even possible that she was taking them down faster than they could call in a report.

Whichever it was, she knew Flechette couldn't handle a mass coordinated attack like the one she'd planned out. It had worked before, in New York, multiple times. There was nothing about this city that indicated it wouldn't work here as well. And she'd do it as many times as necessary before Flechette admitted defeat and returned to New York where she belonged.

She popped up on the fire escape from where she'd been crouching and vaulted onto the roof. The arena she'd chosen for the confrontation was wide and flat, giving her people plenty of room to work. There was just one problem: her people weren't there. It was just Flechette, unmarked and unstaggered, standing in the middle of the roof, as though waiting for her.

Which was patently ridiculous. There was no way any of the heroes could've known she was in town. She'd been careful not to make any public appearances in costume since she arrived in Brockton Bay. But Flechette's unconcerned posture made her doubt even that.

"About time you showed up." Flechette's tone was calm, unworried, matching her stance. "I was beginning to think you might've bailed." While her arbalest was in her hands, it wasn't aimed anywhere near May, and it didn't even look loaded.

"What the fuck are you even talking about?" May glanced around quickly. This was about the point when the last of her people were supposed to hit Flechette from behind, putting her off guard for May's attack. But they weren't there. Where were they?

Flechette didn't move forward. In fact, she took a step backward; slow, casual, never taking her eyes off May. "I'm saying you should never have come to Brockton Bay. This place is a whole new proposition, and you're not ready for it."

Now May looked all the way around her. It was impossible to do this subtly, because of the mask eyeholes, but she didn't give a fuck. Did she figure out I'd come after her, and arrange an ambush? Because that had never gone well before, and it would go even worse for her this time. In any case, there was nobody trying to sneak up on May. "Big words. I'm going to make you eat them."

"You can try." Flechette moved a little farther away from her. May wasn't going to let that stand, so she moved forward, rapier in hand. Whatever Flechette thought she was doing, it wouldn't last.

For some reason, she wasn't getting any closer. Flechette was drifting back, step by step, and May was striding fast toward her, but the distance wasn't changing. May broke into a sprint. She wasn't sure what kind of bullshit Flechette was pulling, but—

In the next instant, the distance collapsed to zero. May was already reacting, but Flechette had started moving first. Her left hand smacked May's rapier aside, and her right elbow took May full in the jaw.

May staggered, head ringing. A hard-driven heel hammered into her solar plexus, and she fell backward. But she was still armed, and she rolled to come to her feet. Which would've worked if her jacket hadn't tugged at her, keeping her on the ground.

When she looked down to see what was going on, she saw two of the stupid dart-things Flechette usually shot out of the arbalest, pinning her to the rooftop via her jacket. "Oh, you fucking didn't," she snarled, charging her rapier.

She fully expected Flechette to close the distance and attempt to capitalise on her supposed advantage, but the bitch held off, apparently studying her with interest. "Yeah, I actually did. How about you stay down? I'm about done with you and your bullshit."

"Not gonna happen," May gritted. She swiped the rapier through each of the darts in turn, releasing her. Her jacket was damaged in the process, which pissed her off even more. Flechette would pay for it, one way or another. "It's time you learned your place."

Just as she was climbing to her feet, a bug landed on her hand. She was about to swat it when it bit her, the stinger sinking deep. It splattered when she smacked it, but it was too late; the deed was done. Fortunately, it didn't even hurt that much; more of a mild tingle than anything else.

"My place is right here in Brockton Bay. Your place is behind bars." Flechette started loading the arbalest, though she didn't seem in any particular haste. "And you're going there. Drop the rapier. You're under arrest."

May laughed out loud. "You've got to be fucking kidding me. There's no way you can beat me, even on your best day." She raised the rapier, though it felt weirdly heavy. The two lucky hits had taken more out of her than she'd thought, but that was fine. She still had it.

"You sure about that?" Flechette aimed the arbalest. "You're a dangerous criminal. I'll shoot if I have to."

May let her teeth show behind the mask. She'd cut Flechette's darts out of the air before. "Go right ahead. Then I'll take that stupid thing off you and cut it in half." The world started slowing down around her as adrenaline hit her bloodstream.

Then she blinked; her eyelids seemed to take forever to drop and come up again, and in that moment, there was a sharp impact on her rapier. She stared at her right hand, which was empty, then at the roof behind her. Her rapier lay there, alongside the dart.

She shot the fucking thing out of my hand? How the fuck—?

Now it wasn't the world that was slowing down, but her own thoughts. All too late, she tried to look back toward Flechette, aware she'd made a severe tactical error. By the time she got her head back around, Flechette was right there, the butt of her arbalest coming in hard.

It hit like a truck, spinning her around and sending her sprawling on the rooftop. She tried desperately to hold onto consciousness, but to no avail. Still trying to figure out exactly what the fuck had just happened, she felt the blackness overcome her.

<><>​

Ladybug

I climbed onto the rooftop and strolled toward where Lily was flex-cuffing March's hands behind her back. "Nice finisher."

"Thanks." Lily shot me a grin. "You and Aerodyne and Vista did an amazing job getting her off guard and keeping her there. I doubt she even knew she was low on oxygen, and the spacing really helped."

Space distorted, and Missy was suddenly standing right beside me. "Thanks, but you were pretty cool too. Besides, it was good practice."

"It was good practice for all of us," I agreed. "Pretty sure the others would agree."

"So what now?" asked Missy. "Call in the PRT to collect her and the idiots, or would you like Vicky to dump her in the lobby, like we did with Oni Lee?"

I'd already discussed this with Emma. "Well, first we get Amy up here to make sure March stays asleep for about an hour …"

<><>​

About Half an Hour Later
PRT Building ENE

Director Emily Piggot

The western sunlight was slanting in through Emily's office window when her phone buzzed. This never presaged anything normal, but she picked it up anyway. "Piggot here. Speak to me."

"Ma'am, this is Lieutenant Halloran, down in the lobby. Flechette just turned up and … well, she dropped March off. In the lobby. Unconscious and flex-cuffed."

Emily blinked. "March, as in rabbit mask? Military uniform? Rapier?"

"The same, ma'am. She also handed the rapier over. Assured us it was safe to handle. Didn't stick around long enough to give a statement."

"I see." Emily frowned. "And you say March is unconscious."

"Yes, ma'am. Apparently, it's a Panacea special, whatever that means. Warned us it would wear off in half an hour. Also told us where to find March's associates."

Emily Piggot might have had her prejudices about capes, but she was neither blind nor stupid. "It means she'll be waking up in half an hour. Contact New York and get the latest details on her powers, then damn well get her into secure holding. Take all necessary precautions. And send out men to pick up the minions."

"Copy that, ma'am. On it." The call ended.

Emily leaned back in her chair with a heavy sigh. She hadn't even known March was in town, and the Samaritans had done their thing again. And of course Flechette had been the one to drop off the villain this time, like someone taking out the trash.

She made a mental note to review the precautions they were taking. The last thing she wanted was to have to call Wilkins and apologise for losing their prisoner before she could be picked up.

Was this what they wanted to talk to Armsmaster about?

A moment later, she shook her head. He hadn't even been mentioned.

So what the hell is it?

<><>​

An Hour After Sunset

Outskirts of Concord, NH

Saint

"Perimeter check." Geoff scanned his own HUD, but found nothing.

"Nobody within a hundred yards," Mags reported.

"Heat traces negative," Mischa confirmed.

"Okay, let's do this." He activated the leg jets and triggered the roof hatch at the same time. The hatch slid aside, allowing the suit to launch vertically into the cool evening air; Mags and Dobryjna also climbed skyward on their own pillars of thrust. Below them, the hatches closed again automatically.

They gained altitude quickly, losing themselves in the evening dusk, then swung over to a general easterly course. Dragon and Armsmaster had yet to begin their collaboration, but it would be a good idea to be nearby when they did.

Next stop: Brockton Bay.



End of Part Forty