VT - Chapter 30 : There's Another One?! (Patreon)

Disclaimer: Worm belongs to the one and only absolute chad, Wildbow. Enough said.

Undersiders’ Lair, Brockton Bay

–Lisa “Tattle” Wilbourn–

“What are you kids doing up here?”

Fuck.

She swore under her breath, wondering what to do here. They were here just to gather information, and she had foolishly assumed that the same rules of engagement with Blue Shield would be applied here. In that girl’s case, she would simply acknowledge them if she saw them, or sometimes not even that, as they were just looking at her and not making any trouble.

She had forgotten that the suit itself suggested that this one was going to be vastly different from the first one. If the first one was more focused on helping people by healing and medication, courtesy of being an actual doctor, then this one was also helping people, but on the opposite end of that helping spectrum.

Plus, Brian had basically outed them as capes, acting out of fear and trying to retreat using his powers, forgetting that their most convenient member, instrumental in all of their safe escapades so far, was absent right now. She loosened the hold on her power, as she looked at the suit once more.

Male. Veteran. Amputee. Knows you. Knows your cape. Identifies Grue’s powerset. Already knew of you and your power. Does not consider either one of you a threat. Currently debating what–

She clamped down on her power, as that was more than enough information for a preliminary conversation. She had to leave atleast a little in the tank if things escalated from here. She really should have brought backup, but Alec was gone, and with him gone, Bitch was the only option. How could she have known that the new cape on the block would be so aggressive?

Still, she had to salvage this somehow, not only because Coil would have her head if she returned without anything, but also because her freedom kinda depended on convincing the mammoth organisation that was Grand Chariot that a Thinker villain in Brockton Bay had to be dealt with. That was easier said than done, when the threats on their target list were the likes of other S-class threats.

That did not mean she couldn't even try. Hopefully, the man would take pity on her.

Putting a hand on Brian, she held him in place as she looked up at the man with a smile. “Hi! I am–”

“Tattletale, I am aware. That is Grue. You both are part of the small time group called Undersiders. I assume you are here to gather intel?” The man asked them, voice modulated.

She made a show of frowning. “You know you should not have done that. The Unwritten Rules exist for a reason. We are chill like that, but if you do the same to others, then–”

“They will bitch and moan, but they won’t be able to do anything. Now, I ask again, what are you kids doing here?”

She suppressed multiple expletives as she tried to nudge her power to get something useful out of the man, only for it to tell her just how many weapons the suit had, and how only a fraction of them were aimed at her, and how even that was more than enough to turn her into mist, and level the entire building she was standing on, for good measure.

“We heard of a new player on the block, and just wanted to see who it was. Did not know that Grand Chariot had sent yet another member to our backwater city. Is Brockton Bay that important to them?” She smiled casually, hiding her nervousness before replying. Man, it was hard to talk to beings who she knew could smite her out of existence with a single thought. The suit was operated based on a multitude of methods, but mental mapping was the major one, as the suit’s Virtual Intelligence just read the user’s wishes and did as they wished. Honestly, if she ever got her hands on the suit itself, she would be free.

Coil would be nothing in the face of this suit. Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves. She would have to get out of this without being imprisoned to be able to even dream of that.

The man was silent for a moment more before replying, “The world needs as many heroes as it can get. Brockton just happened to be close by. Either way, I would advise you kids to go back to your home. In fact, I would like to go one step further, and suggest that you hang up the capes after this. The cape world has no place for kids your age.”

Was that pity she was hearing in the man’s voice, modulated as it was?

Her eyes brightened a bit. She could use it. Does the man have a soft spot for teenagers? While that sounded gross and disgusting, she could tell the man mostly pitied them, likely aware of what trigger events were and just how someone got powers. Unfortunately, while she could tell that it was mostly said out of concern, Brian heard that the man was threatening them not to work as capes anymore, and that was incomprehensible to him because that was the only way, in his opinion, for him to get custody of his sister.

Which is why she could only yelp as Brian’s darkness covered them, as she was physically dragged away from the building, towards the fire escape. She knew it was pointless, and a moment later, Brian understood that as well.

A familiar whine later, the same suit was floating in front of them, his arms crossed. Brian stopped in his path and was probably about to find another route, only for the cape to wave his hand towards them, and for a bright yellow beam to pass through the darkness, and the darkness gave out first.

She could feel Brian stiffening beside her as she pushed him back and took the lead once more; otherwise, the buffoon might just make the cap subdue them and deliver them to the PRT as a present.

“I think we got on the wrong foot. We mean–”

“No, I know what you mean. I don’t care about you stalking me. I care about the fact that a bunch of teenagers are running around in Spandex, committing crimes, while being in over their heads simply because they have powers. Now, as I said, I would suggest you hang up your capes, atleast until you can vote or drive a car.”

She gave the man a strained smile. “It is not that simple. We can’t just leave the cape business now. It’s complicated enough as is—”

“Then uncomplicate it. You people are not supposed to be doing this. I understand that things are hard, but with your talents, you could go on and do many things, instead of indulging in petty thievery.”

She had to hold onto Brian’s arm with a bruising grip to make sure that he did not do something stupid once more, but she really had to give it to Grand Chariot here. They really found the most interesting and naive people. Blessed with such firepower, the man in front of her could afford to preach stuff. 

Plus–

She flinched as the massive gun perched on the cape’s shoulder whirled to life before shooting right into the floor, blowing a hole through the ceiling, and a moment later, she heard the faint, pained cry of someone from below the street. Her eyes widened as she realised what had happened.

She then proceeded to swallow all of her complaints about his self righteous attitude right then and there, as the man departed after saying, “I am serious. If I see you guys again, I will take matters into my own hands.”

She watched him leave until he disappeared behind the clouds, as Brian took her hand and got her off the building and into the beat up car. The car ride home was entirely silent, as she tried to think of a way out of this quagmire, without getting pasted in between Coil and the new beneficiary of Grand Chariot’s weapons of mass destruction distribution program.

___xx___

The Rig, Brockton Bay

–Emily Piggot–

She was going through the administrative reports of the day, and it was 2 in the morning, and she still wasn’t done, which meant that tomorrow, she was going to feel the consequences of this decision. Heaping the coffee on top of her already unhealthy lifestyle meant that tonight’s consequences were going to be felt for the rest of the week as well.

Alas, there wasn’t much she could do here, not without delegating a significant amount to her underlings, and she did not like doing that. Honestly, out of a few good heads under her command, she did not trust anyone. It was a matter of principle for her. Ever since Elisburg, she would—

She took a deep breath and looked down at the pile of reports still left. If her mind was willing to go so far, and torture her with images from Elisburg, then maybe she could give it the rest it wanted.

Sighing, she pushed the reports to the edge of the table, marking the completed and incomplete ones, before pushing the chair back. Just as she was about to get up and call for her driver, the intercoms blared to life.

Her terminal lit up with a code red, along with a photo that just made her blood run cold, then made her scowl in anger.

Of course, there would be another one.

“Director, I am glad I caught you here. We have confirmed reports and sightings of another suit from Grand Chariot operating in the city. This one is far more….weaponised, than the other one.”

“Yes, I can see that, Armsmaster. Do we have a tail on him?” She pressed the button on her intercom, while her eyes were glued to the image, showcasing a massive armoured suit, painted in shades of grey, with multiple guns attached to its exterior, along with a much more aggressive profile.

Armoured plating on every single inch of that suit was visible to her, and Armsmaster was already running simulations on the suit, using the data they had on Blue Shield. Only it seems that Grand Chariot had chosen a far more combative suit this time. 

Armsmaster took his sweet time to reply, which meant he was doing many things in the background at the same time. “No, Director. The suit disappeared somewhere above the city. It also likely possesses the same anti tracking technology that Blue Shield does.”

“I see. Call all the active members. Interrogate the gangbangers found at the scene, and call Militia. We need a sitrep for the meeting that will inevitably be added to my calendar before the sun comes up.”

“Affirmative, Director.” Armsmaster hung up as she looked at the screen and only saw an armour built for war. From what they knew, the suits all possessed energy weaponry, capable of exerting force from a particularly hard shove to being capable of piercing through heavy duty armours.

Then, why would they install additional weaponry on top of a weapon that was vastly smaller, more versatile, and not a hindrance for flight?

This particular suit of armour could not possibly be just as aerodynamic or fast as Blue Shield, which was nimble and agile, judging by the videos of her flight they had floating around the internet.

Her intercom crackled to life once more, "Director, I have additional information about that encounter. CCTV footage shows Target designation Grey interacting with a cloud of billowing darkness.”

“Undersiders…..” She whispered, seeing the new footage Armsmaster sent her.

“Most likely.”

“File that into the report. We will choose a line of action after everything has been analysed and a report has been created. Right now, since they are not being an active pain in my ass, I would like for the situation to be the same as long as possible.”

Next - PHO Chapter