Crystalized Munchkinry - Act IV - Chapter 43 (Patreon)

Vicky was humming to herself while she floated between Amy and Taylor. It was a beautiful February day, and she was having fun with her sister and her new friend. Sure, Taylor was more than likely a parahuman, but according to her research, no new parahumans had appeared in Brockton Bay recently, so she was going to give her a chance to prove herself as a hero.

They had fun. The window-shopping spree always made her happy, and Taylor's presence managed to galvanize Amy enough to take part in it, at least somewhat. Lunch was the usual, as there weren't many excellent restaurants they could afford with their pocket money. However, the movie was interesting, and it was nice to see Amy enjoying herself for once.

Taylor was almost the same as Amy. Reluctant to speak up, but if you managed to find a topic she liked, she could talk your ears off. Despite that, Vicky enjoyed spending time with the slightly younger girl. She was super smart, and her wit matched Amy's without matching her acidity.

Mostly, she hoped Taylor would become Amy's friend too because her sister needed more friends. Sadly, she noticed that the entire time they spent on the Boardwalk, Amy kept giving Taylor suspicious glances, as if making sure she wasn't using any parahuman powers.

Maybe, with time, she would let up?

She hoped so.

They were currently escorting Taylor to the bus stop before flying home.

She was looking around, wondering where everyone was, when an explosion shook the air.

She instantly looked up toward the sound, watching as the tops of several nearby buildings broke away and fell toward the ground.

Taking a quick look around, she saw Amy was already at the bus stop, while Taylor was standing between them.

Making a split-second decision, she shoved Taylor hard out from under the falling blocks of concrete. She would apologize later if she had hurt the girl, but for now, she had to get to Amy.

She was, however, stopped when a huge block of concrete slammed down in front of her.

Unable to stop herself in time, she crashed into it at full speed.

Amy was taking a look at the bus schedule, wondering how long they would have to wait with Taylor for the bus. Because while Taylor was probably a parahuman, you just didn't leave a young girl alone in Brockton Bay. Bad things happened that way.

Despite still being suspicious of the black-haired girl, she had enjoyed herself. It was nice having somebody who appreciated her comments about the ludicrous clothes Vicky tried on, no matter how good she looked in them, and somebody who had the brainpower to talk about topics beyond boys, clothing, and makeup.

She was about to call out to Taylor, asking which bus she needed, when she heard the explosion.

She could only watch as, in the next second, Vicky punched Taylor out of the way and into a nearby building to get her away from the falling debris, only to be stopped by a giant cement block falling between them.

She barely had time to blink in surprise before she heard movement behind her. She turned, still worried about Vicky, only to come eye to eye with a rather large gun.

Click.

The gun was held by a person dressed in disgusting, shabby clothes, their entire body radiating a horrible stench.

She was pretty sure he was a Merchant.

The man gave her a tight, grim smile as a giant truck carrying other Merchants drove around the fallen debris and through the rising cloud of dust.

"Well, that's not good."

Taylor was, despite her expectations, having a great day. Vicky was funny, and despite her whole dumb cheerleader attitude and aura, she was smart enough to keep up with almost any topic. She was also really knowledgeable about parahumans, something she wasn't shy about showcasing.

Amy was the polar opposite of her sister: withdrawn, sour, and with barbed wire for a tongue. However, Taylor had to admit that some of her comments were insanely funny.

She felt that after this day, she and Vicky were definitely friends, and Amy could at least be called a strong acquaintance.

Maybe.

The girl was hard to read.

Despite having her power active and constantly monitoring the surrounding area, the explosion above them came as an enormous surprise. Just as surprising was the fact that Vicky had punched her toward the building they were walking next to.

She landed in an alcove and needed a second to realize what had happened. She covered her head on instinct as the cement blocks crashed to the ground, wondering what the hell had just happened.

Actively concentrating on her senses, she watched as the surroundings appeared in total clarity within her mind.

The roofs of several buildings were lying on the ground in pieces, blocking the street in one direction and leaving a gap in the other, but they were effectively boxed in.

Though how they expected to keep Vicky here, with her ability to fly, Taylor had no idea.

However, the next second, she watched as a person dressed like a bum approached Amy and raised a gun.

Oh.

That way.

However, the man was strange. He was dressed like a Merchant, but Taylor could sense high-tech body armor beneath the disgusting clothing and an earpiece in his ear.

She watched as the truck carrying the other Merchants, probably the remnants of the gang, arrived. She wanted nothing more than to smash them to pieces, but she knew, thanks to her training, that you never went in hot during a hostage situation.

Instead, she spoke up. "Admin, costume!"

The next second, she was wearing her gray costume with the mask.

"Good luck, Taylor."

"Okay, people! What the fuck is happening?" Emily yelled as she strode into the room filled with monitors and people sitting in front of them, all gazing at the screens.

"Director," came a reply from Renick. "Empire capes are fighting with Merchants who are being supported by Trainwreck. Oni Lee is fighting Armsmaster. He was on patrol when Merchant members got into a fight with ABB members. Unfortunately, before he could break up the fight, Oni Lee showed up and began a bombing run on him."

She took a deep breath, cursed this thrice-forsaken city, then spoke.

"Keep Assault and Battery at HQ. Have them sit on the Wards." As she spoke, several people were already forwarding her orders. "Velocity is out of town on vacation, so he is unavailable. Tell Miss Militia to join a team of agents and prepare to assist Armsmaster. Triumph and Dauntless should be heading toward the Empire-Merchant fight."

"Understood. Should they try to take them out?" Renick asked while taking notes.

"How are the civilian casualties?" she asked instead of answering the question.

She waited a few seconds but didn't receive a response. Looking up from the screen she was currently watching, she frowned.

"Well?"

Renick answered with an embarrassed expression. "None."

"What?"

"None, Director. Neither battlefield has any."

"That's..." She hesitated before continuing, aware of the ramifications. "Unusual."

"Yes, Director."

"So this was all planned for some reason."

Nobody voiced their agreement, but they didn't need to.

"Any idea what the goal was?"

People looked at each other with confused expressions. Emily simply sighed. "Think, people. Anything important happening today? Anybody important visiting the city?"

There were a few seconds of silence, broken only by the sound of people typing on their keyboards.

"No events today, Director," one of the analysts spoke up.

"No VIPs either," another added.

"Very well." She pointed toward the previous two agents. "You two, continuously monitor social media and other channels for important events." The two agents nodded in understanding and returned their attention to their screens. "Now connect me to Armsmaster. And somebody get me eyes on Lung."

She was immediately handed a headset and took a seat, glad to be resting for a moment. The room around her continued its chaotic activity.

There was a harsh burst of static before she could hear Armsmaster's calm and measured voice.

"This is Armsmaster."

"Armsmaster, this is the Director. Sitrep!"

There were a few seconds of silence, and she could hear several explosions. She had to admire the sound quality coming through the headset. He had obviously done excellent work on it.

"No civilians. Oni Lee is armed with Tinker-tech grenades. I recognize them. Toybox sourced."

"Understood." She noted down the details, then continued. "Health?"

"I'm at ninety percent. Mostly stamina. Armor is intact. Oni Lee is too fast to land a hit."

"Gang members?"

"Two sides. One ABB. The other Empire. But I don't think..." There was a massive crash and a strange sound, as if the air had been sucked out of an area, before the hero continued. "Implosion bomb. I think the Empire side was fake. They were too good."

"Are they still there?"

She turned to the agent standing next to her, ready to respond.

"Where are Miss Militia and her team?"

"One second, Director," the agent replied, immediately beginning to swipe frantically across the tablet she was holding. "ETA two minutes."

She nodded and turned her attention back to Armsmaster.

"...only the ABB left. Oni Lee hasn't disengaged yet. Wait..."

"What? What happened? Armsmaster!" she exclaimed.

Then the only thing she could hear was the sound of extreme and brutally efficient violence.

"Director. Dragon is here. ABB members are down, and Oni Lee is unconscious."

"What?"

Triumph scowled and took the binoculars back from Dauntless, watching as the battle between the Empire and the Merchants unfolded.

Although the fight was rather intense, it was obvious the Empire capes were playing with the Merchants, stalling for some reason.

Trainwreck and several Tinker-tech vehicles armed with steampunk cannons supported the Merchants.

On the Empire side, Krieg, Stormtiger, Alabaster, Crusader, and Cricket were holding the front near an old brick building.

"Why are they stalling?" one of the agents asked.

"They probably have something in the building they need. More than likely, it takes some time to move it," another agent answered while lying on the ground, watching the fight through the scope of his rifle.

"We could ambush them..."

"Hookwolf and the others aren't here, so they're probably protecting it. We don't have enough firepower to take them out," Dauntless replied.

"Daniels, anything from HQ?" Triumph asked softly while still watching the events below.

The agent replied immediately. "The order is still to hold unless civilians are in danger."

Triumph scowled in frustration, but the agent continued.

"However, good news. Armsmaster and Dragon took out Oni Lee. So we will have backup."

"Fuck," Dauntless exclaimed.

"What?" Daniels asked in surprise.

"That will piss off Lung."

"Shit."

There was a brief pause as all of them contemplated Lung going on a rampage before Triumph, still keeping an eye on the fight, spoke up.

"Something is happening."

"What?" Dauntless asked as all of them crowded toward the edge to watch.

"They're positioning Trainwreck."

One agent quietly exclaimed, "They're setting up a kill zone."

They watched in fascination as the Empire capes and gang members maneuvered Trainwreck into position before Crusader's ghosts surged forward and restrained him.

Trainwreck struggled for a few seconds before everyone heard the sound of a gunshot. The next second, Trainwreck went still and, in slow motion, fell backward.

The heroes and agents watched in horror as blood leaked from the helmet of the villainous cape.

The Merchant gang members, seeing their nominal leader fall, abandoned their weapons and began running away.

The Nazis fired a few shots, hitting a few limbs, but otherwise didn't pursue them.

The Empire capes looked up at them, smirked, and Alabaster gave them the finger before all of them walked into the building.

Dauntless sighed in defeat. "Report it."

Emily sighed for the hundredth time that day. She watched as the situation room buzzed like a beehive, with people running around trying to organize the capture and processing of Oni Lee and the few dozen gangsters that Dragon had captured.

They had to put them on a truck heading to another city immediately because both the PRT and BBPD holding cells were full from the previous captures.

It was a really weird problem to have.

She was about to contact Dauntless for an update when one of her aides approached her with a pale face, holding a tablet tightly in both hands.

She had a sinking feeling as she watched the aide get closer.

"What is it, Johnson?"

The aide didn't answer. He simply handed her the tablet.

She took a deep breath, steeled herself, and looked at the screen.

Several people looked up when they heard the Director curse like a sailor.

The tablet was displaying a less-than-legal-but-not-illegal streaming site, where, according to the site, she could watch live as Mush and his cohorts taunted Glory Girl while holding a rather large gun to Panacea's head.

"Where is this?" she asked in a whisper, not taking her eyes off the video.

"Near the Boardwalk. There were some explosions, but nobody was hurt."

"And... why is this the first time I'm hearing about it?"

The aide turned even paler if that was possible.

"The report came in, was acknowledged by us, and then deleted. Automatically."

She looked up from the stream, where Mush, encased in some kind of metal debris, was swaggering in front of the impotently raging Glory Girl. Then she looked into the aide's eyes.

"What did you say?"

"We checked, and somebody added a rule to the filters that removed every report or mention about this event."

She closed her eyes and counted to ten.

"Highest M/S protocols. Lock down everything. Get Armsmaster and Dragon back to HQ. Now!" she yelled at the terrified aide. Then she sank back into her chair as klaxons began sounding throughout the building. "Someone call New Wave," she threw out absentmindedly while turning her attention back to the tablet.

Unfortunately, there was no sound, but she could make some educated guesses.

She watched as the man holding the gun began gesturing toward Panacea, herding her toward the truck.

However, while she watched Mush say something to Glory Girl that seemed to enrage the girl even further, something happened.

A new parahuman, dressed in gray, appeared in the middle of that entire clusterfuck.