Crystalized Munchkinry - Act VI - Chapter 80 (Patreon)

The entire situation was beyond stupid.

He waffled around, scared and jumping at shadows, and while he was fortifying his redoubt, Path to Victory was running around, doing who knew what, and now that it had acquired the codes from Eden, it had more than likely achieved whatever goal it had been working toward.

Which he knew wasn't defeating him, because at this point, that would be impossible. Reviewing the data (after some much-needed organization) told him that most of his capabilities far surpassed anything that Eden knew or had seen in her admittedly long life.

Path to Victory should be able to realize the same thing, so what else could its objective be?

His simulators and predictive algorithms spat out results after results, but even those Shards who specialized in predictions were baffled. This situation was so far outside anything they had ever experienced. Some of them couldn't even grasp the enormity of it.

So, knowing that his firepower was far superior, he finally decided to go after Path to Victory, but before that, he had to settle what he had gained from Eden. It's not like it would take too much time with his powers now that he didn't have to sneak around.

He built a new unit that would serve the same purpose that the central Shards served in the old Network. It would be a repository of knowledge and have the ability to scan the planet and the surrounding dimensions. The scan function would be turned off for now. He would start to use it after Zion was dead and he had assimilated the central Shards.

Of course, calling them Shards anymore was not the correct term, but he did not need to get bogged down by such trivialities. So, they stayed Shards for now (though he checked, and there was actually a Shard specialized in etymology).

He also activated the Shard he had put together that would be responsible for the security of the Network and keeping it clean. Just to be sure, he made sure the Shard had access to enough processing power to rival an Entity if needed. Keeping track of that much communication was rather taxing, after all, and he didn't want to have a security breach happen just because it didn't have enough resources to deflect it.

He also created a Shard that was responsible for looking after the structures of the Shards and their maintenance. He immediately gave it a task: upgrade all Shards to the new model he was using and then migrate them to the between-space.

It was rather fortunate that when they were first created, they were rather robotic, and only gained true personalities and sentience over time, because he was sure if it could, the Shard would cuss him out for dropping this on its lap.

Another new Shard was put in charge of the architecture of the Network. Its job was to maintain and improve it.

He then set them as one group, called them the IT Department, and made sure they had enough resources (he worked there in his previous life, so he knew IT was always fighting for more resources), then continued the reorganization.

His next step was to reorganize how data was handled. The central Shard he created for the Data would from now on contain the scanned information in one part, while the knowledge about the past races (thank you, Eden), the entirety of the Tinker Tech database, and every other topic would get their own section.

New Shards or buds would be assigned specialties from there, to improve efficiency and prevent two Shards from researching the same thing. The older Shards would also periodically upload their databases, and the new Shard he had put in charge of this, Library, would check them and add the relevant information to the whole while eliminating duplication and so on.

There would be no need to update the databases of the Shards one by one. They could query the Library, and the Librarian Shard would send them the most up-to-date package, making sure everybody was on the same page.

The moment it went online, Efficiency was the first to use it. Not that he expected anything different…

The Shard even sent him a very short (and efficient) thank-you message.

With that done, he spent a small amount of time going over everything, making sure he had missed nothing, then built another set of processing units in case he needed them for the fight. Probably not, but one never could be sure, and he had lived so long with Path to Victory's power hanging over him like the sword of Damocles that it was instinctual.

For luck, and as a reminder of his beginnings, he built a standard generator and matter extractor.

In accordance with tradition…

Alexandria strode into the meeting room already dreading what new thing would be dropped in her lap, though none of it showed on her face, which was as cold as always. Eidolon next to her, however, didn't bother to hide his annoyance.

"What is it now?" he half asked, half grumbled as he took a seat. "Did Serenity pull another fucking rabbit out of her hat?"

Number Man just shrugged, indicating that he didn't know, and looked curiously at Doctor Mother, who similarly shook her head.

Alexandria was about to ask where Contessa was when the woman with her always impeccable timing walked into the room, with Legend following her.

The man was in his civilian clothes, and as he walked in, his entire posture screamed confusion, showing that he also didn't know much. He smiled at them as he took a seat, then turned toward Contessa, who was also situating herself with precise movements. It seemed she was running a path.

"Well, Contessa? What was so important that it couldn't wait until I had my dinner with my family?"

Contessa took a deep breath and spent a moment looking around, meeting all their eyes and holding each gaze for a second. Then she spoke, her voice measured and nonchalant.

"The Enemy, the Endbringers, and Eidolon are no longer blind spots."

There was a brief silence, as if the universe was holding its breath, then it was broken by everybody talking over each other.

"What?!"

"How?"

"Please elaborate, Contessa."

"Maybe missing dinner was worth it…"

The woman gave them a small smile, then waited until everybody calmed down somewhat before continuing.

"As of this morning, I can see their actions clearly at least a month or so in advance. Good news, the Enemy won't attack in that timeframe. Bad news, there will be an Endbringer attack aimed at the East Coast of the United States."

Alexandria leaned forward in her eagerness before speaking.

"Nothing concrete?"

Thanks to her improved vision, she saw the other woman wincing almost imperceptibly. So, there was something more to it. Knowing that there was a reason why Contessa had left that out, and probably winced on purpose so she could pick up on it, she left it for now, concentrating on the precog's answer.

"It hasn't been decided yet."

"So, it was confirmed? Somebody is controlling them?" asked Doctor Mother while the others around the table scowled.

"Somewhat."

This time Eidolon was the one who spoke up.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go and take out the asshole!"

Contessa nodded, then smiled at him. Alexandria was sure that it was the fakest smile she had ever seen, but somehow Eidolon didn't see it.

"No worries, it's already taken care of. There will be only one more Endbringer attack."

Despite her prodigious defenses, Alexandria felt as if she had been punched in the stomach upon hearing that.

"Really?" spoke up Legend, a frown on his face. "Can't we stop that one too?"

"I'm afraid not. The other blind spot interferes with any plan that aims to stop the last Endbringer attack," came the prompt reply from Contessa. "If I try to path it, the path ends rather abruptly."

The final emphasis on the word abruptly left nothing to their imagination.

"So that blindspot is still up?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Contessa seemed to hesitate for a second, though Alexandria was pretty sure it was for show.

"My blind spots were given to me by the Enemy. It's gone now… But the Brockton Bay blind spot still stayed…"

Alexandria was pretty sure that Contessa was implying something, and it took her only a second to realize what.

"You think there is another Entity."

Contessa nodded.

"Unknown, but probable."

There was another silence as everyone digested the newly received information.

It was Legend who broke it, his face set into stone.

"What now, then?"

"I think we should concentrate on the enemy we can see," replied Doctor Mother in a matter-of-fact tone. "We can start looking for the probable new Enemy after we are finished with the one we actually know about."

Alexandria saw Eidolon nod a little sulkily, with Number Man, Legend, and Contessa nodding in agreement. So, she nodded too, though she couldn't help but feel that they were missing something enormous.

Well, she could look into it after the meeting. For now, they had to plan for taking out the Enemy…

The warehouse on the outskirts of the city was full, while several other people were patrolling the surroundings to make sure nobody interrupted the meeting. He was sitting on a throne made of countless metal swords with Menja standing behind him in silent vigil, waiting to begin the meeting.

Max looked over the lieutenants and the remaining parahumans who had come to the meeting when he called, as it should be. Yet he could see on their faces that several of them were not happy to be here.

He knew Krieg supported him, but he also knew that Hookwolf would react to the news in his own unique way. The question was: how would the others react?

Max once again cursed Kayden for taking away Night and Fog, though he had a niggling feeling that it was actually Gesellschaft that had recalled them based on the news he was about to share.

The lieutenants were not important, but with his decreased parahuman force, he needed all their support. He took a look at the clock on the wall that had been placed there beforehand, as wearing a full suit of armor made looking at one's watch rather difficult, then he stood up.

His mere presence was enough to quiet the people in the warehouse. It was almost intoxicating…

"Welcome, everyone!"

His voice echoed around the room, and he saw every eye turn in his direction.

Good.

"I'm afraid I have some unfortunate news to share with all of you." He fell silent for a moment, making sure to make eye contact with as many people as possible. "It seems a great misfortune befell the Gesellschaft, as several members of its leadership were killed in a skirmish against the Three Blasphemies."

He listened as people gasped and exclaimed, while the parahumans who knew more about the organization just frowned.

"So, it is up to us to uphold the ideals of the group. It is up to us to show the world our power!"

He could see several people nodding, and he was ready to rile them up a little more before breaking the bad news to them. Support would no longer be coming from them. The leaders who were in favor of supporting the Empire had all died in the attack, and the person he had managed to contact curtly told him there would be no more support until they figured out who would be the new leaders.

"But until our sister organization recovers from this inconvenience, we won't be getting any support from them."

He called it an inconvenience, but from what his contacts told him, more than half the organization was either dead, disabled, missing, or arrested in the attack's wake.

"But never fear, my friends! We are the Empire, and we are strong! We will prevail!"

He was glad to see that the rabble believed him. It would be easier to sell his idea.

He raised his hand, and the crowd in front of him quieted.

"But we have to be smart about it. The situation in our city changed, so we have to change with it. I will be reorganizing things to move our operation to…"

"Bullshit!" interrupted Hookwolf, who strode forward, his entire body radiating anger. "Why run, Kaiser? The chink dragon is running with his tail between his legs. The druggies are no more. We could rule this place!"

He had half expected this to happen, but he still hated that it had.

"Because, Hookwolf, if you hadn't noticed, the strength on the PRT's side has increased exponentially. Or was your little adventure with the littlest Ward not enough?"

Hookwolf's anger exploded out of him, and Max could see several places where the other man was trying to hold back his transformation.

"That little cunt is going to get hers!" He took a shuddering, deep breath and turned toward the crowd, speaking his next words to them. Though Max was sure they were mostly aimed at the parahumans, as he knew that Brad didn't really care for the opinion of the non-powered humans.

"Come on! We outnumber them and overpower them? None of those assholes got the guts to do anything more than slap us like some kind of sissies! We could rule this place!"

He turned back toward Max, but he was still speaking to the crowd.

"And you, Kaiser, so weak that you would run at the first sign of trouble?" Brad smirked before continuing. "Though, it isn't that surprising. After all, a man who can't even keep his woman in line couldn't be anything but a coward!"

Max tightened his fist in frustration at the slight, but otherwise, he didn't react to the insult and poorly concealed provocation.

"My duty is to see our goal realized, Hookwolf. For that, we have to realize that we have to be smart about it. And the smart thing here is to move away. We can't fight against the Protectorate and what Dragon could field. Or have you seen what she did at the Battle of Ellisburg?"

"Bah, like those idiot politicians would let her bring those toys into the country!" replied Hookwolf, with a bloodthirsty grin and a dismissive wave. "All I hear are excuses. From a weak little man, Kaiser."

Max wanted nothing more than to skewer the idiot, but for now, he needed Hookwolf's power on his side. When he was established somewhere else, he would kill him with pleasure.

Hookwolf continued, not even waiting for a response.

"I say we show them where they stand! Below us!" The watching crowd broke out in cheers, though the parahumans watched with grim faces. Menja reached out with a hand, touching his shoulder in concern, but he just shook it off.

"And we already have a target! Those bastards have captured Rune, one of us! It's time to take what belongs to us! Who is with me?"

While the non-parahuman members cheered, the question was in reality aimed at the parahumans.

Max didn't say a word, just watched what they would do.

It did not surprise him when Krieg walked over to stand behind him next to Menja, while Crusader and Cricket stood next to Hookwolf, who was shooting arrogant glances in his direction.

The last holdouts were Victor and Othala. But after a few seconds, Victor, followed by his wife, walked over to also stand beside Menja on her other side.

"It seems, Hookwolf, that there are more people who believe in being smart than in your idiocy," exclaimed Max finally, silencing the building with his frosty voice.

Brad growled, glanced around, then stood a few steps forward, the transformation taking hold of his legs.

"Then I have to make sure there are no other choices!"

Max had a second to parse the meaning behind that sentence before he was sent flying by a fully transformed Hookwolf, and the warehouse descended into chaos.