"What the fuck!?" Aerobat yelled.
What the fuck indeed.
"She pops out anything we didn't account for, foam the rest of her suit." Bastion barked to the Troopers coming out of the wings. Two heroes joined them that I didn't recognize, one in a purple jumpsuit and another in white desert-tribal style robes.
"What the hell!? What happened to only being here as a precaution? What happened to the plan!?" Aerobat yelled at him.
"Convincing her wasn't getting anywhere, I made an executive decision."
"Execut- you barely gave me a chance to try!"
"The Chief Director orders were pretty clear, Aerobat."
"And so was the freedom to go about it so long as she was brought in! Talking first, then if it failed bringing her in normally like the Chief Director originally wanted. That's what was agreed upon!"
"And as leader of the Protectorate I'm exercising that freedom based on what I saw from the course of the conversation, we have a pre-signed warrant."
"That we were going to tell her we were going to pursue if she refused and left! Not used as an excuse to ambush her right here and now!"
"It's over and done. By the end of the day after we deliver the suit someone will be brought in to figure out how to shut down her robots and she'll be shipped off somewhere far away from the Butcher. We got a needed win today, now drop it."
"Needed a- No, I get it now." Aerobat paused. "It isn't us that needed a win, it was you . You've been more up your ass than usual ever since your little scandal , because you're scared they are going to demote you and ship you off somewhere. Even more so with the city going to shit. You're trying to put feathers in your cap so they change their mind, can't justify replacing you as easily. Curry favor with the Chief Director after she overrided Armstrong."
Bastion stopped, before storming towards Aerobat, getting right in his face. "I'd choose your next words carefully."
The two of them stared each other down before Bastion broke the silence. "I'm still head of this department, the discretion given to remove Novax from the volatile scene that is Boston is as much mine as it is Armstrong's. He may have made the plan going in, but I am fully within my right as Protectorate lead to adapt the plan as I see fit in the field based on the rapidly changing circumstances that this city finds itself in. If you don't like it, you are more than free to transfer back to Baltimore, except, oh, wait." Bastion gave him a death glare, something implied between them I wasn't knowledgeable about. Whatever it was, it made Aerobat flinch.
He didn't speak up again after that.
"As I thought." Bastion barked.
Meanwhile, while the two of them had been arguing, I was busy seething.
Winslow.
It was Winslow all over again. Warrant, Chief Director, the details didn't matter. At the end of the day I was being trampled on because someone with more power or influence in the system decided they could try and step on me.
And I fucking hated it. I was sick of it. The only upside was that in the grand scheme all they had done was foam up an empty suit, a suit I was planning to replace anyways. But that didn't really improve my mood. If it had just been a conversation, me saying no and leaving with threats of a warrant for… something. Who fucking knows. Then this honestly wouldn't have bothered me too much. I knew eventually governments would see me as a threat, that people with power they didn't want jeopardized, would lash out at some point down the line. I would have just written it off as happening sooner than I thought and rolled with the punches. But this? Backstabbed in a meeting all because some asshat who can't fathom the fact that he might get replaced? Because of some scandal I haven't even been keeping track of wasn't going away? I couldn't even remember what it was for, calling a kid something on camera?"
I was irate.
What the fuck could they even have a warrant for? The Teeth that tried to surrender? I guess it really didn't matter what it was at this point.
"Novax." Bastion said, finally turning his attention to my currently immobile suit.
"Prick."
"Name call all you want, this is over."
"Is it?" I asked, as snarky as I could manage.
"I'd advise against calling in any of your robots, you'll only make things worse for yourself." He turned to the two capes I didn't recognize. "Flechette if any show, destroy them. Sere, if she starts calling in robots, knock her out."
The one in white garb who seemed to be spacing out, Sere, spoke first. "Uh, sure thing. We'll have to get fluids in her pretty soon afterwards if I do thoug-" He suddenly froze, as he stared at the MKII. "Oh fuck…"
His tone drew all of their attention. "What's wrong?" Bastion asked.
"There's no moisture."
"What do you mean there's no moisture?"
"Her suit, there's no moisture… nothing to pull from… she… she isn't here. It's empty. The suits empty."
"Always has been." I spoke up, as I gave the order for the helmet to lift. Revealing no on underneath before lowering back in place.
Flechette, Bastion, Aerobat and all the Troopers that had been milling about all froze. Each one slowly turned in horror to look towards the MKII.
Bastion was the first to break the silence. "Where are you !?" He snarled.
"Exactly where a girl my age should be. Did you really forget?" I let silence linger for a moment. " It's a school day. "
He grit his teeth. Good, I hope he chips a tooth.
"Novax-" Aerobat began.
"It's over Aerobat, like Bastion said. He got that part right."
Bastion started again. "Listen here you lit-"
"No you listen. You know? I honestly couldn't give two shits why the PRT have changed their tune. It doesn't change anything for me, I'm still going to do exactly what I've been doing. Taking care of my people, fighting villains, getting rid of the Teeth. So go ahead, label me a villain, violent vigilante or whatever other fucking justification you want. Come after me, try and pull me out of the school, it doesn't matter. I can handle whatever you throw my way, and I couldn't give two shits about any of the labels or PR nonsense. You'll fail, and I'll keep marching towards making this world a better place. Whether the PRT likes how I do it or not ."
"Get rid of the Teeth? What, by killing them? What then, gun down every other villain in Boston? Assuming you aren't dead or the Butcher by the end? Please, you aren't the first to try. You'll end up like the rest, dead, the next Butcher, or drive them off before you finish, only for them to rebuild somewhere else and come back. And then we'll be forced to try and pick up the pieces. They've survived Brockton, New York, Boston, Accord, the Protectorate, hell even the Nine took a shot and failed. You'll just be another failure like the rest."
"Have I been gunning down villains in Boston asshole? The Teeth are an exception, a mass murdering, human bone wearing, down right deplorable, exception."
"And how long until those exceptions extend to the rest of the villains? To unpowered criminals on the street? To heroes? To anyone that doesn't do things the way you like?"
"Stop talking like you know me jackass, and I'm not becoming the next Butcher. The people that failed before never had what I've had, could do what I can do. In a week from now the Butcher will be nothing more than another person in a cell, and then? The Teeth may have survived the Nine, but they won't survive me. "
"You're deranged."
"You're an ass with a stick so far up your ass I'm surprised it isn't growing into a tree out of your mouth. Now, if you'll excuse me, it seems I have to alter my plans now. Thanks for that. Now I'd prefer it if you stayed out of my way, I don't want to fight heroes if I can help it, but if you give me no choice I'll do what I must and fill your mouth with so many pepper balls you'll be shitting capsaicin for a month."
Bastion clenched his fists. "Foam the rest of her fucking suit. We can at least bring it back for analys-"
"Yeah, not happening. Unlike how you seem to believe I'll end up, I'm not going to go around killing anyone that gets in my way, so I'm going to increase the timer so you can get clear. But you aren't going anywhere with a functioning suit."
The group of them seemed to guess what was coming next, as a look of alarm spread across them.
"Clear the warehouse, and I'd advise a good hundred feet from its perimeter just to be safe. It won't be standing for much longer. Some of my reactors can be rather… volatile when destroyed."
"Novax-" Aerobat began, but I didn't bother to listen.
"Initiating Self-Destruct, T-Minus Five Minutes."
"Clear out!" A Trooper yelled, before I turned off the audio feed.
Ordering the Air Transport to gain altitude and hover some ways away, its camera pointed at the warehouse. I watched as they cleared the building, retreating to a safe distance before Bastion began setting up fields for additional cover as the timer counted down. Until eventually it reached the final five seconds.
"Five, four, three, two, one… boom."
The warehouse, and my suit, exploded. The explosion from my MKII's reactor going up only covered about the space of an intersection, but that was still more than enough to bring the building down. More importantly, vertically, the explosion was more potent. Smoke rising into the air, forming into a miniature mushroom cloud. There wasn't actually any radiation, at least with the type of generator that the MKII had, but that didn't make the sight any less foreboding.
More importantly, it was visible, and loud. Almost all of Boston probably heard it. A good chunk of it could definitely see the smoke. I looked over at all the data saved from the MKII that had transferred over before the self-destruct kicked in. Saving the video of the entire encounter. Just in case. I had no real desire to get into a war of image and PR with them, I had done enough of the high school version of that nonsense with Emma and Winslow's administration and my tolerance and energy to put up with it hadn't miraculously returned overnight.
More annoyingly, or perhaps thankfully, my powers were silent. The moment after the foam hit, I slammed on the mental breaks. Fully expecting its influential anger to come pouring in, only it didn't. Instead, only silence.
What the actual fuck what up with my powers? Why did it's emotional manipulation only kick in some of the time? Were there conditions? If so what was different about the Teeth and the Butcher that had caused it to kick in? The only difference between them and all the other people that had attacked or fought me at any point was… was when they attacked the very people my powers were pushing me to feel protective over…
Was that it? It only kicked in when people my powers considered under protection were directly attacked? Why? Seriously fucking why? There had to be a point to all this, a purpose, a…
Actually that was a very good question…
What was the purpose for powers existing? Could powers have specific purposes? I… I don't know…
Did anyone?
An alert pulled me from my thoughts. I sent the return order for my Air Transport before looking at the cause for the alert. Markus had knocked on one of the Enforcers currently on guard in the camp that had sprung up under the shield. He thankfully didn't have very severe injuries beyond the bruise marks on his neck from his run in with the Butcher. Why was he- oh! The explosion, the whole camp heard it, and were understandably on edge as a result.
I pressed a button to speak over the speakers from the school. "Everything is fine. Don't worry about it." Hopefully that was reassuring enough, I don't have it in me right now to give it any more effort. "Markus." I then spoke, switching to the Enforcer speaker and camera.
"Nova- you sound upset." Markus started.
"That's because I am. What's wrong?"
"W- uh, just the explosion. Everyone is already on edge after the Butcher… you know."
"It was just my suit, nothing to be wor-"
"Your suit exploded!?"
"Jesus, Markus, quiet down. You'll make people panic more."
"Sorry, sorry… but wait what? But… you're alive. Are you in dang-"
"I wasn't in the suit. I can pilot it remotely."
"Oh, that's uh, neat. Wait the Butcher isn't-"
"I wasn't fighting the Butcher, they aren't dead. Or anyone else in the explosion for that matter. Everyone got far enough away before it blew. Me and the PRT however are no longer on good terms. "
He blinked. "Wait what? Why-"
"It doesn't matter. It doesn't change anything except probably a new label. Regardless, let people know, if they no longer want to stay because of that they have every right to leave."
"Kid, I think you're underselling just how much everyone here has come to rely on you. Living on the streets is hard, having a cape willing to throw hands for you and take care of you isn't something most people would give up except for the more extreme circumstances. Do you want to talk about what happened? You sound kinda pissed."
"No. And I am, but honestly… I should be angrier, but in my head I keep comparing it to stuff I've gone through before I got my powers that I had been dealing with for so long. And as a result at this point I'm just too exhausted to be as angry as I probably should."
"Okay… well… if you change your mind. You know it might help if you talk about it with someon-"
"Thank you but no. I really don't want to talk right now. I just want to simmer in anger in peace. Besides, I have work to do now. I need to alter my plan if I still want to go out tonight. I was under the assumption I'd still have a suit…"
"You're going out? Why?"
"Because with the exception of saving the hostages I've done nothing but sit on the defensive ever since the Butcher arrived. It's time to change that."
"What are you going to do?" He asked.
"The Butcher can teleport, but the Teeth rely on their vehicles. Those damn things already look like they belong in a scrapyard, it's about time that becomes a reality. I think it's time they lose a few…"
Losing the MKII was going to be a pain in my ass. I had been planning on still having it in the field, even once the MKIII was finished. The MKIII was going to have new toys I didn't want the Butcher to see until it was time to put my plan into action, which meant I'd need to operate without a suit for the next few days. Not undoable, but definitely annoying.
My operation tonight was still doable without it, and I had changed plans around not having it present now anyways.
I was still simmering over the PRT and Bastion, but I had distracted myself into focusing on making preparations for tonight. As well as bringing an old project that had fallen to the wayside back to the forefront of my attention and priority. The hacking-suite, I no longer cared if I got caught and angered the PRT in regards to getting into their systems. Besides, information is king.
I'd have something usable soon, but it'd take time to get something advanced going.
Regardless, that wasn't the issue tonight. I waited until it had turned dark, curfew kicking in sending everyone smart enough that wasn't involved in the violence back indoors and off the streets. There was a chance now with every move I made that the PRT could attempt to intercept and get in the way, depending on how they acted going forward. But tonight should hopefully be a quick in and out, faster than they could send a response to me or the Butcher.
The joys of being at the outer edges of the city.
I turned my attention to my console, my Air Transport, of which I had finally determined to label with the name Air Bus, flew low towards Malden. Dropping low to the south, deploying an APC to the street below. The APC deployed six Enforcers out of its rear, said Enforcers broke into a jog alongside both sides as the APC rolled forward towards Malden, matching their speed.
The Air Bus took off to circle around Malden to its second drop point, while I turned my attention to the Phantom, as it quickly flew over my target. A large mechanic shop up north in Malden where the Teeth were keeping a number of their vehicles and modifying new ones they had taken since arriving in Boston. The Phantom flew overhead, before I pressed the button to deploy its new toy. A bomb shaped container dropped, spiralling down, hitting the ground in an alley a couple blocks over. The covering on its side raised to uncover just over a dozen of my new one-use scouting drones. Tiny boxes with miniature VTOL jets for propulsion. The swarm took off and beelined for the structure, waiting on nearby rooftops for my order to dive into the building and map and tally the vehicles and people inside to determine if I'd be able to give the final greenlight. I didn't want any innocents inside when it came time.
The Phantom shot off down to the south after dropping its payload to search for the Butcher.
I waited, as the APC moved towards its destination, a building taken over by the Teeth on the south end of Malden, eventually it arrived and I let it do its job. Opening fire from its coaxial gun, the Enforcers joining in on the sides.
I didn't want to use any of the other weapons, in fact, I didn't really want to kill any of the Teeth in this building at all. I wanted them alive, to call out, beg for help as I pinned them down in the building. Shots just narrowly missing them. No, this detachment of units weren't here to strike a blow, they were here to make noise.
A distraction.
The majority of the Teeth tended to congregate in a collection of buildings in the middle of Malden, where their permanent cell here tended to stay I assumed. While some smaller groups spread out into other places. I assumed the Butcher would be staying with the group in the center.
I waited, and waited, and wai- ah there she is.
A flash of fire, and then another. The Butcher was on the move, heading south to respond to my incursion. I set the Phantom to follow her, track her movements while I preset an order for the Enforcers to embark and the APC to peel out the moment she reached a certain distance from their location.
Then I gave the order to the scouting drones, two stayed behind to act as eyes in the sky as the rest of the tiny swarm surged forwards, bursting into windows and any opening they could fit through as they quickly began flying through the structure. Scanning and sending video feed back as they cataloged everyone inside the building. A couple doors were closed inside; they couldn't get through some other way. A drone quickly landed in front of each one. A periscopic camera deploying from the top and going under the door to quickly tell me what laid behind both. Panic and shouting spread through the building as the Teeth noticed their unwelcome visitors. But I got what I wanted.
Five Teeth, no civilians, and at least ten vehicles. Some current Teeth vehicles undergoing maintenance but mostly newly taken ones that they had clearly been undergoing modifications. Probably to replace the few they lost when they first hit the kitchen.
Bingo.
I sent the self destruct command to the drones inside, tiny bangs going off inside as I gave the green light to the Air Bus. It soon swooped in from its standby position, having finished circling around, coming into a hover over a rooftop a few blocks away. Dropping all six Lobbers on the roof before lifting off to drop four Enforcers a few blocks further north.
All six Lobbers raised their barrels, twisting them and adjusting the angle to aim at the mechanic shop a few blocks away, and opened fire.
Mortar shells flew through the sky, whistling down onto the roof, the first explosions caving the roof in. HE shells, six shells with each continuous volley. I watched through the remaining drones, as shell after shell hit. The building crumbling under fire, cars exploding inside, oil and gasoline catching fire. Eventually I ordered the firing to stop once I was satisfied, smoke and fire rising from the building, my task complete. I ordered the Air Bus to retrieve the Lobbers, having already deposited the four Enforcers it had brought that were now running their way through Malden, searching for places to go on standby.
A little treat to harass the Teeth later. They'd separate and each find a nice quiet place to hide until I gave the order. Then they'd each take turns over the next day or two, charging out to harass the Teeth when they least expect it. One way trips with the intention to cause havoc and then self-destruct before the Butcher can respond. If not that, I'd use them for a secondary purpose, depending on how the Teeth shuffled after tonight.
As the Air Bus swooped in, the Lobbers changed ammo types, sending several more volleys before being picked up. The new shells exploded with the same foam that was found in fire extinguishers to try and mitigate the fire somewhat before I left. The building wasn't directly connected to anything, but I'd like to minimize the chances of it spreading regardless. Forcing the fire department to try and fight a fire in Malden with the Teeth would be just a dick move.
Just like that, the Lobbers were up and away. The APC had already begun its disengaging maneuver, peeling through vacant streets, gas and smoke covering its retreat from the Butcher. The Butcher herself had already changed targets, hearing the explosions in the distance and seeing the rising smoke, changing directions.
She was already too late.
The APC would retreat further before being picked up and returned along with the rest of the Lobbers.
My first strike was complete.
Nothing too big, too loud, no massive confrontation. A simple in and out, just as intended. And with it, phase one of the plan was in motion. The Teeth were a strange group, while they congregated around the Butcher, sub-groups still fractured off whenever they settled down, smaller groups forming sporadically various distances from the main congregation wherever they settled. Like the shop I hit with the hostages, and the auto shop tonight. The goal, do the same as the Butcher did to me last night. Over the next few days, force all the outlying groups to merge, congregate in one spot for protection. The second, piss the Butcher off something fierce. I wanted her to be absolutely murderous by the time I was ready to move on her directly. When it came time for our final fight, I wanted her to see red, and be blinded by it in the moment.
I'd need to monitor the Teeth the rest of tonight, make sure they weren't going to retaliate immediately, and if so be prepared to intercept. Most of the homeless were underneath the shield, and had been informed on what to do in the event of an attack, but I didn't put it past the Butcher to start attacking homes in Arlington instead. No, I had changed the parameters for an alert of movement from the Teeth, it would be much more liberal in its reasoning for waking me up. They wouldn't get close to Arlington's border. I wouldn't allow it.
More so, I needed to see how the Teeth shuffled after tonight, and tomorrow, pick a target to strike. There was something I needed from them before they pulled in all the outlying groups before they converged fully. And if they did before I could take it, I'd have to get… creative…
A problem for tomorrow.
For now I needed to finish pulling out. I ordered the remaining scout drones to detonate, keeping the Phantom overhead to observe as the Air Bus pulled my remaining units out.
The Butcher didn't sally out the rest of the night. Surprisingly, I was sure it would happen soon, maybe tomorrow. But until then I figured I could manage a few more hours of sleep come morning. If they moved during the day my Phantom would alert me.
The four Enforcers I had left behind had all found places to tuck themselves away, hiding away until I gave the order to strike. If it seemed like they were preparing to move I could send the Enforcers on a one way trip to interfere with their preparations if I thought necessary. Meanwhile, the Phantom stayed overhead Malden, dropping another payload of scouting drones to cover more of the area. I needed to locate a very specific target, somewhere acceptable to acquire the thing I needed from the Teeth before the MKII reactor came online.
It was early morning, the sun had not even risen yet as I was getting ready to call it quits for the night when I suddenly got a call on the same line I gave the PRT. My still simmering anger surged as I reached for the button to decline the call when I noticed the caller wasn't the usual number.
My curiosity got the better of me, and I picked up.
"Who the hell are you and how did you get this number?"
"I have my connections, Novax." A voice I recognized responded. "Or did you really think I was beyond gaining access to something as simple as a phone number kept on file?"
"Accord?" I asked.
"Yes, don't tell me you assumed I'd forget about you agreeing to meet. Just because the city has devolved to its current state doesn't mean I forgot. Alas, I prefer things face to face, but under these circumstances a phone call will suffice. A little birdie tells me you and the Protectorate have had a… falling out."
I sucked in air, before letting it out in a sigh. "What do you know?"
"Only that Bastion is in the hot seat, and Challenger has been named acting Protectorate lead in his stead. That and talks of him being transferred elsewhere once the city is in a better spot, they can't afford to lose a defensive cape as versatile as Bastion right now unfortunately for them. Everything else is rather… hush hush, there are limits to even my connections, and your file has always been heavily redacted and censored on the level my feelers can reach. Especially in a time like now where the PRT is on edge and alert."
I snarled. "Of course they'd be keeping things quiet... All you need to know is we are no longer on working terms, beyond that, I have no idea the extent of the stance they plan to take against me. But they mentioned a warrant, and the Chief Director."
"Hmmm…" He muttered. "And the explosion from this afternoon? I take it you were responsible? The PRT's response has only been that they are investigating."
"Self-detonated my suit, I wasn't in it at the time. They were there, they knew exactly the cause."
"Troublesome… but I'm sure our original arrangement is still attainable, though proxies may now be necessary…"
"Someone set up the attack on the soup kitchen." I said suddenly, changing the topic. "The Butcher said as much, someone told her to hit my kitchen and fed her bad info. She implied she was going after them as a result."
Silence lingered over the line, before Accord finally responded. "And the next day Butcher hunted down and killed Spill in the street…"
"She did, except Spill putting out a hit on my kitchen makes no sense. What reason could he have had to do that?"
"He didn't have one. In fact, it likely wasn't him at all. Compulsion, Midr and Digger were too prepared to move when the Teeth did. One of them likely set the Butcher on her course through a proxy acting as the Unmasked. Compulsion would be my guess, he is the only one crazy enough of the three to make a deal with the Butcher. Compulsion and Midr were rather… insistent we run you out of town when we held an emergency summit when the Butcher came to town. I knew something was off, and I prepared my Ambassadors for a potential knife in the back. But I assumed the most likely time they would spring whatever scheme was afoot would be after the Butcher was run out of town. Compulsion would be crazy enough to proceed with such a plan with the Teeth in town, but I found Digger and Midr being convinced to do the same unlikely… an unfortunate mistake."
I growled under my breath in anger, thinking about which one was likely responsible before turning back to the discussion at hand. "They wanted me run out of town?" I asked, confused. "Why?"
"They had concerns that are not important at this juncture. Of you gaining the attention of undesirable threats. Only one of which could possibly be a concern at this time and not because of you in particular but because of the state of the city itself. Last I heard they were nowhere near this part of the country, so there is no reason to concern ourselves with them now when we have other problems to deal with.
"Concern ourselves? Last I checked Accord we only had a loose agreement to work on implementing additional soup kitchens in the future? Maybe on a larger scale. But, no offense, since when has this been an 'us' situation."
"Assuming you are wise, after today." He said, leaving anticipation building in the air.
"What?"
"I have a proposition, in regards to the current state of the city."
What was he talking about? "Explain what you want."
"This city is in chaos, the structure and order I had worked so painstakingly to create in this city's underbelly has been shattered by upstarts seeking to place themselves in a higher position of power. I want you to help me restore order." He said, pausing before continuing. "You've already done good work soaking up the Butcher's attention, keeping her from creating even more chaos amongst the fight. And assuming you don't do anything… ill advised, will be able to drive her out-"
"I don't want to drive the Butcher out." I said, cutting him off.
He went silent, before he spoke again, his tone angry. "Do not interrupt me again. I don't like interruptions, your capabilities grant you some leeway, but there is only so much I am willing to restrain my desire to strangle you when you act with such inattention."
I raised an eyebrow he couldn't see. The fuck was his deal? "Okay?"
He gave a hum. "Good enough, what do you mean you don't wish to run the Butcher out of town?"
"I don't want to run the Butcher out of town because I want to end the Butcher, and her Teeth."
I heard something snap on the other end of the line. A pencil? Pen maybe?
"I hope you do not mean you intend to kill the Butcher..." He seethed.
"Of course not, I'm not stupid. I want to contain her, I have a plan in place. I just need a few more days before all the pieces are ready. After that, the rest of the Teeth will be open season without the Butcher to interfere."
"What is the plan?" He said, matter of fact. His tone calmed down a peg.
I explained it to him. His end of the line went silent for several moments, before he responded. "I see." His tone went back to normal.
That's it? That's all he has to say? "I was expecting you'd immediately start recommending changes or to re-do the entire thing yourself."
"It could work without my input, I'd rather not give any input to be honest. If things go terribly wrong I don't wish to risk inheritance through any degree of separation from my involvement in crafting or altering the plan."
That's… reasonable… and I guess a vote of confidence? "Fair enough."
"Back to my original proposition… After the Butcher is handled, and the Teeth are eliminated, where will you place your attention? After all, there is an entire gang war afoot. And one of the participants is responsible, it seems, for the Butcher attacking you in the first place. I propose we help one another, afterall we were already in the works of some level of cooperation for the establishing of new soup kitchens. I believe we should extend it further. Someone here will come out on top, even if the Protectorate came in force tomorrow and rounded up every participant, someone would come in from outside the city later to try and fill the power vacuum. Someone at the end of all this has to fill that void. I filled that void last time before this challenge, and I intend to fill it again once this is over. I am asking you to help me maintain my grasp."
What? "You want… to be allies?"
"Yes. You have a good head on your shoulders Novax, you know parahuman crime will always exist. So it's best if someone with the city's best interests at heart controls the reins. You saw at least for a time how things were handled here. Under me Boston knew relative peace, so long as the Teeth stayed away. And it will know peace again once I have retaken control and eliminated these dissenters."
I thought about it… he was right. There would always be crime, you couldn't eliminate it, only mitigate it. And as far as I could tell Accord had been beneficial to how Boston's crime scene operated in the grand scheme. If I had to choose any of the groups in town to come out on top… I guess it would be him. "And if I said yes, what would I get out of this? Why do you need my help?"
"You would get access to my services free of charge, not just in ending hunger, but whatever other problem you need a detailed plan to help tackle. I need your help because no matter how hard I have the Travelers hit their stash houses in the long run this will be settled with Parahuman muscle, not the average joe with a gun on the street. The remaining Unmasked have left town with the death of Spill. Two of them were possible recruits for the Teeth… but considering the Butcher is responsible for the killing blow to their leadership that ship has sailed in those regards. That leaves my Ambassadors, Mystic Mass and the Travelers. For the time being I have abandoned Charlestown, which complicates their ability to strike at me. But Mystic Mass has not, they've held so far, but they have already taken casualties. Both deaths in their unpowered following and injuries among their capes. My Ambassadors and the Travelers can assist where we can but ultimately Heaven's Light refuses to give up ground and it will be his downfall. It makes them too easy a target with them continuing to try and hold their turf. The Travelers themselves aren't a permanent solution either. I have hired them for the time being but they already showed interest in leaving town due to other priorities their group has. I've gotten them to stay for now, but that won't remain the case forever. I have put in feelers to other mercenary groups, the one back up in the Bay where you came from in particular, but Faultline so far seems uninterested in taking a contract that brings her people into this mess. Especially in a city so close to where they rest their heads when they aren't on a job. I could recruit new capes, but that would be… expensive. Something I'd prefer to avoid considering the costs that will go into rebuilding all that has been and will be destroyed in my operations from this conflict. Meanwhile, the number of capes I'm against grows. The Four joined the fray tonight, after claiming Somerville. An alliance of opportunity that I'm sure will break down the moment I am killed if they were to succeed. But ultimately The Four hate me more than they hate Compulsion, Midr or Digger."
"That's not good." I said, because it wasn't.
"No, and to top it off I know with certainty that Soldat is moving back to Boston. PRT analysts have confirmed as much. They'll be here in a few days and are another group that hates everyone involved, but surely hates me more than the rest. They aren't likely to work with anyone, but they will likely ignore them in favor of aiming at me and those aligned with me. Not to mention it's likely only a matter of time before the Elite put out feelers to see if they can gain a foothold in the chaos. In a way they already have, a friend of mine in the Elite has informed me Morning Glory have gotten the Iron Wolves under contract."
"The Elite want a piece yet they also warned you?"
"The Elite is a massive multi-faceted organization. The same group with faces such as Bastard Son yet also Uppercrust. Assuming they are so one dimensional is a fatal mistake you shouldn't make. So yes, a member of the same group warned me they are looking to set up shop. With the Iron Wolves in town soon they will have boots on the ground. They are an Elite-affiliated mercenary group, and no doubt will feed information back regarding an opportunity to make a play. Between the Iron Wolves and The Four that's nine more capes to contend with. I can outmaneuver them all I want, but at the end of the day with enough numbers even the grandest plans become unsustainable."
"So you want my help. Even the numbers with my bots?"
"Precisely. We end this war together, and I retake my place back at the top. Meanwhile, you get to go after whichever of the three ordered the Butcher to go after your kitchen. And, in the process, you place the best option back in control of Boston in return for my services going forward. Within reason of course."
I thought about it, Accord really did seem like the best option to come out on top.
Plus… he was good at making very detailed plans. The ones for the future kitchens were really well done. I had set my sights on tackling very big problems in the world with my tinkertech. It just seemed like the right course of action to take. Plenty of heroes could make an impact on a city level, but not many had the resources to impact global problems. While I had the potential to create the means, I admittedly didn't know anything about how to actually go about tackling problems like world hunger, the situation in Africa, or anything else going on the global scale. Someone like Accord in my back pocket to help create plans and implement solutions…
"Openly fighting alongside villains in a gang war isn't going to help me with the PRT. If anything it will give them more leverage for whatever bullshit they just tried to push on me this afternoon."
"Then don't help openly. Simply insert yourself in the conflict where I tell you it is best suited for my interests. And when you do, happen to single out the capes not working with me or for an ally."
I sat, mulling over it…
Fuck it.
"You know what, to hell with it." I sat up in my chair. Not that he could see that. "I don't move on anyone else until I'm done with the Butcher, but after that… you have a deal."
I couldn't see him, but I'd like to imagine the short little bastard was beginning to smile while rubbing his hands together with a cat in his lap. "Once more Novax, you make the right decision. I'd shake your hand or give a toast, but it seems words will have to suffice. To a new dawn as allies."
I felt a little calmer the following day, but I would be lying to say I still wasn't angry. An emotion I was noticing I was feeling more often than normal as of late.
Fucking Bastion… asshole that he was.
On top of the knife in the back, part of what he said had bothered me. Of me devolving into someone that killed anyone that got in my way, of turning into a monster. Something I was harking on a lot more after I had decided to lift all restrictions when dealing with the Teeth. Since there was no point trying to skirt the edge to maintain a relationship with the PRT.
The decision to start dropping shells had been too easy, especially with how angry I have been at the Teeth. In a way as much as I hated to admit it I could understand Bastion's train of thought there. With the lack of sympathy and regret a person should feel from killing it was a slippery slope I was on. Even if it was the Teeth that I had chosen to stop holding back for. But the important part that Bastion missed was that I knew the problem he was likely looking at. I wouldn't prove him right, I was better than that. I had to be. I wouldn't kill without reason, and the Teeth had given me plenty of reasons.
The next day after talking with Accord I continued with my usual expansions.
More defenses for Fort Bluff after the falling out with the PRT. A flak gun and missile defense turret now sat on the roof by day's end. Alongside which I began building trailers in a section of empty space just outside the shield but within my wall. Better housing for the people staying within my protection that wasn't just tents. They'd be bunkhouses, with simple dividers to give people a semblance of privacy for now. I had planned on something more grand but Markus had convinced me this was good enough for now. I was worried about people stealing stuff from each other, but apparently people were behaving well inside the camp. No one was willing to risk angering their protector because they decided to steal something.
Last night before my strike I started the final upgrades to my last few extractors.
I had diverted mass to focus on those upgrades and they had both finished come morning. Now, with my increased income my timeline had changed. Once the last units and the modified Engineer finished their job, I'd be able to put a ton of mass into the MKIII suit and the MKII reactor. I'd be able to finish earlier. Actually launch my final attack April 9th that afternoon or evening rather than needing to wait till the day after.
This of course called for starting the MACU a day later but I felt it was acceptable if it meant pushing my final engagement with the Butcher forward. I wanted this behind me, so I could focus on other things.
Like the gang war and the MACU, and after that preparing for May. An Endbringer attack was coming, and this time I didn't plan on sitting in my bunker reading about the aftermath.
Regardless, I would be able to make my move sooner. I should even have enough time to push out the last APC I planned on needing if I was savvy with my mass rather than needing to repurpose one of my current ones.
But that meant I needed to move up the task of acquiring what I needed from the Teeth, and my plan of pushing them inwards to the center of Malden. Which meant I needed to move again tonight, harder than I had planned. The Butcher would be expecting a distraction like the night before, that likely wouldn't work again. So I'd have to change tactics.
A call rang grabbing my attention. Accord? No, the PRT.
I scowled, slamming the decline button. They tried again, and again, three more times before it seemed they finally got the hint. We were not on talking terms right now, I had no interest in talking to them if I could help it. No amount of curiosity on what they'd even had to say would fix that divide.
Along with the mass extractors and new units in the Buster and Liquidator, a second Phantom was now complete. It would make things easier going forward.
As I prepared for my second night on the offensive I kept a close eye on the Teeth with now two Phantoms overhead. Making sure they weren't going to beat me to the punch, all while trying to identify a target in Malden, both for my main offensive and my secondary objective.
That afternoon however, while scouting I noticed the Butcher making her move.
I had planned for this, loading and tasking an APC to intercept. Meanwhile the second loaded onto the Air Bus and took off. I figured the best way to deter her was to make it clear that her leaving Malden would have consequences. Not just for the Teeth she was bringing with her. No, but also for those she left behind in Malden.
As the Air Bus closed in, it gained altitude. Placing itself higher than the Butcher's range to teleport or never miss her shots. But, more importantly, it was still very much visible carrying the APC and several other Enforcers in the afternoon sky.
The Butcher stopped, looking up as if to prepare for battle when instead the Air Bus flew past and kept going, heading straight to Malden.
You can either keep coming to hit Arlington, or you can turn back and stop me from having free rein on the Teeth you left behind bitch. I can be in both places, you can't.
In the end, she turned back. Racing back with the group she brought with her back to Malden. The Air Bus circling back without dropping its payload once I had lured her back far enough.
This song and dance then continued several more times throughout the day. The Butcher would move, trying a different path to Arlington. I'd task the Air Bus to give a clear view of it flying over and past, the Butcher would turn, repeat.
Three more times we did this before the Butcher called it quits. All the while our little dance was noticed. A police helicopter watching from a distance, Aerobat and Dovetail as well flying high up and far away, binoculars in hand. The PRT was ready and prepared; it seemed to try and interfere or at least intercept if either me or the Butcher fully committed to a strike.
They didn't have much else to do, the violence in the center of the city had entered a pattern where all the capes mostly only came out to play past sundown, with the day filled with only small skirmishes. Mostly between unpowered grunts.
They would be busy tonight though, when they also had to contend with all the other capes downtown causing hell.
Night came and I went on the move. Trying to get into position before things kicked off downtown. I would be going in with a two-pronged assault. Both APCs would be driving in, the Air Bus on standby for quick extracts rather than direct insertion. The Butcher would have to choose one of the two to respond to, and while she did the other APC would be left uncontended since none of the other capes were well suited to deal with my bots.
All the while, the four Enforcers I had inserted the night prior had their own job to perform…
My primary targets were the two largest Teeth gatherings outside of the main congregation. Quick in and outs once more to try and force them to push further into Malden before tomorrow.
One rested to the west, the other once more to the south.
I sat back waiting, as my units moved into position. Phantoms flew overhead both locations, dropping drone packages to do a sweep minutes before arrival just like the previous night with the mechanic shop. After they dropped, one took off to search for the Butcher, the other heading south to keep a lookout for potential interference from the PRT.
The drone sweep completed. I let both APC's and their entourage do their work.
It was jarring just how different it was when I didn't have a suit to focus on amidst the fighting. As I sat back watching APCs and Enforcers engage both buildings with small arm fire. I was still holding off on the main cannon for the APCs, but I wasn't intentionally missing today.
Meanwhile, I sat back and sipped some tea. Until a Phantom picked up the Butcher on the sensors. She chose to respond to my attack to the south. I punched in orders and sat back and watched as the Air Bus moved, and just as the Butcher was closing in the APC loaded its Enforcers back into its rear and the Air Bus swooped in and lifted it out of the street. Hauling it up and out. The Butcher pursued, at least for a while before she angrily turned around realizing she wasn't going to catch up. Turning to head in the direction of the gunfire that was a second assault.
More importantly…
I turned my attention to the four Enforcers that had been pre inserted the night before. They had grouped up under the cover of darkness and hit a small house where small groups of Teeth occasionally gathered. They were already on the way out and moving. I gave the order for the other APC to load and leave. Sending it racing up to pick them up. It would take the long way back after.
The next day me and the Butcher continued our game of chicken. Our conflict had long been a game of hitting those we surround ourselves with rather than each other considering neither of us were in a position where we could actually kill the other. The Butcher may have gotten the first few swings in that regard, but now that I wasn't pulling my punches she was quickly learning that teleporter or not I could easily outmaneuver her thanks to the Air Bus.
The ability to fly over her out of her grasp and insert bots back in Malden was likely driving her up the wall. If the facial expression I was seeing from the feed on the Phantom was anything to go by. Good, I wanted her to be angry. She could always bring the entirety of the Teeth with her, but I had already proven that except for her, my tiny army was beyond what the Teeth could handle. The more Teeth she brought with her, if any, was the equivalent of serving them up on a plate.
Out in the rest of the city the addition of the Four hadn't changed the battle lines more than I had anticipated. At least not immediately. Their fighting style didn't mesh well with others, and as a result any move they made was them alone. Apparently their group centered around poisoning everyone on the field, including themselves, and ensuring they were the first to recover with a mix of healing powers and equipment.
Mystic Mass had finally lost two members. Some tinker by the name of Babel had been killed in an incursion by Mourning Glory. Literally kicked into vicersa by Longstocking. Another had been taken in by the PRT, some shaker that could grow and manipulate their own enhanced hair, going by the name of Samson.
Morning Glory had their own troubles as well. Beltane had been captured at the same time as Samson, along with some Dark Society cape named Bull.
Beyond that though Accord's Ambassadors were still managing to outmaneuver the other gangs and the PRT, along with the Travelers who were working alongside them. Still, I had spoken to Accord since he reached back out, things were going to get harder once Soldat and the Iron Wolves arrived. And he had expressed concerns at how quiet Blasto had been amongst all the chaos.
Problems for later, the important part was Accord was willing to make a lot of noise downtown whenever I was ready to move on the Butcher for the final time. Distract the PRT best he can to mitigate them interfering in my plan. No guarantee they wouldn't though. Sacred Hearts and other independents had been working alongside the Protectorate and were helping bear the load of covering all the different parts of the city. As a result they had managed to keep a PRT van or two and a couple of heroes nearby in Somerville pretty consistently. They had actually tried moving in during my strike the night before, except they weren't any faster than the Butcher was in actually getting there on time.
On the bright side, with so much activity focused on nighttime they were more short staffed than usual during the day. If I moved during the afternoon, which it was looking like I was, Accord kicking the ant hill would likely shake the tree enough to where interference would be minimal at worst.
Beyond the occasional attempt to call or intercept me or the Butcher whenever it seemed one of us was actually about to commit or did commit to a strike, they had kept their distance. I wasn't sure why. I guess they knew, at least with what they thought they knew, that to get to me they'd have to breach the school and its defenses. Something that I knew would not be a small undertaking, and probably a big ask with the city how it was. In other words the gang war was a shield in a way, preventing our relationship's downward turn from spiraling into anything too… explosive.
Not that I would blow them up if it did. Just the right word to describe the situation.
And then, on the other side, keeping people posted directly in Malden right now was… not exactly healthy with the Butcher around.
The next night I geared for another attack. Once more switching up the pattern. Fifteen Enforcers sprinted across the city towards Malden, and over the course of the night took turns terrorizing the Teeth. Their failsafes altered to where all their core components I didn't want anyone looking at would still fry themselves without the entire unit detonating.
The Butcher was left running around all night. Trying to put out fires that she had trouble finding as Enforcers conducted hit and runs, dipping off into the night after rushing into firing range and firing off short volleys. Not to say she didn't find a few, eight Enforcers fell that night before I gave the order to recall, but by morning I'd have eight replacements already made.
The important part however was the fact that I kept her busy all night, and pissed her off further.
The PRT, surprisingly, didn't really know what to do any more than the Butcher. A helicopter floated overhead, watching, but the moment they tried pushing in the rest of the Teeth's cape roster came out of the woodwork and went for them.
Likely frothing at the mouth for a fight they could actually win without relying entirely on the Butcher.
Tomorrow afternoon… it would be time. The reactor completed and the MKIII operational, it was time to move on the Butcher and end this once and for all. At the rate I had been going I may have been able to drive her out of town in record time. The only consistent thing between each Butcher beyond the insanity had been them returning to lead the Teeth with each iteration. Meaning they in some deep twisted way cared for their gang. Not in a loving way, more like a possession, an inanimate object they prized. Regardless, my attacks had exploited that the past few days, keeping her on the back foot for once.
But now it was time to end things, before they actually did leave town if they were going to at all anytime soon. Not including capes, I had killed nineteen more of their unpowered grunts since my first assault. If I had to estimate how many were left, probably fourty or so not including capes. They had come to Boston with the largest roster since even their glory days back in Brockton Bay, now, they had practically been cut in half.
I had everything I needed in place. The Butcher didn't know it but with all the pieces I had been moving around in the background she was by all intents and purposes in check. Now I just needed to engage the Butcher and keep her engaged without her running off so everything could play out. For that, I'd need bait. Something she'd want so badly that she wouldn't leave so easily if the going got tough.
I smiled, as I looked over at the screen showing the final preparation ongoing for the MKIII.
Thankfully for me, I knew exactly what she wanted. After all, she'd made it pretty clear what she wanted from day one…
"The fuck is Jerry's deal?" A male voice spoke from a nearby fire. "He's been fucking jumpy."
"Who isn't fucking jumpy right now? Everyone thinks they're going to find a fucking murderbot around every corner." A second male voice said, pausing. "He still hasn't found his sister. She was in the shack house two days ago when Novax hit the second time. She was the only body missing, he'd been hoping she got out and that she'd turn up, but there still hasn't been any sight of her."
"Yeah, besides, even without that, dude has a right to be jumpy." A third, female voice added in. "Yesterday was probably the worst night so far. The past few times at least the bitch only hit a few specific spots. Last night though… I hid in a gas station with Molli when one of those fucking cyclops motherfuckers came out of an alley. It came right into our building, that creepy ass eye scanning the room with blue light like they do. Shit was like a horror movie…" She paused before continuing. "Felt like I was hiding from the velociraptors from that Earth Aleph movie."
"I haven't seen Molli this morning… Did she?" The first voice asked.
"Fucking thing found her, I can still hear her screaming from just before the fucking thing gunned her down…" The female voice replied.
"Why the fuck are we even still here? Butcher can't kill the bitch because she can't find her, and none of us are any fucking use against her. Hell, only Vex and Spree have made a dent in anything. And that was only the first time and even that was only soaking up bullets meant for the rest of us. Why the hell haven't we gotten the fuck out of dodge?" The first voice responded.
"The Butcher decides when and where we go dude. With any hope she'll decide enough is enough soon, but right now she's still too dead set on killing that tinker bitch." The second voice spoke. "Besides, you should know better than to try and understand what is going on inside the Butcher's head. She-"
They stepped out from the bathroom, having finished their business. Turning and staring at the bone dressed trio that sat surrounding a fire in a barrel outside the bathroom.
The three froze, staring back.
"Fucking gossiping littl-Should kill the fuckers fo-No we already lost too-Who the fuck asked y-Lick my taint you slim-Can we get something to eat alrea-Yeah can we get som-Shut the fuck up you useless-KILL THE UNFAITHFU-Calm down you dickweed she's right we don't need lose mor-Yeah use them as fodder if you mus-No, I want a hamburger not chic-Yeah then they are still-Who care's if they ar-"
The chorus chattered. Nothing new, all day, everyday, twenty-four seven. Not even sleep receded them as the Butcher had no need for sleep. A Noctus cape, as they were known to be called.
The chorus continued their bickering. Quarrel, through all the noise, settled on a decision. A pain blast rippled through them. All three collapsed to the ground, screaming in pain. She held it for five seconds before turning to leave.
"FUCK YEA-Teaches them to-Why do you always want a hamb-We still should have kille-I SAID KILL TH-That should be good enou-You can't go wrong with a good hambur-They should still be used as fodder nex-Wings would be so much bett-Agreed, this is better, we need the manp-Are you idiots still talking about food?"
The Butcher moved through the department store, long abandoned since their arrival. The place trashed as their Teeth made it one of their many homes. Or it had been one of many. The attacks by Novax had driven their Teeth inward. The entirety of the Teeth now resided in this building and the other stores in the shopping center to stay near them for protection.
The past few days had been nothing but infuriating. The chorus had debated on leaving Boston all together for the time being, or sticking around in hopes of finding an opportunity to sneak off and finally find the damn tinker.
Yet every time they had tried they had been spotted. That damn drop ship flying overhead, bots in tow. A clear warning, return now or return to a slaughter.
The Butcher clenched their fist. If they ever got their hands on the fuckin-
"Butcher!" Vex called out, running up to them.
They turned, facing her. Staring, waiting.
Vex paused, grabbing her knees as she caught her breath. "Novax! Novax is moving! From the west! Scouts spotted those damn tanks rolling in!"
"Oh this fuckin-This shit is not sustain-GO AND KILL HER-We can't even find-We have to try ha-We can't even lea-Who cares! We have to deal wit-We have to intercep-Go! Now! Break that bitc-We leave after this, we hav-You don't decide when we lea-You're all fucking moro-FUCK! Now we can't go ea-." The chorus screamed.
With no words. They teleported to their stash of weapons. Slinging their compound bow over their shoulder before picking up their minigun in one hand and a giant maul in the other. Before appearing on the roof in another flash of fire. Teleporting away again and again several blocks over in the direction Reaver stated.
From one roof to the next. The Butcher kept moving, until they found the Tinker's forces. Something catching her eye amongst the robots.
The Tinker's suit. Novax hadn't shown the empty husk since starting her offensive. It stood at the forefront, gleaming in blue light as the energy shield surrounded it. Only… it looked different. Was it bigger? Hard to tell, height wise at least. The strange pack on its back definitely made it thicker. With two strange pauldron shaped objects attached to the top of said pack.
Was it a new suit all together?
"Butcher!" Novax yelled. The first words spoken to them or their Teeth since the offensive had begun. "You wanted a fight! You're getting one! This. Ends. Today!"
They raised an eyebrow, a small spark of excitement went through them before, out of a gut feeling, they activated their bloodsight.
Their eyes widened as they continued to examine the suit, now with their power. Underneath the metal and the shield, blood flowed, a heart pumped.
The chorus erupted.
"HOLY SHI-She fucking showed-Is this a pra-KILL HER-Yeah no he's right, fucking kill-Kill her now!-Rip out her heart-I want to snap her spin-Head cup! Head cup!-Tear the fucking bitch ou-Kill, kill, kill, ki-Snap her nec-No! I want to see bloo-Let's turn her into a new belt, maybe also-STOP FUCKING TALKING AND KILL HER!"
Their awareness spread, finding a room a building over. They appeared in a ball of fire shortly after, stashing the minigun and maul for the time being. As well as taking out a pair of goggles, placing them around their eyes. Getting paint out of your eyes was an annoying ordeal. Then, in another flash, they appeared on another roof, bow in hand.
Novax turned their way immediately on the ground, one of her tanks rolling out in the background. Several of the cyclops bots as well. Good, let them come. It wouldn't matter, Novax was all they had eyes for.
They drew back an arrow, letting it loose. The arrow soaring towards Novax, slamming into her side, the shield flaring. In response, grenades flew around the tinker's suit from the tank behind her. Smoke billowing out across the battlefield.
She'd done this trick before, it wouldn't help her now. The Butcher activated their bloodsight once more, spying the blood filled veins of the Tinker. They drew another arrow and watched as it sailed through the smoke into her target with perfect accuracy.
More grenades fell, some landing where they stood. Still wouldn't matter with their bloodsight. The cyclops bots opened fire, paintballs soaring towards her face. They let them hit, the goggles serving their purpose keeping it out of her eyes directly. Yet, even with the goggles themselves impaired their bloodsight continued to negate the Tinker's attempts to impair her as she loosed another arrow into the smoke.
They teleported to another roof, changing things up in case Novax had some new trick up her sleeve. The smoke had been shot out in front of the suit, appearing in a ball of fire to the Novax's side; they could see her suit once more as they wiped some of the paint off their goggles. Something catching their attention, the weird pauldron shaped objects were… gone.
They drew another arrow, wondering where the pauldrons went when out of the corner of their eye, they saw something.
The pauldron, tiny thrusters firing, flying in from the side. Before they could turn and react a compartment opened on the front, a tiny blue beam shooting out, striking their bow.
It dissolved.
In shock, the beam then hit their goggles before they could react, dissolving off of her face. They teleported forward within reach of the drone. Snatching it up in their hand before crushing it while bringing up their other arm to block the paintballs from hitting their eyes from the side.
They stared down at the remains of the pauldron, anger seeping through as they waited for the brief amount of time that needed to pass before they could teleport once more. The moment it passed they appeared down below in the street in a ball of flame. Right in front of one of the cyclops bots, slamming their fist through its eye before lifting it up and chucking it directly at Novax.
Novax began to move to dodge the wreck. In response they flared a pain blast towards her, the Tinker buckled, while letting out a scream. Halting her long enough for the wreck to slam into the suit, the shield flaring once more. Then, they were gone. Back to their stash of weapons, collecting the minigun before teleporting once more into the kitchen of a nearby house.
They opened fire from the window, bullets slamming into the Tinker's suit before they repositioned into another building, continuing their barrage. If they could just bring down the shie-
A crash from a separate window.
A beam of blue light came out from the side, parts of the minigun dissolving in their hand. The second pauldron. They teleported on top of it, as it hovered inside the room. Crushing it in her hand much like the last. She cast aside her ruined weapon before returning to her stash, snatching up her maul. It wouldn't last long knowing Novax, but it didn't matter. One good hit would be enough before they turned to their fists.
They laid eyes on Novax through the walls and teleported behind her, swinging the maul wide as the Tinker turned and brought her hands up to catch the weapon. As the hand raised they sent a flash of pain through her nervous system, the Tinker screaming as they faltered, the maul continued slamming into the suit's side, shield flaring.
As they then swung the maul up to bring it down in a second swing they saw through their bloodsight as several veins in Novax's were suddenly punctured. Something being pumped through her veins.
A compartment opened on the left arm, the contraption responsible for their loss of weaponry from past engagements emerging. They swung down, sending another pain blast only this time Novax's reaction was less severe. She caught the weapon, and the familiar blue beam shot up, dissolving the maul.
Expecting it, they let go of the maul prematurely, cocking back a fist and sending a jab straight towards the Tinker's helmet.
Novax dodged to the left, and in response they sent another flare of pain coursing through her nervous system. All while simultaneously they could see the substance from before being pumped into Novax's veins. The pain blast this time was even less effective than the last.
Fucking tinkers.
Novax responded with a punch of her own, they twisted out of the way of her punch, responding with a right hook of their own. Novax ducked, while sending another punch at their abdomen, or so they thought as the feeling from their danger sense warning them of the blow suddenly vanished. Only for the feeling to return at their ankle as Novax ducked lower than expected and grabbed their ankle, their vision going sideways as Novax continued to twist around as she lifted them up off as she spun around. Novax released them at the end of her spin, chucking them towards the nearest building.
They crashed through the window, tumbling across the floor before jumping back to their feet. Just in time as Novax charged through the brick wall, they looked up and prepared to teleport behind the Tinker.
They appeared behind Novax, realizing too late as Novax stopped her charge prematurely. Letting her feet drag across the floor as she slid to a stop while simultaneously swinging a closed fist back behind her. Their danger sense flared as the fist impacted the side of their skull, their mask cracked from the impact as they were sent flying sideways.
They recovered quickly as Novax closed the distance. In response they lowered themselves, charging forward and reaching around and grabbing Novax around her thighs. Lifting her up and bringing her up and then down behind them in a suplex. Before reappearing in a ball off fire back up right, careening her foot down. Stomping down on Novax's head, stomping her helmet into the floor as the wooden floor around her head splintered.
They prepared to bring their foot down on Novax's head a second time when their danger sense flared. Novax's arm jutted out, going for the foot still on the floor, aiming at their ankle. A syringe popping out from a compartment on her wrist. The needle poked out, uncovered by the shield.
They teleported before it could make contact.
So that was her play.
Appearing across the room Novax jumped up in response. The syringe still out-
Their trains of thought came screeching to a halt as a missile flew in between them and Novax. Exploding and filling the room with that same gas from before. They held their breath, before teleporting away.
The moment they were able they took a deep breath and teleported once more onto the roof of the tank outside. The source of the missile. Popping sounds filled their ears and the tank began shooting off canisters that exploded into more gas. They held their breath as they reached down, and much like the first time gripped the two separate launchers attached to the sides of the turret and lifted. Ripping them off and casting them to the side.
They appeared on a rooftop nearby, taking another breath before they teleported back to Novax. Immediately dodging being jabbed by the syringe before grabbing Novax by the other arm. Twisting and throwing the Tinker through the opposite wall that they came through, away from the tank.
They jumped out of the new hole in the wall after her. Watching as Novax tumbled shortly before gaining control of her roll across the ground, as she jumped to her feet and slid a short distance farther as her suit left a small streak across the ground from the friction of her feet sliding.
More importantly, they were out of the gas filled room.
Novax charged forward, and after closing the distance and began trying to stick them with the syringe in her arm. They dodged, once, twice, before they managed to grab the arm. Snapping the needle poking out of the shield with her other hand before Novax wrestled her arm back.
Their danger sense flared, they twisted, just in time to dodge a syringe dart that proceeded to fly past them. Where did that come fro-
The cyclops bots, they had disappeared since the beginning of the fight. Where did they go?
Their danger sense flared once more both from a punch from Novax and from another dart flying through the sky.
They teleported away, appearing behind Novax and sending a kick careening into her back. Sending her skidding down the road before turning and dodging yet another dart as their danger sense warned them once more. They looked around, searching for the source of the darts when they felt their powers warning again and turned to see the window the dart was flying from.
The cyclops bot didn't stand a chance as they teleported behind it. Crushing its upper chassis with a punch. Before teleporting back down into the street as Novax climbed back to her feet. Only for their sense to flare once more as another dart flew at them from another building. They dodged before they teleported away, finding the bot and crushing it like the last.
Appearing back in the street, they turned to Novax and used their power to send the Tinker into a mindless rage. Novax began marching forward before stopping, grabbing at her head, before making a motion like she was shaking something off her head before looking back up at them.
"Not happening."
Another tinker contraption? Aggravating…
Another dart pulled them from their trains of thought. They teleported and hunted down yet another cyclops, before crushing it like the rest.
They reappeared in front of Novax. Hitting her in the head with an uppercut before she could bring her arms up to block.
"Join or die, there is no third option." They reminded her.
"I'll make one then." She snarled in return. As she recovered and threw a punch in return.
They dodged, before the two of them traded a flurry of blows. Then, they took a page from the Tinker's book and ducked down. Grabbing Novax by the leg and picking her up as she swung the Tinker around, chucking her through the wall of yet another building.
They pursued, teleporting on top of Novax before she could fully recover. Brining an elbow down on top of her head as she tried rising up from a knee. Then a punch to the head, and then finally a kick to the side and once more sent the suit flying. Crashing through furniture, and then slamming through yet another wall. As she did, the glowing shield around Novax's suit suddenly flared brightly before disappearing on contact with the wall.
"FUCKING FINALLY R-OH YEAH-Rip her ou-Slit her thr-Let's see some bloo-Head cup!-Let's pull her spine out!-We should keep the helme-Oh I can't wait to turn her int-Her bones will make a grea-KILL THE BITCH! FINISH IT!"
They rushed forward, as Novax recovered upright, metal sparks flying as her metal suit skidded across the pavement as she used her hands and feet to bring herself to a stop.
They teleported forward and grabbed Novax's helmet and squeezed. Only the metal didn't immediately begin to give way, better built than the cyclops bots then. A punch to their gut forced them to let go. They responded with one of their own, striking Novax in the shoulder. The armor dented ever so slightly.
They traded blows, several more dents forming in Novax's armor, before they teleported behind the Tinker and grabbed her from behind. Suplexing her into the ground again, teleporting back up right and pinning Novax to the ground. Pinning one arm to the ground with their leg, they grabbed the other with their arm, and took their other hand and began pressing in on a section of the armor where the arm socket would be. Trying to force their way through the section of the armor that looked weaker to allow the arm to move. At the shoulder.
The metal screeched in resistance as Novax thrashed underneath them. But eventually her hands won, the metal giving way. Blood seeped out from inside as it was pushed into the Tinker's flesh.
Pulling their hand back they pulled a knife from their belt and shoved it through the gap, and Novax screamed. Blood poured out from her suit's shoulder.
The chorus screamed in pleasure.
Finally, Novax managed to throw her off. As grenades slammed down around them, and gas enveloped them.
They held their breath and teleported back. Out of the gas.
Cyclops bots suddenly came out from the woodwork around them, as tires squealed as a new tank pulled in. Firing grenades with smoke. Novax jumping to her feet, rushing towards her vehicle.
They were forced to dodge another dart, and they quickly began making quick work of the new cyclops bots when they suddenly heard the sound of hydraulics. Glancing over with blood sight through the smoke, they saw Novax begin to rise off the ground, as if walking up a ramp.
The tank, she'd carried her suit in them before.
The chorus erupted.
"DO NOT LET HER RU-Stop her-Kill her befor-She can't escap-Follow he-Hunt her down!-We might not get this chance agai-Go now!-Kill her now!-Finish this Qua-If you let her get awa-"
Their awareness sprang outwards as they found the space that was the back of the tank. Teleporting inside in front of Novax, as she rushed in holding a hand to her bleeding arm. The inside of the tank was mostly empty, sans for several strange indents built into the walls.
They slammed her against the wall, before they both began to grapple. Eventually they came out on top once more, pinning Novax to the ground. Before starting to do the same thing they had done to the shoulder at her neck, where the helmet connected to the torse.
Grabbing her neck, they squeezed. The metal screamed, Novax gurgled as the pressure pushed against her throat as the metal bent. Before finally… it gave way.
Blood came pouring out, and then they pulled a second knife from their belt and thrusted straight into her nec-
A strange sound hummed from the inside, the indents in the wall glowing, before blue particles filled their vision as the knife pushed its way into Novax's jugular.
Almost as quickly as the sound and particles came though they disappeared. The back of the tank… was bigger…
They glanced around, they were somewhere new, an empty room.
An emergency teleporter? A last ditch effort to get away? Their danger sense wasn't going off, nor had it when the particles suddenly appeared…
This must be wherever Novax had been shacking up away from the school.
They turned their attention back to the Tinker below them. Blood spurting out like a geyser from the side of her throat. They reached down, letting the blood flow over their hand and giving it a taste, before placing it on the side of Novax's helmet. Cradling her head from the side as they leaned down.
"Your skull shall be my new prized possession."
They watched in glee as her heart slowed, further and further, before finally it stopped.
Novax slumped, dead.
"FUCK YES-HELL YE-THAT'S RIGHT YOU STUPID TINKER FU-THAT'LL TEACH EM-THIS IS WHY YOU DON'T FUCK WITH THE TEETH!"
They stood, examining their bloody work before turning to the Tinker's lair. They needed to return to their Tee-
What the hell?
They looked. Left, right, forward and back. There were no doors… Only vents and… were the walls glowing?
They stepped over to the nearest wall, pressing a hand against it as they watched it shimmer in light. It was shielded, the same shields as Novax's sui-
The sounds of metal moving dragged them from their thoughts. They turned, Novax's suit… was moving.
The suit raised to a knee, before slowly rising to stand at its full height. A bloody handprint on the side of the helmet, blood dripping down coating the suit from the neck and shoulder. It turned towards them, slanted blue eyes still glowing defiantly.
How? What? This was impossible, they killed her. She's dead!
They activated bloodsight. Confirming once more that her heart had stopped, yet the suit moved nonetheless.
The suit stopped, staring at them, with them staring back. When suddenly with a hiss, the helmet raised off of the Tinker's head. Revealing a shaved female head, blood seeping from her nose and neck. A gag shoved into the mouth. The head flopped forward, lifeless eyes staring back and… and a facial tattoo of a skull. The same one… the same one popular… among the Teeth…
The conversion they overheard earlier suddenly flashed through their head.
"He still hasn't found his sister. She was in the shack house two days ago when Novax hit the second time. She was the only body missing, he'd been hoping she got out and that she'd turn up, but there still hasn't been any sight of her."
Alarm shot through their body, as they stared at the corpse residing inside Novax's suit. As for one instance, one moment, every voice in the collective came to the same conclusion.
Trap.
"Checkmate, Butcher."
The vents opened, and gas began pouring into the room.
Their head darted around, gas seeping in from every direction. They had to get out, get away. Their awareness spread as the found the closest empty space nearby and began to-
The feeling of a spark that always accompanied their teleport never came. The mental feeling muted, as if doused in water. The same feeling they always got whenever they… tried teleporting into open water.
They tried again, and again. Every open space their power could find. It was all submerged. They… the room was underwater.
"Did you really think I'd let you leave so easily? After all the trouble to lure you to the gate?"
Gate? Two archways stood where they had appeared after the particles, they had missed it at first. They gate inactive, dead.
Their teleports blocked, and the gas… It continued to fill the room. They had to get out.
They turned to the nearest wall, to tear their way through and swim up from wherever they were. Only to remember the shield that covered every wall as their hand impacted and blue light shimmered where metal should have bent.
"Like a rat trapped in a cage."
A pulse of energy pulled their attention back to the suit. The helmet now back down, covering the corpse. It's own shield now back as it once more glimmered in blue light.
"Faking my shield failing was a really big risk, I gotta say. Wasn't entirely sure how you'd go about trying to kill me once you thought it failed. Big risk there, even if I could have just turned the shield back on with the juice it had left if things got too hairy."
They took a deep breath before the gas reached them, and began punching the wall. They had to break through, they had to get past the shield! The wall flared with every punch, as the gas finally completely filled the room and the need for air became more and more desperate.
"That and all the work I put into the prerecorded screams, and shouts of pain. I was really worried they wouldn't be convincing enough. Or that the systems monitoring her brain to figure out when you were using that pain blast or the rage power wouldn't trigger right. I mean, I was confident enough in them but… when the plan can only really be used once you gotta worry about these kinds of things you know?"
Their desperation for air finally got the better of them, as they gasped. A breath full of gas going into their lungs. This wasn't working, they needed t-
Their danger sense flared, they turned only to be met with a fist as Novax's suit punched her and sent her flying into a separate wall.
When had it closed the distance?
They hit the ground, coughing from the first bit of gas they had breathed in. Their body began to feel woozy, and they stumbled slightly rising to their feet, leaning against the back of the wall. Looking forward as the blood stained suit marched towards them.
"You aren't getting out. Might as well accept that."
The suit was closing in. They teleported to the opposite side of the room, maybe the flames would ignite the ga-
They appeared on the other side. Nothing.
"Please, do you really think I wouldn't ensure it wouldn't ignite?"
The floor? It wasn't shielded. Maybe they could dig their way out. They began punching at the floor, eventually getting a grip on a piece of the floor they pulled. Exposing… a glowing blue shield covering a second layer of metal underneath.
"Thought of that." Novax teased.
Their vision was beginning to swim, their movements more and more sluggish.
"The Butcher ends today. There will be no Butcher XV, there will be no more Teeth. No more Mad Max wannabes tearing across New England, harvesting people for bones, committing horrific acts of violence. No, no more. While you're still awake, if you're curious my bots are already dropping in on the Teeth that have decided to so helpfully finally congregate in one general location. I give it… maybe ten minutes before the gang all fourteen of you tried so hard to keep around is gone. I want you to know that, to think of that as you finally go under."
They collapsed, their legs no longer willing to keep them upright. They turned towards the suit across the room as it began walking over to them. Finally standing above them.
"Don't worry though. This won't kill you. After all, I have no interest in continuing your sick work. I've got a nice little life pod with your name on it to live out the rest of your days in silence. A perfect prison for someone like you, made by yours truly. So go to sleep, knowing that if you ever wake again it will be because somehow, someway, there is a use for you. And with the knowledge that everything you built will be gone before I even have you in your pod."
Their head slumped, eyes finally beginning to close, as they looked up at the blood covered suit one last time. Those piercing blue eyes staring back.
"Goodnight, Butcher.