Bab 1251: 12
Interlude 1.x
Thomas Calvert, PRT Commander by day, was not on duty tonight. He was asleep in his bed in his home.
Coil, supervillain controlling a small territory downtown, was in his communications and surveillance room, in the heart of his underground base.
In one timeline, he was sleeping to get a good night's rest and his body would be fresh for the next day.
In the other timeline, he was researching news events, checking his stocks, reviewing PRT reports, and gathering relevant information in order to prepare for a major upcoming operation. The kidnapping of a powerful precognitive, Dinah Alcott, the mayor's niece. His future pet's power could give accurate predictions of the chance of betrayal or hostile attacks against him. He wouldn't be forced to rely so heavily on intermediaries anymore.
To achieve this, he would need an appropriate distraction, which the cape team on his payroll, the Undersiders would fulfill. Four teenage capes collected over time, given offers they couldn't refuse, to act under his orders.
For quite some time now, they'd been stealing and robbing with stealthy getaways. They didn't know they were working for him, just an anonymous benefactor. Except for his Tattletale, who had to be recruited more aggressively.
She was his main contact with them, and another powerful tool for gathering intelligence. Assisted with Tattletale's Thinker abilities to intuit information from the barest clues, and Coil's own power to split the timeline into two and choose whichever one he wanted to keep, the Undersiders had been succeeding every operation.
For many years, Coil had been building his assets, gathering money, influence, and power. He had a secure territory in the downtown area with over 50 ex-military professional mercenaries armed with the best equipment money could buy. Top of the line body armor, machine guns, assault rifles and even Tinkertech lasers.
Last month the Undersiders had robbed an ABB casino, proving that they were ready.
And now he found the perfect opportunity to strike. On April 14th, the Protectorate would be gathered for an event downtown. If the Undersiders created a distraction, such as robbing the Brockton Bank Central Bank branch, only the Wards would be able to respond quickly. With the Alcott's residence quite the distance away, he could wrap up his operation before the PRT could do anything,
Suddenly he received a call from his Tattletale.
"Boss, Lung's coming after us tonight. He's going to pyrokinesis our general area until he roots us out. This could be bad. Can you help?" her voice came in with worry.
He tapped his finger on his desk. That was problematic. To help them, he would have to collapse one of his timelines. He had been using PRT information networks tonight, and it was potentially traceable. Perhaps not directly to him, as he was careful not to use high level access codes in extended split timelines that he might not be able to collapse, but still potentially traceable. And if they traced it once, the hunt would be on, and he might be found next. It would be safer to leave nothing at all but the memories in his mind.
"You're sure about this?" he asked.
"100%. He's really pissed and won't stop until he finds us. I don't think we can get out of this one without a fight," she answered.
Suddenly his sleeping timeline also got a call. Waking up, he saw it was Tattletale. This was his emergency number. She was genuinely worried.
He made his decision. The outline of a plan for Dinah Alcott was already in his memory. He didn't particularly need to stay in the timeline at base. Even if wanted to send the Undersiders support from his mercenaries, they were too far away to make any difference. He closed that one.
Getting up from bed and quickly moving to his computer, he split the timeline again.
"I'll help. Go and engage Lung directly, and keep me updated" he said in one.
"I'll help. Wait five minutes, avoid Lung and then enter the heart of ABB territory, and keep me updated" he said in the other.
He was worried. His power worked best when he had the initiative, not when he was caught off guard. When he had the initiative, he could try again and again, collapsing the failures. When he was on the defensive, he could only try two things. This was exactly why he needed Dinah Alcott, to get forewarning and assess the probabilities of success.
The Undersiders were valuable assets, and an effective team. Lung was a monster however, he was not confident they could win against that. But there was nothing else he could do. At worst, he'd have to order them to break through then disperse into civilian identities.
At his computer, he began to record the notes from his memory of his research and planning. There was nothing else he could do for the Undersiders.
After a while, he received a report from Tattletale in the timeline that engaged Lung directly.
"B-boss! E-everyone's dead! New bug-controlling cape at-ttacked us and Lung both! Bitch and Regent," there was a pause, "went down from the bugs and couldn't run before Lung's fire hit them! New cape started working with us but it was too late, Lung grew too big and Bitch's dogs went mad and Lung tore them to pieces. Grue was killed by a huge fire blast, and he's ripping the new girl apart limb from limb! I barely got away in time," Tattletale's shaky voice reported.
Calvert felt goosebumps rising on his skin. That was…a disaster.
"Is the new cape a villain? Or hero?" He asked.
"She looks like a villain but she's a hero, young too, probably in her late-teens."
In the other timeline, Tattletale reported that they fought Oni Lee before he retreated.
He closed the first timeline, and split again.
"Keep moving, move out of the Docks area, opposite direction of Lung," he said.
"Head back to Lung. Look out for a junior hero. See if you can wait until she engages Lung before assisting," he said in the second timeline.
Not long after, Tattletale reported in. "You were right, boss, there's a bug-controlling cape fighting Lung. They haven't noticed us yet. She just took down all of the unpowered ABB. Lung's hurt too, he can't find her. I can't see her either."
"Don't interfere until she's losing. Keep observing," he ordered.
In the other timeline, the Undersiders had made their way west into the city, and were catching their breath. They were safe, most likely. Disaster averted. Now he could look at getting the most out of this situation.
"He found her! She's on the roof. Wait—another group is joining the fight! They're in costume, and shooting at Lung with guns picked up from ABB. Not using any powers yet, though, might not be capes," Tattletale in the second timeline reported.
What was this? Where was this group in the earlier timeline?
"Keep reporting. What's happening?" he ordered.
"One of them's taunting Lung! They're heroes, or vigilantes, and also new, going by their equipment. The taller one that's taunting is the leader, he's trying to distract Lung from bug girl. He's really confident and closing in quickly. He taunted Lung again, it worked—Lung's going after—a homemade grenade? Lung got hit! The other one just shot acid and some kind of chemical at him. And the leader was hit by Lung's fire! His arms caught fire! Fire extinguisher? They came prepared—came to fight Lung! Lung's down! Lung's down, that was an anaesthetic! No, not just sedative, Lung was weakened, bug girl hit him with lethal venoms. Bug girl's running down to help put the fire out. The one that took Lung down just put out the fire. He, no, she just healed the leader? Heal by touch, anaesthetic, acid—that's Panacea! Her power's not just healing! Complete biokinesis!"
"Panacea? Are you sure?" he asked.
"Yes, something happened to her. Not sure what, but now she's vicious, angry, and desperate. She thinks the guy can help her, but I can't get any more than that. That's why New Wave was out today! She ran away! The fight's over now, they're calling PRT."
"What's the male cape's power? Was Panacea Mastered?"
So that must have been why the PRT's scheduled patrols suddenly changed. He noticed it happening while he was in the timeline where he was at his base. But when he tried to look into it, he ran into classified information. He could have tried using higher level access codes, but that would have been risky. That timeline had been running for hours and if anything happened that he was forced to keep it, he might have left a trace on PRT networks. So he didn't, and the Undersiders' problem was too urgent to do a last minute check on it before he closed that timeline. He would have to check it out in a throwaway timeline later.
"He didn't use any powers I could see. I don't think she's Mastered, but I can't be sure."
"Why were they here? Why did they attack Lung? The bug cape and the other two."
"Bug girl was just a coincidence, saw Lung on a patrol. But the other two came to fight Lung—it was a rush job, recent homemade equipment—but the man was confident, like Lung wasn't even a threat. He knew bug girl's venom would slow Lung's regeneration. He was too confident. Didn't believe he was in real danger. Because Panacea could heal him? No—hidden backup?" Tattletale started rambling as she used her power, "Wait—didn't come to fight Lung, they came for bug girl! What? Knew bug girl would fight Lung? But—coincidence—precognition! nnUGh—" he heard her groan and move the phone away.
"Tattletale?" he asked.
"Sorry boss, power headache. Been using it too much today."
As Lung was already defeated, he decided that the Undersiders were safe. He closed the other timeline where they retreated into the city. Then he split again.
"Panacea and the other cape didn't appear in the timeline where I had you attack Lung first. The rest of your team died along with the bug cape. Any ideas why they didn't interfere?" He asked in one timeline.
In the other, he let his Tattletale rest. "Keep watching them for now and stay hidden."
"I—UH—this is going to be bad—" she answered with another pained groan. "Precog, knew about venom, knew Lung would be weakened, equipment rushed—not enough firepower, too risky, bug girl expendable—not, not heroes! Just an act—What? UGHN—" she grunted painfully, "But Panacea—can revive if brain is intact—oh my g-ouwu!" He heard the sound of retching on the other side.
His blood ran cold. If that meant what he thought it meant, then this new player was on a level of ruthlessness even he wasn't sure he would be capable of. But was it correct? Tattletale's intuition could be wrong sometimes. Worse yet, they might have hidden backup somewhere, and it wasn't clear if the apparent leading cape was the precog or if it was someone else. If he was the precog, Panacea might have been under the Master effect of someone else, which had the potential to confuse Tattletale's judgement.
He closed the timeline, then split it again from the one where he never asked Tattletale those questions.
"Try approaching them. See if you can learn more or recruit them. Keep this line open," he ordered.
"Got it, boss."
After a few minutes, he heard voices through the still open phone call.
"They're not interested in talking, we have to go!" That was Tattletale.
"The fucking bugs!" Grue? Or maybe Regent. It was muffled by the pocket the phone was in.
"I can take them!" Bitch, most likely.
"NO! We have to move, now!" Tattletale again.
After that it was static. Grue's darkness blocking the cell signal.
He closed the timeline and split again.
In one, he ordered, "Tell Grue to approach them, thank them for their assistance and see if they're open to recruitment. You keep your distance and observe, keep this line open."
"I could help with the talking, I'm good at that."
"You tried that already. They attacked immediately. I need you stay back and observe for clues."
"Okay, you're the Boss."
He heard Tattletale discuss it with Grue, before the team moved.
Moments later, "They know! They—gurk" Tattletale's voice distorted as if the phone was moving, then he heard a loud crack, and a thump.
"Tattletale? Tattletale! Answer me!" Coil said loudly. No response.
They know, she said. What did they know? That the Undersiders were there? Precognition again? But why attack immediately? The Undersiders were just small-time criminal team, they shouldn't have any enemies except the ABB. If it was just part of their hero performance, then it was excessively aggressive to attack without a word, even a demand for surrender.
And it couldn't just be precognition.
They had to have a Stranger or teleporter to get to Tattletale.
Were they waiting for her to be separated from the team? For an opportunity to abduct her?
Of all the Undersiders, Tattletale was without doubt the most valuable. An advanced Thinker power like hers contributed tremendously to his plans and worked efficiently with his own power.
If they had a precog on their side, then the whole scenario could have been a trap to lure out Tattletale! But she wouldn't have stayed back on her own without his prompting. That meant the Stranger was still there, still hiding among the Undersiders, waiting for an opportunity in the other timeline.
That also put a new spin on what happened in the disastrous timeline where the Undersiders nearly all died. They didn't interfere because they wanted Tattletale too, and predicted that she would survive by herself. But because their agent was a Stranger, not a teleporter, they couldn't stay too close to the fight with Lung, so they couldn't get to her fast enough before she called him.
Then he froze in shock. If there was a Stranger hiding amongst the Undersiders, they would have heard his call with Tattletale! They would know everything she reported on the battle, except for the timelines he closed. Maybe they would know even that, if their precog was powerful enough and could see multiple futures. No, if they could see into his timelines they wouldn't have given away the presence of their Stranger. But certainly did know that Tattletale had reported to a secret boss, and that her boss now knew that they had a precog.
This…this was a disaster! Almost as bad as the timeline where the Undersiders were nearly wiped out. Calvert himself was now known to the enemy and was at risk!
He closed this timeline. There was no time to waste. In one timeline, he ordered the Undersiders to retreat back to their base. Then he used a secure channel to contact one of his mercenary captains, ordering him to take twenty men to the Undersiders' base immediately.
In the second timeline:
"Tattletale, there's a Stranger in your midst. The target is you, and they're likely working with the precog and Panacea. Can you figure anything out?" He called and asked Tattletale.
"What? I-I don't see anything—Bitch, can you sniff out anybody tailing us? Regent, can you feel any nervous systems nearby?"
After a moment, "Boss, are you sure about this? We can't detect anything."
"It might not be a Stranger, but there's definitely something after you. As soon as you separate from the team, they get you," he explained.
"A sniper, maybe? They would have to be a very high rating Stranger if none of us can find them."
That was something he hadn't considered. If their goal was assassination and not abduction, then a Stranger would be unnecessary, just a way to track Tattletale from afar. But if the goal was assassination, why wait until she was alone? She was obviously in the middle of a call with him when she was taken out, so that didn't hide their attack.
He told Tattletale as much.
"When was I separated from the team?"
"I ordered you to stay back and watch while the team approached the new capes."
"Why did you order me to stay back?"
"The new capes attack immediately. They're not interested in talking."
"They came for bug girl. Has a precog. Attacks us immediately if we approach. Knew about us. Knew we would approach to talk. Doesn't want to let us talk. Hasn't attacked while we're hiding. Hasn't silenced me yet. Doesn't want interference. Knows we would try to recruit. Doesn't want us to influence bug girl. Bug girl can sense things through her bugs in range. Not aware of us yet, but could find us if she looks. Boss, I don't think I'm their target," she concluded after a chain of deductions.
Was it so simple? Just his paranoia? It was possible. If they only wanted to stop any interference, and had a precog who could see that the Undersiders would influence the bug cape, it would make sense to attack immediately, given how ruthless they were shown to be in the collapsed timeline where the bug cape was being torn apart.
And if they persuaded the bug cape to assist, they might find Tattletale position quickly, and the hidden backup they had could take her out as well.
That meant it wasn't necessarily a Stranger who had heard everything in his calls with Tattletale. And it would explain why they never attacked Tattletale when she was alone after the disastrous Lung battle.
"Something's happening, Boss. I think the PRT are in a fight with Oni Lee and they're coming this way. Should we head back to base?"
He closed the timeline.
Back with the timeline where they already retreated, he split again.
In one timeline, he let them keep going.
In another one, he ordered Tattletale to split from the rest of her team. At the same time, he logged in to PRT networks.
He quickly found the relevant information on tonight's major operations and activities. SECRET-classified operation led by Miss Militia and Velocity.
Received call about Lung's capture by Polychromic and Araliac, a new hero team in cooperation with an unnamed third independent hero. Miss Militia moving to contact.
Tattletale was alone and nothing had happened.
She wasn't the target. There was no Stranger.
He breathed a sigh of relief. He told her to stay in hiding for a while longer. Better to be sure.
He continued looking through the PRT networks.
Glory Girl arrested for using excessive force in fight against unpowered criminals.
Nothing about Panacea missing. It must be in the classified network. He entered the relevant codes to access classified information.
SECRET-Search for Panacea led by Miss Militia and Velocity.
SECRET-Panacea went missing April 10th between 10pm and 4m, after attacking and defeating Dallon household. Reported by Glory Girl, Brandish, and Flashbang, cited as reason for emotional instability in Glory Girl leading to excessive force acts. No details available on method used to defeat Dallon household. Related—TOP SECRET.
Top secret classification meant the information was disconnected from any network, on physical storage devices or paper. He would have to try and look for it in person at PRT HQ. It had to be related to the cape with Panacea tonight.
Tattletale was still alone and nothing happened. She was right, the unknown capes were only trying to stop the Undersiders from interfering.
He closed the timeline, erasing any trace of his having accessed PRT information.
Once again, another split had him calling Creep, a mercenary on his payroll, the only one that would have a chance to discover his civilian identity. He prepared to move to his base again. A group with precog capabilities, possible Master, and other supporting agents was extremely dangerous to his plans. They were an unknown element, so he had to investigate thoroughly. That they were not after Tattletale now did not mean that they would leave her alone forever.
In the other timeline, he once again logged in to PRT networks. He also activated a mole, who happened to be in the team with Miss Militia and Velocity, trying to monitor their progress in the search for Panacea.
To his surprise, they found and began a fight against Oni Lee. Shortly after, they had hard contact with Polychromic's group.
The new capes ambushed and defeated both Oni Lee and Velocity. He listened as Polychromic described the battle. Nothing he didn't already know, and quite vague as well.
As they moved into the van, he kept listening via an audio bug on one of his moles. They were stubbornly quiet about their capabilities, not revealing anything about their powers to the PRT.
Then he froze, shock coursing through him like lightning.
"Your networks are compromised. And not just by hackers. You've got infiltrators in your midst, some with significant authority in the organization. And if Armsmaster reviews a recording of this conversation with his lie-detector software, he'll know I'm telling the truth."
Im-impossible! They knew. They knew. How? Coil had taken every step to hide his activities. There was nothing that could be tying his Thomas Calvert identity to Coil, or even to his fake ID as the CEO of Fortress Constructions. He even made sure to only get sensitive information through moles or only in collapsed timelines! How could they possibly know?
No, he had to calm down. This…there was no proof that they knew anything about his civilian identities. They could be trying to spook the PRT, they might not know any names, and they might not even be referring to Calvert specifically. The organization he bought his power from would certainly have high level moles in the PRT as well, not to mention the other villain gangs. He didn't think the other gangs had anywhere near as much info as he did, but it was possible.
If he acted rashly now, it would only serve to out him. Classic counter-spy tactic. Beat the grass to startle the snake. The PRT would never find any hard evidence on him with all his precautions. But even so, it was a great danger. If they had a precog, it was entirely possible that they would know what Coil might do in the future.
"…wrote the protocols themselves?"
Suddenly he noticed information on PRT networks moving and compartmentalizing. Everything was being cut. His own access was just rejected. Could he be coming under suspicion already or was this just a wide sweep? He was one of the people involved in writing many important security protocols.
Calvert could feel the sweat on his forehead. The PRT was already reacting on the information. It didn't matter if Polychromic had precise intel on him or not anymore. The PRT was taking this seriously. A major security review was bound to come up soon. There were only so many people with significant authority under Piggot.
He cursed angrily. Again, he was being forced on the defensive, where his power was weakest.
To avoid suspicion, he would have to act completely normal the next day in the PRT offices. He was not ready to lose his civilian identity so soon. His base wasn't finished construction, and he didn't have enough capes on his payroll. Most importantly, he didn't have Dinah yet.
But he also couldn't risk himself getting captured and arrested if Polychromic somehow provided incriminating info. Even worse, he didn't know if Polychromic would provide such information because Piggot was already locking everything down.
Taking out Polychromic wasn't going to solve the problem either. He could have his mercenaries attack when the transport reached downtown, but the PRT already knew. If he attacked Polychromic now, that would only confirm Polychromic's assertions, and cast suspicion on Coil's mercenary organization. But attacking to capture in a throwaway timeline would never work when he had no capes to mobilize in the twenty minutes it would take them to reach PRT HQ. Attacking for no real benefit even in a throwaway timeline was not advisable when the stakes were so high, accidentally closing the wrong timeline could spell his end.
He had no choice but to let Polychromic potentially reveal even more dangerous information to Piggot. But if he went to work tomorrow he was at risk.
There was only one solution. He had a few hours to investigate using his power. Tomorrow morning he would have to split for an extended period between going in to work and calling sick to stay at his own base. In the first scenario, he could still send his body double to pose as Coil and react to new developments, but it would be risky to communicate with him from PRT HQ while being monitored.
He closed the timeline. As he reached his underground base in the other timeline, he began barking out orders for his men to put the PRT building under secret surveillance. When Polychromic and Araliac exited, he would be tracking them to their base of operations.
There was little he could do to stop PRT's suspicion on him, but in the mean time, he could find out exactly what this new group knew. He would test them, especially Polychromic, and find out whether he was the precog, or just an intermediary like Coil himself often used. Either way, they were clearly an organized and well-informed group. He would dig them up by the roots.
O O O
A/N: Some readers will no doubt wonder why Coil is so open with his power. In fact, canonically he told Tattletale about it quiet early. See Extermination 8.8 where Tattletale tells Skitter what really happened that Lung fight. She called Coil herself to get him to use his power to help them.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone