章 638: 77
Date
2011 March 28th - Sunday - Earth Bet Time
Max didn't know how it happened, but every time something bad happened, it was James who delivered them.
So, while he was on a phone call, to a casual observer talking about diversification, but to those in the know talking about moving his headquarters far from the Bay, and James came in with a grimace on his face, he knew deep in his guts that he wouldn't like it.
"I have to go, I will call you back."
With that, he hung up, not even giving the person on the other end time to react to it. Not that he cared about it. He placed the phone down, and his other hand found a freshly added button on his desk.
After suspecting that the PRT knew about his identity, he made sure to enhance the security of his office, and that button would turn those specific security measures on.
He and James waited until the small LED next to the button flashed green before he spoke up harshly.
"What in the nine hells happened again?"
James' grimace increased, and he looked like he didn't really want to be there. Max let out a low growl, and James immediately started talking.
"Well, Sir, while you were working, there was a small skirmish between our guys and the ABB."
"So? Did someone die?"
James nervously shook his head and continued. "No, Sir. Stormtiger, Alabaster, and Fenja went to support them after they called in for said support."
"What the hell was Jessica doing there?"
"Apparently dropping off some papers, or something and decided to tag along. I don't know why."
"And? Why are you stalling? Spit it out, for god's sake!" spat Max, his fist clenching, wanting nothing more than to skewer the other man.
"Well, they were winning, then Armsmaster showed up. Who then used some kind of Tinker tech to turn his motorcycle into a mech suit."
"What?"
"Then Dragon showed up."
"What?!"
"They have been captured. It's on PHO already, somebody filmed the entire thing."
"What?"
Date
2011 March 29th - Monday - Earth Bet Time
He closed the window on the screen after the video ended, then he looked out the window, contemplating once again the sunset and life in general.
He had already seen the video yesterday when one of his underlings brought it to his attention after a bunch of them returned with their tails between their legs. It was at times like these that he wished that Oni Lee didn't get captured. The teleporter was excellent at the rapid response. And while he could have personally headed for the fight, his presence alone would have escalated the fight to a level he didn't currently wish to fight at.
Not that the fight was important. He had already begun reorganizing the ABB, knowing that the previous behavior would run afoul of Dragon and, if the rumors were to be believed, the Protectorate after most of their capes somehow got better and stronger powers.
Seeing what Armsmaster did, he full-heartedly believed those rumors. Though he had to smile at the memories of his childhood that the transforming motorcycle brought to the forefront.
Maybe…
The reorganization of the ABB resulted in him shutting down all the sex work and related enterprises, and distanced himself from hard drugs. A smart businessman knows to change when the market changes.
He decided to invest more heavily in gambling, upgrading their security and their facility, making them seem legal. He even started looking for people with clean backgrounds who could start legal businesses. The other things he also invested in were smuggling and forgeries. White-collar crimes were less interesting to the parahumans, so he hoped it would fly under the radar until he was ready with his plan.
Though with Dragon in the city, he didn't expect it to last long.
Not that it mattered. The gang was losing people every day. Some to the police, some to the PRT, some simply leaving for greener pastures, some trying to strike out on their own and some trying to challenge him to the right to lead the gang.
He let them go. There was no need for people with a weak mentality in his gang.
Date
2011 April 5th - Monday - Earth Bet Dimension
Valefor walked sedately towards the abandoned golf course in the middle of the night. His only partner in this walk was Blasto, who has been transformed into a full thrall by now.
Knowing that the same thing could happen anytime (and it did happen with one of the homeless) that happened with the cleaning woman, he had the man tinker up a compound that would deepen the control on a human, thus even if his power wore off the target would still remain docile and obedient.
After that, and a little interrogation, he found out that Blasto had some kind of animosity going on with Spree, so he simply had the man using some of his idiotic creations to bait the other cape where he could look into his eyes.
After that and losing a few other thralls to the Teeth cape, everything was pretty much smooth sailing. If Valefor were sane and less consumed by his grief and rage, he would have wondered. Why hadn't the PRT reacted to him yet? But he had only one goal. And that was revenge. Nothing else interested him.
He barely ate, seldom showered, only concentrating on the tasks he gave his thralls and following them on the cameras that Blasto had access to with paranoid single-mindedness.
After Spree was captured and was fed the same compound that Blasto ingested, Valefor had the Master over the course of a few days lure the rest of the capes in the Teeth. So soon after capturing the first one Vex, Hemorrhagha, and Animos were under his control (turns out Reaver was a fake cape).
He then gave himself a few days to clean up and rest. After all, one should meet destiny in clean clothes.
When he was satisfied, he simply had Spree deliver a letter of invitation to a meeting to the Butcher.
And now he was on his way to do just that. He didn't know if his plan would work, but what could he lose?
His life?
He snorted a little at that thought, then took another look around, ignoring the placid and empty stared Blasto behind him.
Nobody was there. That was good. Yet, still, something deep inside him was telling him that it shouldn't be this easy…
With great practice, he ignored the small voice of dissent and continued on the trek towards the agreed-upon meeting site.
The moon was barely showing in the clear night sky, so the only light he could see was his own flashlight and the lights the Teeth brought.
Despite his expectation, the infamous villain group was deathly silent as he finished his trek to the 18th hole. Butcher in her usual armor stood in the middle, the four parahumans he had subverted behind her, two on each side.
The waxing moon cast enough light to illuminate her face enough for Valefor to see the deeply unsettling and beyond-intelligent gaze of the famous villain. He met the gaze of his own as he walked towards the group, Blasto obediently following him.
When he was a few feet away from the awaiting group, he stopped and nodded at the Butcher, then waited.
Butcher seemed to observe him for a while, while also glancing with a smirk at Blasto, then carefully and deliberately gave him a slow nod.
Despite himself, he let out a small sigh. He didn't really care about his life, but it was still a relief that Butcher hadn't started with trying to kill him.
"So, what do you want, little Fallen?" asked the woman, her deep voice flat, yet Valefor could have sworn it echoed a little.
Valefor took a deep breath, and instead of answering, he issued an order.
"Restrain and kill."
The parahumans around the Butcher immediately sprang into action. Animos transformed and howled, then sprang forward and bit the woman. The rest distanced themselves while Vex retrieved a gun from his costume.
He had expected a lot of things. Cursing, carnage, and death, but not a Butcher who was calmly standing, her hand in a vice grip in Animos' mouth while Vex aimed a gun at her eye.
"So that was your plan, little feather friend?"
Valefor watched as the calm vanished and instead replaced with a demented smile.
"Goood! Goood! I enjoy a crafty foe, little friend. We shall have so much fun! So much blood!" exclaimed the villain. Then she began to laugh. "Hahahahaha-"
BAMM.
Vex gunshot tore through the eye and brain of the woman in a second, splattering Animos with it. He ignored the collapsing body and turned to Vex, who was still holding the smoking gun. After a second, he dropped the gun and fell to the ground, convulsing and screaming in pain.
Valefor watched for minutes as the parahuman turned into the next Butcher. After he saw the same demented smile appear on Vex's face, he barked out another instruction.
"Restrain and Blasto. Kill."
Animos howled again and jumped over to the man still laying on the ground and used his animal body to keep the new Butcher on the ground. Blasto, still looking at nothing, walked forward calmly, picked up the gun, and simply raised it until it was aimed at Vex's eye.
BAMM.
Vex died, and Blasto fell to the ground, just to convulse and scream in pain in the same way. Valefor meanwhile kept paranoidly looking around, hoping the noise didn't alert anyone to their presence. He deliberately chose the hole farthest from anything, but he was so close to tasting victory he couldn't help but worry.
After a few minutes, when Blasto fell silent, he spoke the next order.
"Restrain and Hemorrhagia. Kill."
The woman mimicking the others walked to the gun that he was sure would be one day placed in a museum, picked it up, and shot Blasto through the eyes.
BAMM.
While he waited for the blood-controlling woman's scream to subside, he wondered if he could have done something different. Maybe if he were there at the compound, the fight would have gone differently? Maybe he could have used his power for something else?
There were hundreds of questions running through his head, but in the end, all of them were useless because he was committed. He knew that if he were to run, the Butcher would catch him in short order. Plus, it's not like it mattered…
He was already dead, either from this or from the ones who were hunting him. This way, at least he could have his revenge, and through him the entire family.
Idly watching the night sky, marveling at the stars, he quietly gave another command.
"Restrain and Spree. Kill."
Another howl.
BAMM.
Another shot. And now Spree was throwing himself all around in the middle of bodies while screaming his head off. He watched intently as the clone Master 'transformed' then when he saw him calm down, he issued the last order.
"Restrain and Animos. Kill."
There was another howl, and the man transformed back to his human form and picked up the gun.
BAMM.
He could have had Animos tear Spree's throat out, but he wanted to be consistent. While Animos suffered, he calmly walked to the gun and checked if it still had bullets. Exactly one left. Just as he ordered. Good.
He walked next to the thrashing Animos, sat down while crossing his legs, resting the hand which held the gun on his knee. He waited until Animos regained his breath and could talk.
The voice was hoarse and different from the Butcher who talked at the beginning, but to Valefor it sounded almost the same, even with the added small echo in the background.
"Enjoyed the show?" rasped out the Butcher XIX. "I wonder, fallen little friend, are you brave enough to pull that trigger? Are you? Are you? Are you-"
BAMM.
There was a brief moment of panic as Valefor felt something slam into his mind. Then everything went black and the only thing he knew was pain.
Date
2011 April 5th - Monday - Earth Bet Time
Emily looked at her dinner happily. Finally being able to eat anything she wanted was rather nice, though the fact she had to have dinner in her office because of the quantity of work she had marred the experience a little.
Thanks to the apprehension of Stormtiger, Fenja, and Alabaster, the Empire rallied their troops, causing chaos everywhere, while they tried to break out their comrades. As if she would be that stupid.
The moment the parahumans were in custody and read their rights, they were loaded onto a plane borrowed from Dragon and on the way to the other side of the country. Let Alexandria deal with those assholes.
So, they only had to weather the storm while the Nazis impotently flailed around. Though thanks to the upgrades the heroic parahumans got, it was a rather one-sided beat down. Though, she still had to shake her head at how ridiculous Armsmaster looked with his transforming motorcycle.
According to the Tinker, it was efficient to bring supporting equipment in the shape of his motorcycle, thus decreasing the need to weigh down his armor unnecessarily.
Though the last she heard, the PR department head was foaming at their mouth about how much merchandise they could produce from it.
She heard a small chime signaling that she received an email, so she dabbed her mouth with a napkin, put away the box, and turned towards the monitor.
Emily's good mood immediately soured when she saw the header.
URGENT - WEDGDG
She opened it with trepidation. Though if Emily was honest with herself, she should have expected something like this to happen. Things were going entirely too nicely in Brockton Bay, and even without the daily call from the Chief Director to see if she had found Serenity, things were looking up.
As she read the email, she felt chills running down her back.
Warning to all departments! WEDGDG members sensed/predicted an increased chance of catastrophic event (S-class) happening on the northern part of the eastern seaboard. We ask everyone to keep an eye out for unusual…
"What the fuck does that mean?"
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