Apprentice 2.9

January 31st, 2011. Brockton Bay.

The last few days had passed relatively quietly for a change. Protectorate was busy arranging the prisoner transport that had been delayed by recent events, the Wards were out on patrol over the good parts of town, and Legion had seemingly switched back up to northern areas leaving Brockton Bay quiet for a moment.

Faultline and her crew had headed off to another job, so 'Medic' had gone in hiding once more, while Blackjack had been keeping an eye on things. The Merchants were licking their wounds and holding onto their turf but not making aggressive moves for now. The Empire was likewise recovering from their own damage and probably making preparations to free their companions from Protectorate custody later. As for the Azn Bad Boyz, they had been sniffing around the other gang territories but warned off by display of guns as well as capes.

So there was a momentary seize fire in effect, allowing for a breath of fresh air. It was also the first day that Taylor Hebert was heading back to Winslow after her hospitalization. She had spent a fair bit of time recovering, and then back at home rather than going back to school, but that grace period of time had passed and she was going to have to head back.

The fact the bullies were still there would probably make her time unpleasant, but with the Barnes residence having recently been attacked it could be hoped that the girls had other things on their minds than to bully Taylor. Hopefully at least.

Thomas Wolf didn't really think he could step up to that mess without a lot of trouble sparked up, but he was planning to keep an eye on things. If Taylor decided to step out and become a hero earlier than the last time around, he wanted to help her out. He felt somewhat guilty of what had happened to her, but he had not done anything to prevent her trigger event, so he felt trying to help her out somewhat would be appropriate to ease his conscience a little.

Shaking his head slightly, Thomas let out a small sigh while eating up his big greasy burger, having stopped by the Ugly Bob's place once again. He wasn't going to actually try the challenger but he was abusing the fact his body didn't really degrade even if he ate greasy unhealthy food. It appeared to merely increase his recovery speed for a while after a meal, and provide some instant healing boost when he did. Not being particularly injured at the time, he was merely eating because he enjoyed the occasional greasy burger, and Ugly Bob's place actually did cook them pretty well.

Finishing up his meal he headed back out when he noticed a somewhat familiar pair. A black boy sitting next to a blonde girl, he was pretty sure that he'd seen them before too. Thinking about the fact he'd actually picked their faces out of the crowd made him tense slightly as a few facts fell into place.

The two of them matched the general image and size of Grue and Tattletale, but he couldn't really be sure. They weren't looking right at him at the time but he did notice a glance in his direction while he was heading out. His man of mystery advantage was being worked overtime to provide them with a touch of false-information while trying to make it seem normal enough. Yet he had little actual control over it beyond general level of its power and method.

He was supposed to be a blindspot to Cauldron, one that their plans wouldn't even notice, nor re-trace steps if he interfered at some point, at least not without placing another plausible reason in place to deter attention from him. As for his general appearance when not in costume, he was to provide basic information that would not draw additional focus. His costumed identities though, those he wanted to keep quiet and under a mask.

He'd got used to moving around the Brockton scenery, but he didn't really acquire a car for himself since he could get around a bit easier with flight, invisibility and now dimension door. It took some preparations to avoid getting caught, but the process was pretty amusing when he got it working right.

Dimension door from rooftop to another allowed for pretty fast movement, jumping vast lengths, but once he was out of charges he spent a fair bit resting back to recover them. He'd not seen what else he might do eventually, seeing as the fighting had calmed down for the moment and he was in no rush to stir that hornet's nest again.

Speaking of which, Firestarter had officially been renamed Legion after his attack in Brockton Bay, given the sheer number of slogans painted all over, and the explosions had made sure his name was on the kill order list. There was a bounty on his head now too, once confirmed truly dead. There was another bounty for his capture, a higher one actually, if someone was able to take him down and keep him out. Though it didn't seem that either of them had too many takers.

Lastly, there had been interesting bit of flame war about 'child soldiers' and 'kid assassins' given the news that Shadow Stalker had actually put a bolt right through the man's skull had been leaked out in rumors even if there was no camera footage of the event. The PRT was claiming it had not happened and to stop with the rumors, but the stories had run wild and Shadow Stalker wasn't part of the more frequent patrols.

Tattletale was surprised to see the man she'd noticed before show up for a burger as himself. The fact was that her power was now providing some answers, but analyzing them a moment in her head she soon determined they were false, making her power assume the man was perfectly normal. The fact was, her power began to note it too, after some effort analyzing it. It didn't offer any real details but it did give her the confirmation she needed.

"Brian? I think that's the guy we lost back at the bus station earlier." Her whispered words were carefully picked in case someone did overhear. The message did get across though, making Brian glance at the man's direction before frowning.

"Should we follow?" He asked her seriously watching the man head out, while Lisa considered their options. He may have noticed something off about them, possibly going as far as to identify them, but had chosen to walk away rather than confront him. Chasing him now might make things difficult in the future, but then again missing this opportunity could mean they would not get another.

"Yes, but careful to not get spotted. I think he noticed us and I have a feeling he would notice us following him openly." Her tone was somewhat wary, as the two of them finished their meal. She had to leave a few fries resting on the tray and the bottom of her cup still had some soda amidst the ice, but snatching the cup and the fries along would have made her stand out a bit too much.

The two of them were out in a short order, and Brian was already calling for Regent. Alec was a pain, but if they wanted to have a chance to get some new information on the guy they might need a third to step in.

Thomas was less than pleased about the fact he had picked up a couple of shadows as he soon noticed. He had proceeded to walk down along the street seemingly in no rush, waiting for a more quiet spot to consider vanishing off, but seeing as he had already seen a familiar pair in a reflection, he was starting to reconsider that plan.

He did not want to start a fight with the Undersiders, but if they kept following him then he just might.

While it was possible there'd be no repercussions about them learning more about him, he wasn't planning to count on it and did not enjoy the idea of them spotting him. He was pretty sure if he slipped away and switched forms along with an invisibility spell he would be able to slip away from them, but a disappearance act would also draw its own share of questions.

Thomas was somewhat torn about the matter of what to do about the Undersiders. They were a gang of young parahumans, a group that had played a large role in the canon storyline that had already been shot to hell by now, and they were also interesting enough people from what he had read. The problem was that this was all too real for him, and the fact remained they were in service of Coil, even if most of them weren't aware of the identity of their boss.

He proceeded down the street while considering some options. A glance at a window by the side did not offer much help, its reflection too light to be made much use of, and the angle wrong. He did not want to turn back to look because it would catch their attention on the spot too. Instead, he glanced around and spotted a shop he might visit. Heading there, he cast a look at the corner of his eyes and saw the blonde briefly before she moved to examine something in a window nearby. He couldn't spot the boy at that time but figured he was either trailing after him as well or calling for backup.

The store he had entered offered a number of electronic gadgets, but the ones that drew his attention were a display of phones and an advert for their pre-paid cards. Waving over a clerk he picked up a pair of phones that were not the cheapest models but not exactly extravagant either. Something a normal teenager might grudgingly accept.

"My nieces had their cell-phones confiscated recently for blowing up the phone bill. I am planning to teach them a bit of responsibility by having them have to be more careful about the length of their calls with a pair of pre-paid cards and simple phones. I am thinking these two phones would do, and I'd like to set each with a pre-paid card in them while we're at it."

The talk with the clerk took a bit longer than he would have liked, seeing as the man kept insisting that he really should pick a better phone for the girls, met with his note it would be a temporary one at best for both of them and they'd likely be handed over to other family members who weren't in such hurry to upgrade to the latest phones when the girls did get their own phones back later.

Still, he paid for them and had both set up. Leaving the store with those two phones, he added the number to the other phone in each of them, before slipping them into his pocket.

They might not be of great use in the future, but he did consider the option of handing one over to someone who he wanted to be able to stay in touch with him but one he didn't want to give the number to his regular phone. Having the burner phone turned off and its card removed when he didn't want to use it would probably be good enough for the moment anyway.

The thought of passing one off to Shadow Stalker or Taylor Hebert later on did cross his mind, as did the idea of leaving one behind addressed to 'Tattletale', but that would remain to be seen. Besides, Tattletale had, at least canonically, shown herself to be rather good at irritating people even without the use of her power, and he wasn't sure if he was willing to subject himself to that.

Proceeding along the street he soon entered a second establishment, a little bar actually, and headed over to order himself a couple of drinks. Relaxing in a booth for a moment, he knew the Undersiders were unable to follow him in, but would probably watch anyone leaving with a hawk's eye. Whether or not they were aware of his shapeshifting he did not know, he doubted it but wasn't willing to gamble on that.

Instead, he had a small plan in mind, and soon got up and headed over to the bathroom to both relieve himself and to have a nice quiet spot to dimension door out from, after setting up an invisibility spell on himself of course.

Tattletale frowned while trying to figure out how it had happened, but she was rather certain their target had given them a slip. She had been careful to watch everyone leaving the place, just in case the man was using his disguise abilities again. It seemed that he was learning however, since she was unable to really pick him from the crowd this time through.

She let out a weary sigh and shook her head, nursing a headache her overuse of the thinker power was causing. Besides, it had been giving some strange feedback recently from some people. Her thoughts wandered to Firestarter, or Legion as he had been renamed after the attack at Brockton Bay.

"Brian, I think he managed to slip by us again." Tattletale hated to admit failure, but it was better than to stick around longer.

"Are you sure? Alec watched the backdoor just in case and hasn't reported anything there either."

"We can't exactly walk in ourselves and calling for one of boss' thugs to take a look wouldn't help if they're already in some disguise. They might be around waiting for us to get tired and leave, but I am pretty sure about the fact they are already gone."

Brian frowned but then let out a breath. Tattletale was usually right about these things, and even if he didn't like cancelling like this again, waiting around with no paycheck did not appeal to him either. "Alright, I'll call Alec and we'll head back."

Steven slammed the door shut behind him as he made his way home, in a particularly foul mood. He needed a shower, a good hearty meal, and some time to think. Brockton Bay was an unpleasant place on a good day, and with the recent scare by the gang war and then Legion striking in the city the people were all the more wary.

The fact also remained a fair number of his minions had died in the blasts rocking the city grounds. Some of his more important ones too. The network he had been building had been momentarily broken, and even after re-establishing it Steven wasn't sure if he had lost more of the important minions than he thought or if some of them had decided to leave while the network was down.

Gritting his teeth, he sighed annoyed while trying to cool down his temper. He was able to control himself in public, and before others, but since he was alone now he could let some of that anger lash out. Still, it was not all a loss. He had been able to spot a little cat and mouse game by the Undersiders and who he now suspected to be the first arrival.

Which meant now he had an idea of what to look for in the future. Tracking the man into the bar hadn't been too difficult to his minions, but the man had vanished after heading to the bathroom, and he hadn't been able to get a minion in there in time to catch how the man had pulled off that particular trick.

Still, he was getting closer.

Miracle was basking in the glory of grateful citizens praising her, having already restored the damage hospital basement and several expensive machines that had been damaged or broken in the attack, as well as even restoring entire buildings to their pre-bombed state with her abilities. Fixing things took some time and effort, but he was basking in the grateful cheers and the adoration he received for doing it.

There were some people actually proclaiming he could undo any harm that Legion had wrought on the city, and calling him their angel against that damnable demon that had run wild in their city. The hero worship was only made more wild and fanatic by the aura he wrapped himself in.

The Wards were more active in the city now, and he had shared his suspicions about the new healer, 'Medic' being a potential danger to capture with them, and had agreed with Armsmaster about needing Blackjack to be brought in or at least invited for interview and power testing. He kept trying to drive people's suspicions up about the two, wanting them caught so that he could get a chance to confirm if they were the first arrival or not, and to strike down the one who was.

Assault and Battery in particular seemed to adore him in the Protectorate, and Armsmaster was quite willing to listen to him whenever he wanted to talk since he helped fix and maintain stuff for the man.

It was Director Piggot who refused to meet with him, and Miss Militia who kept their distance. From the wards, Shadow Stalker was still very wary of him and seemed to cast scornful looks at him even if he tried to enhance his aura around her. He had seen some hesitation, but a call had interrupted the two and she had left with even more suspicions about him.

Thankfully Shadow Stalker seemed to have little support among the other wards and didn't confide any suspicions to them it seemed. That might have hindered Miracle's efforts.

Legion was laying low after the surprise shot to the back of his head. He had been annoyed about being caught off guard like that, but he had not expected anyone to be able to sneak up on him.

His copies had been attacking every other day striking terror in the populace and vanishing, until yesterday. One of his clones had suddenly been covered in containment foam and heavily sedated before he had managed to bite down through his tongue and kill that clone in order to vanish, leaving him with the unfortunate situation of having the Clone #3 in the custody of Protectorate forces.

He had sent another clone in but that had only revealed to Protectorate that he had multiple bodies, or part of a cluster trigger with similar powers, whichever theory prevailed among their numbers.

Regardless, they had one of his clones captive, and #2 was busy making preparations to either kill or free them. Given he had taken most of the military hardware with him, simply blowing the PRT and Protectorate HQ in the area was not an option unfortunately.

Clone #1 was hiding with him in Brockton Bay, and the clones #4 & #5 were busy preparing the cult, now driven to a point of wanting those cultists prepared to cause as much damage as possible in a short order. Still, he wasn't planning to just throw them at the enemy and watch them get slaughtered or captured. He wanted to strike with force, cause horror and terror, and then retreat with all living cultists. He could accept some casualties happening, but leaving a living person behind to be interrogated had no appeal to him at all.

As it stood, he had to plan to rescue or kill the captured clone to allow them to respawn. Suicide would mean his clone lost some of its progress, but it was preferable to permanent capture that might be ahead if they managed to contain and keep him.

The fact they'd actually managed to pull that off concerned him. Then again, the tranquilizers he had been shot with had been with darts meant to pierce through thick hide, and were loaded up with tinker-tech drugs to knock him out cold. Had he had another clone close enough, he would have preferred to have them attack and rip the entire attack force apart.

It might mean it was time to stop the 'solo' act and start showing up in groups of clones. Attacking with a group of clones and at the head of a cult of empowered and fanatic followers, even better.

It was time to show those fools that Legion was here to stay and would destroy all who stood in his way.

Author's Note: This chapter is released later than originally intended, but required some work preventing it from being posted as originally intended. As for the topic about capturing Legion, it is possible still, but takes Tinker Tech to achieve. Piercing through his resistances takes more than a regular little dart gun, and containment foam helps, to a point, but again as mentioned if he were to kill the captured clone then he would escape by ashing and reappearing elsewhere. The downside of that is that unlike the original, he suffers a -loss- of some toughness and smarts when he has effectively killed himself. A penalty to keep him from using that, given he jailbroke the power to his benefit. Which is ROB's touch in things.[/hr][/hr][/hr][/hr][/hr][/hr][/hr]