30

Chapter 30

A Darker Path

Part Thirty: Connections

[A/N 1: This chapter beta-read by Lady Columbine of Mystal.]

[A/N 2: This one and the next one were originally going to be one post, but it got too big, so I cut it in half. Next one should be up soon.]

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Topic: Fucking Around and Finding Out: Heartbreaker Edition

In: Boards ► Brockton Bay ► New Capes ► Atropos

Atropos (Original Poster) (Banned) (You Wish) (UnVerified Cape) (Can Actually Kill Anything) (Yes, Really) (Watch Me)

Posted On Jan 12th 2011:

Good morning to you wonderful people of Brockton Bay!

(Well, *technically* morning).

I decided to make this post just after midnight because, as the saying goes, why the hell not. Also, my loyal fans who have been waiting up for me to do just this deserve a little bit of a reward, do you not? Yeah, you totally do.

So ...

Not to draw this out, but I'm absolutely going to draw this out ...

Heartbreaker ...

is dead.

Now, I swear to you all, cross my heart and hope to die in a thoroughly ironic manner; I am not a Master. Nikos Vasil came to America and to Brockton Bay entirely of his own accord. (No, no, Accord, not you). I told him not to come here. I even warned him he'd die if he did.

Okay, yeah, I taunted the hell out of him too, but *wow*, didn't the man have any pattern recognition skills at all?

(Sources say no).

So there I was, just chilling in a parking lot off Lord Street with a friend of mine who shall remain nameless, when he came right to me. I mean, what are the odds?

(Apparently one hundred percent).

And then he tried to pull his Heartbreaker patented whammy on me, but you've already been filled in on how I do with Master effects. Still, he was being just a little bit tiresome, so I broke his jaw with this big fuck-off hard candy heart I just happened, accidentally-on-purpose, to be carrying around with me.

Quick query: If I kill someone with a candy heart, could that be defined as death via heart attack?

Anyway, I broke the heart (yeah, you can see how this is going) then made him let go his influence on everyone he's ever afflicted with his power.

Once he did what he was told, I did what I'd already said I was going to. I stabbed him through the heart *with* the broken candy heart.

Or to put it another way, I 'broke' his heart with a broken heart.

Either way, he died because of a broken heart. Footage is [here].

And if anyone's wondering whether I would've carried out the threat I made if he'd been difficult about it ...

... yeah, I totally would have. (Just a reminder: Skidmark).

On a completely different topic, expect an explosion off the coast sometime tonight. The Gesellschaft has decided to try to sneak some drugs and guns in by sea.

Emphasis on 'try'. Mwahahaha.

Don't do it, guys. Or to put it another way, go ahead. Dooo eeet. I need the target practice. (Well, I don't, but shooting Nazis is always fun).

Anyways, that's it for the moment.

Toodles!

(Showing page 1 of 17)

►Bagrat (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)

Replied On Jan 12th 2011:

... well, crap.

She did it.

Or rather, *he* did it.

Heartbreaker actually did what nobody *really* expected him to, but everyone (for a given definition of 'everyone') hoped he would.

The colossal moron actually came to Brockton Bay.

And as Atropos' post explains, what happened next was utterly predictable. A five-year-old could've seen it coming.

And yes, Heartbreaker did indeed die from a broken heart.

(At least most of the gore was kept on the inside this time, which I totally appreciate.)

The PRT got an 'anonymous' call a few minutes after it happened. (Anonymous as in, "Hi, this is totally not Atropos, but you might want to go check out this particular parking lot for someone who might or might not be Heartbreaker.")

And just incidentally, the PRT in Canada got one around the same time. They investigated the location given to find a bunch of people sitting around in tears, alternating between apologizing to each other and offering prayers of thanks for their release. Some of these have been identified as people who have been missing for quite some time.

Initial psychiatric assessment indicates that they are suffering from varying levels of PTSD, but that they're all ready and willing to go forward with therapy. (Which they will get for free. Because Canadian healthcare system.)

Oh, and they all tell the same story of having an almost religious experience at the exact same instant, when all the oppressive darkness and horror and voices inside their head were stripped away at once ... at the precise time Atropos dealt with Heartbreaker.

Which explains the prayers of thanks, I guess.

I hope nobody actually tells them that Atropos did it. Not sure I could handle a religious pilgrimage, right now.

►DoggySteak

Replied On Jan 12th 2011:

Well, that's one kind of broken heart, I guess.

►Director_is_me (Verified not PRT Director)

Replied On Jan 12th 2011:

I salute you, Atropos, with a can of beer.

►Underwater_Flower

Replied On Jan 12th 2011:

Goddamn, I did NOT need the mental image of shears castrating someone *through your asshole*.

►UnconcernedFox

Replied On Jan 12th 2011:

*settles back with the conveyor belt delivering regular packets of popcorn when needed*

►Reave (Verified PRT Agent)

Replied On Jan 12th 2011:

Atropos - I would like to begin by apologizing for the sharp tone in my last post. You were entirely correct that I was running on insufficient caffeine for my current level of sleep deprivation (not even going to ask how you knew that).

Secondly, once I looked over the events of last night (the warehouse et al) with fresh eyes, I saw how you were able to control events to minimize property damage and hazard to innocents.

And thirdly ... well, you told Heartbreaker if he came to Brockton Bay you'd kill him, and that was what you did. It wasn't like he didn't know.

Still, we both know it's my job to ask you to come in, sit down and have a conversation about your methods and how we can achieve mutually acceptable aims without all the death. You haven't yet, but I live in hope.

Also, about the Gesellschaft smuggling operation ... could you maybe give us some pointers, so we could coordinate our efforts? They're probably not all Nazis, and they don't really have to die.

►Atropos (Original Poster) (Banned) (You Wish) (UnVerified Cape) (Can Actually Kill Anything) (Yes, Really) (Watch Me)

Replied On Jan 12th 2011:

Reave - hey, no need for an apology (but accepted anyway). It's all good. Job stress gets to anyone. (Except to me. I love my job).

I figure I'll keep doing the way I'm doing for the moment. It seems to be working.

Regarding the upcoming fireworks display: if I let you guys in on it, some of you would get hurt and maybe killed. I'd rather *they* got killed. As for some of them not being Nazis, do you know what you call a group with one Nazi and nine guys who choose to hang out with a Nazi? Ten Nazis.

I'll drop you a line when it's nearly go-time, so you can head out and start dragging bodies out of the water.

►Sakin

Replied On Jan 12th 2011:

Dang, she pulled a Riddick (you know, from that Aleph movie?)

I was half expecting her to pull out a lollipop next, and murder some asshole with that.

►EightySixEnhance

Replied On Jan 12th 2011:

At this point how long until Brockton Bay is known as cape Afghanistan, where empires go to die?

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(Showing page 2 of 17)

►DoggySteak

Replied On Jan 12th 2011:

It's already that for criminal empires, any that attempts to set up a crime syndicate here just ends. Do not go to jail, do not pass go, remove your piece, houses, and hotels from the board. All property will be auctioned.

►Tangle

Replied On Jan 12th 2011:

As with several villains before him, Atropos has just ended Heartbreaker's influence quite thoroughly and with a side of irony.

►AbbessGer

Replied On Jan 12th 2011:

Heartbreaker made you crush on him.

Atropos candy crushed him.

Also, that kill was sweet.

That's all I have for now.

Sorry.

►Radalab

Replied On Jan 12th 2011:

I for one did not expect a giant broken candy Valentine's Day heart. I kind of thought maybe some sort of psychological attack, like she for that dome head in the slaughterhouse nine, or maybe some weird weapon that's named "something" heart in a different language. But nope. Giant candy heart. It's surprisingly poetic, apt, hilarious, and is chef's kiss all at once.

Anyone think their personal overton window of "acceptable" behavior has kind of shifted in the last week or two? Sure these are deaths of really bad people, but it's a little odd to be saying "this murder is the chef's kiss!" I don't think I'm a baddie or anything, but it's a bit odd.

►Tangle

Replied On Jan 12th 2011:

Maybe, but so far each and every one of Atropos' victims (that we know about) has absolutely deserved their various ignominious fates. And, from what I understand, other than maybe Oni Lee, she's even given each one a chance to not get killed.

So far, it seems only Damsel In Distress has taken the offered opportunity to Get-Out-of-Brutally-Ironic-Death-Free, even if she did cut it down to the wire before choosing the wiser path.

►truefactslol

Replied On Jan 12th 2011:

Yes, all her targets may have done terrible things, but what about the rule of law? What about innocent until proven guilty?

Atropos kills people who are not proven guilty, thus he/she kills those who are, in the eyes of the law, still innocent!

We have his/her word for it that they are all horrible people, but I, for one am not going to accept the word of a self-admitted serial killer that all his/her victims "had it coming."

►flyhomeET

Replied On Jan 12th 2011:

This all seems kind of weird. I see little but praise for a serial killer taking over the city and strong-arming local law enforcement to look the other way.

Did I Rip Van Winkle into an alternate universe or something?

►Nomdiisp

Replied On Jan 12th 2011:

Didn't she say one of Heartbreaker's kids was in custody (not to mention whichever one was filming/acting as a distraction & under her wing)? So we actually have two people smart enough to take the second option!

Fanclub chief you gotta tell us if HB's kid working with Atropos is cool or not when you visit her lair next!

►Atropos (Original Poster) (Banned) (You Wish) (UnVerified Cape) (Can Actually Kill Anything) (Yes, Really) (Watch Me)

Replied On Jan 12th 2011:

truefactslol - You have seen the city, yeah? Face facts, nobody did anything about anyone I killed for literally *years*, and nobody was *going* to do anything about them. With the sole exception of Oni Lee, everyone I've killed was given the option to walk away or turn themselves in to the cops. Guess what. Nobody did. If they were so innocent, that's all they had to do.

And if I stood back until someone else stopped them, they would've just kept making the city worse and worse.

flyhomeET - Really? Taking over the city? Strongarming law enforcement to look the other way?

Nice try. I know exactly who you are, *Rob*. I know that you used to be Empire Eighty-Eight. And I know that you're pissed that I'm cleaning up crime in areas where you and your racist asshole buddies used to reign supreme, so you're talking shit on PHO to try to turn people against me. You just keep your head down and don't do anything stupidly illegal, and I won't be the last thing you see one dark night.

Just like I was with Kaiser.

►GreatAndTerribleAisha (Verified Atropos Fan)

Replied On Jan 12th 2011:

Wow, I have no idea where you guys come up with this stuff.

Heartbreaker's kid, working with Atropos? Atropos, taking over the city? Get real.

End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4 ... 15, 16, 17

(Showing page 3 of 17)

►FoxtrotMikeSierra

Replied On Jan 12th 2011:

flyhomeET - We were *already* living in that world. I guess having it happen more-or-less in our backyard instead of in, like, another country, makes it different somehow?

(I know, I know, it doesn't really. But taking the post above as stated...)

At least when Atropos is doing it, I *don't* feel as depressed?

Huh. Atropos'd. Empire, huh? Why am I not surprised?

►Atropos (Original Poster) (Banned) (You Wish) (UnVerified Cape) (Can Actually Kill Anything) (Yes, Really) (Watch Me)

Replied On Jan 12th 2011:

Aww thanks Foxtrot. I will endeavor to make sure I continue to not depress you.

►Tangle

Replied On Jan 12th 2011:

Nomdiisp - To be fair, all we know from Atropos is that four of Heartbreaker's kids were in Brockton Bay, one dying by her hand, one currently in custody, and all four forever beyond Heartbreaker's reach. Which is even more literally true now than it had been when she made that post.

►WingsOnHigh (Verified Not the Simurgh)

Replied On Jan 12th 2011:

truefactslol - I literally have an old cell phone video of Lung punching a man's head off [Here]

Did a little extra digging of my own, and barring the Kill Orders on the S9, most of the Capes that Atropos has killed have been tried in absentia and are guilty of their crimes. If we go back before Cape Politics changed the world, the majority of said crimes would've earned a death penalty. Nowadays anyone with powers gets a little extra slack because of our regularly scheduled natural disasters that are the Endbringers. It's actually a pretty scary trend to see when you look back over the last 60 years of history.

As for the drug armies, ehh, depends on the legal state of those warehouses and what the connection is to the people there.

A law student friend of mine was actually making a case both in prosecution and defense as a combination of thought experiment and class project and purely from her publicly made exploits and the public evidence available, she actually gets hit worse from the various exploded vehicles and buildings than she does the drug armies and gang bosses.

►BattleLoaf

Replied On Jan 12th 2011:

truefactslol - What do you mean "we have her word for it"? No, we have actual evidence.

Half the people she killed have a list of crimes on public record. A bunch of them *have been tried and convicted of various crimes*, but got busted out. We don't have a full list of the people dead in the latest Exploding Drug Warehouse Incident, but initial reports on the police ID of the dead shows a list of career criminals. Y'know, the kind of people who would sign up for a job that involved the phrase "Sniper nests to guard the drug warehouse."

If - *IF* - the cops release a statement about "innocent person, with no convictions and no suspicions, killed by Atropos." Then we'll talk. Until then, you have nothing to say on the matter worth listening to.

►TwoFacedCat

Replied On Jan 12th 2011:

At the risk of being skewered, I'd like to ask: Atropos, what do you and do you not consider villainous behavior? I mean, I'm assuming somebody has to perform heinous crimes, but... let's say, hypothetically, you have a gang of capes who go around aggressively liberating children from abusive households. The property damage would make them villains, but they kinda fall into the Robin Hood grey area...

Actually, are you trying to be like Robin Hood? (Yes, before anybody asks, Robin Hood did kill people in the original mythos. He's got a BACKSTORY.)

Also, hypothetically, how would you treat Joe Schmoe CEO who's a problem for the local economy any different from Cape Carrie CEO who's a problem for the local economy? Assuming you could tell the difference which, uh, given Kaiser, I kinda think you can.

►Atropos (Original Poster) (Banned) (You Wish) (UnVerified Cape) (Can Actually Kill Anything) (Yes, Really) (Watch Me)

Replied On Jan 12th 2011:

Ooh, I love this. Actual, legitimate feedback.

See, I'd hate it if everyone was too terrified to offer an honest opinion on how I'm doing. I guarantee, I will not come after you for questioning my methods. I'm totes aware that most people aren't one hundred percent on board with the idea of shooting bad guys in the face.

Of course, I'm not doing it for you, per se. I'm doing it for the city.

But on to the question from TwoFacedCat:

It's a popular misconception that I'm strictly here to murder villains or warn them off from the city. Admittedly, this is a misconception I've kinda fostered, because it's very close to the truth and it works well enough for my purposes.

Villains as villains, I don't give an airborne orangutan's turd about. Technically speaking, I'm a villain myself. What I don't want in my city is people whose actions will make it less prosperous and/or less safe for ordinary people to walk the streets. Ninety-nine percent of villains are there to steal stuff, sell drugs, and in general hurt people and gum up the smooth running of society. So, when you do a Venn diagram of "people I don't want in my city" and "the average supervillain", you end up with almost a perfect circle.

Capes who aggressively liberate kids from abusive households ... well, that depends. Where are they taking these kids to, and are innocents harmed in the process? Also, there are (incoming irony) actual *legal* routes to take in that case, which I intend to ensure get all the funding they need with the revitalization of the city.

I guess what I'm trying to say is this: if they were a detriment to the city, I'd be rather cross with them. On the other hand, if they were doing actual good and helping the kids (in ways they couldn't otherwise be helped) without doing significant damage that also has to be sorted out, then I'd probably give them a pass. It would certainly be a case-by-case basis, just saying.

Am I trying to be like Robin Hood? Hah, nope. I'm not in this for Joe and Jane Public, robbing from the rich to give back to the poor. I'm here to fix the goddamn city so it's safe to live in, with a prosperous economy. While yes, this means that Joe and Jane Public get better lives (and stimulus checks, and so forth) that's because this is the way to fix the city. If Joe Public has a steady income and stable lifestyle to the point that he never has to try to (say) hold up a gas station for cash, then it's a win-win for everyone.

In short, my aim is to make it possible for the so-called authorities to actually *do their damn jobs* to both the letter and spirit of the law, then make it untenable for them *not* to.

Third question, regarding the CEOs. I'd make it known that they're pissing me off and they'd best end that behavior before I end them. What happens then is up to them. I wouldn't give Schmoe a pass for being unpowered, any more than I'd give Carrie a pass for being a cape. (Unless of course, Carrie was also being a problematic supervillain outside her role as a CEO, in which case I might well have shot her in the face already, after a warning).

And yeah, I can absolutely tell the difference. Mwahahaha.

►BigTopper

Replied On Jan 12th 2011:

As for the threatened castration via asshole (and yes, the mere thought still makes me clench up) I have it on good authority from two close friends (a forensic expert and a doctor) that this is, if taken with care, entirely possible.

It's also possible *without* care, but only if you're not worried about the prospect of being awarded zero points for technique.

►Underwater_Flower

Replied On Jan 12th 2011:

Goddamn it, I'd almost managed to forget that mental image. Thanks a bunch.

►BigTopper

Replied On Jan 12th 2011:

Hahahahahahahahaha

End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ... 15, 16, 17

Taylor

Cherie was in a good mood at the breakfast table the next morning, which wasn't surprising. Even Dad seemed to notice that she was standing taller, laughing more easily and was just overall in a better place. While there was still pain visible deep in her eyes, it was a lot less obvious to me than it had been, even yesterday.

"It really affected you that much, did it?" Danny raised an eyebrow as he handed a plate of eggs and bacon over to her.

We had, of course, filled him in on the details of Heartbreaker's not-so-unfortunate demise, then let him watch the footage before I edited it for public consumption. He'd blanched a little at the castration threat I'd made to Heartbreaker, but not as much as I'd thought he might. While he still wasn't totally okay with me casually murdering bad guys to get my results, he could definitely see the point in what I was doing. The (still declining) crime rate didn't hurt there, as far as I could tell.

"Yeah. Thank you." She accepted the plate, then set about cutting up the bacon. "While I was growing up, every day I was near him, he loaded shit into my head with his powers. Whether this was him trying to trigger my powers or make me think like him, or some ungodly combination, I have no idea."

I nodded and put a hand on her arm. Since getting my powers, I'd become more of a hardass, but I could still feel sympathy, and Cherie had been through more shit than anyone really deserved. "From the sounds of it, I'm gonna say 'all of the above'. He was enough of a narcissistic douche to want all his kids to be malignant little clones of him."

"You are so totally not wrong there." She shook her head, looking down at her plate. "I thought I'd beaten him. When I ran, when I got away, I thought I was free of his influence. But I'd just been living with it for so long that it was part of me." Lifting her head, she looked at me and then Dad. "People were things to me, to be used and discarded. I was going to join the goddamn Nine if I could, just so he'd never be able to drag me back." The anguish in her voice was matched by the tears running down her cheeks.

Dad blinked, looking a little shocked. "You had to have known that they wouldn't just let you stay with them for protection. They would've made you earn your keep."

"Yeah. I knew that." Her hands clenched around the knife and fork, until her knuckles turned white. If anything, the self-disgust in her tone intensified. "And I was totally okay with that. Eighteen years of his attitudes being poured into my head? I would've made toddlers fight to the death with switchblades and not even cared, just so long as I didn't have to go back."

"And you don't feel that way anymore?" His tone was gentle.

This time, when she shook her head, it was with long, slow sweeps from side to side. "Nope. I'm still not totally sure how Taylor did it, but it's like I had a bandage on a wound that wouldn't heal because the infection was in the bandage, and it was loaded up with all this crud and spite, and she just … ripped the bandage off. I'm still not healed, but now I can try to be better. And I can actually see the good in the world without wanting to tear it all down for shits and giggles."

"Well, that's a good start." Giving her a smile, I squeezed her shoulder, then applied myself to my own breakfast. "Still okay with helping me murder villains to make Brockton Bay a better place?"

"I guess so." Her tone was introspective. "Before, I was doing it because you terrified me, and murder didn't bother me. Now, I can see past the murder and appreciate the good you're trying to achieve. You're doing the same with Brockton Bay like you made my asshole father do with me; ripping all the corruption away, so the rest of it gets to heal and grow."

"Well, that's definitely one way to put it." Dad sprinkled a little pepper on his eggs. "We're having the first proper meeting of the committee this afternoon, so we can look over the revitalisation plan and start preliminary allocation of funds." He grinned at me. "It might not be as satisfying as shooting a bad guy in the head, but it also gets things done."

I smirked right back. "Who do you think put the idea into Mayor Christner's head of bringing you onto the committee in the first place? I wanted someone in that room who I trust implicitly, to reduce the number of midnight visits I might have to make."

"Well, damn." He blinked a couple of times. "Okay, now it all makes sense. Son of a bitch." Shaking his head, he stared at me. "Are we all pawns on your chessboard?"

"Not pawns, no." I raised my eyebrows. "You're my dad. If anyone becomes a threat to you for this or any other reason, I will shoot them in the face. Yes, you're helping me carry out my plans. But be honest: if you'd been offered this without my interference, would you have accepted anyway?"

He shrugged. "Well, given that I didn't know you'd put a word in Christner's ear, yeah. I would have." Pausing, he looked at me suspiciously. "What would you have done if I didn't?"

I pretended to think about that. "Threatened Christner a bit more to keep him in line, I guess." My power had told me that Dad was the best man for the job, and how to get him on board to help End the downward spiral the city was in. I'd gone with it, but he didn't really need to know how much I'd been manipulating him. So long as he thought it was his idea to accept, and was happy in his role, it was all good.

He nodded. "Yeah, that tracks. Well, I'll do the best I can."

"Thanks, Dad." I refused to feel guilty about it. He was my dad, and I loved him dearly, but I also needed to get Brockton Bay back on track.

Cherie

"So," Taylor said as they got off the bus in front of Winslow. "How do you feel about your first day of actual, official school?"

"Still not convinced it won't be a total waste of time and effort." Cherie rolled her eyes. "I was doing okay up until now."

"Nah." Taylor shook her head with a grin. "You were getting by. Making do. Leaning on your powers. When you're not in a position to do that anymore, that's when you need an actual education to fall back on. Why do you think I'm still going, when I've got my powers?"

"I had actually wondered," Cherie admitted. "Couldn't you just End your need to show up at school?"

"I could." Taylor shaded her eyes and looked up at the frontage of Winslow with a less-than-thrilled expression. "I've got far more bad memories in there than good. And I might be able to skate by ninety percent of the time, with my power filling in the gaps. It's the other ten percent where I'll come unstuck, where I won't know what I don't know. I'd rather not try to depend on something that's designed to kill stuff for giving me advice on how to live my life. Actual knowledge is probably the smarter bet." She shrugged. "And anyway, like I said, it's a lot nicer there than it used to be."

"Right." Cherie followed along, mulling over Taylor's words. They made more sense than they would have even yesterday. Absent the insidious, invidious influence of her father, she was now actually able to contemplate living among non-capes without using her power to manipulate every aspect of their lives in her favour.

Not Taylor or her dad, of course. That had never been on the table. She'd known damn well that even the intent to do so would get her horribly murdered.

But if Taylor had cut her loose to leave Brockton Bay and travel on instead of taunting Heartbreaker into coming to the city, it would've been a different matter. The moment she was out of Atropos' sphere of influence, she would've gone straight back to using her powers to get what she wanted, when she wanted. Her goal, as it was when she left Montreal in the beginning, would have been to find a powerful villain gang and become one of them, doing whatever it took to secure her membership.

While she'd been trying to learn how to be better—from sheer self-preservation, if nothing else—she'd still been the same horrible person her father had warped her into, deep down. Without the threat of Atropos to keep those impulses at bay, they would've come to the surface again, empowered by the deep dark whispers in her soul. But now the whispers were gone, as were the impulses. And she was still horribly shocked, whenever she thought about it, at just how much her father's influence had been driving her behaviour.

Who she was now, she wasn't entirely certain. Too much of her personality had been overlaid by the toxic sludge of Heartbreaker's power influence, and was now doing the equivalent of blinking in the light and looking around in confusion. But she was willing to try and find out. Without, as Taylor was strongly hinting, leaning on her powers to make things easier.

They climbed the front steps and pushed through the doors into the school proper. It was warmer in here, their breath no longer visible, so they shrugged out of their coats. Taylor pointed farther into the school. "The email about your remedial classes said to come to the office first off."

"I can still come to your classes and pick it up as I go along." It wasn't really a serious effort, but she figured she had to try.

Taylor chuckled, apparently taking it in the vein it had been intended. "The last time you opened my math textbook, you went cross-eyed. That's not something you can just pick up on the way."

"Well, it's not my fault they made it impossible to understand," Cherie argued, but she headed toward the office with Taylor anyway. "Are you sure that whole chapter wasn't some kind of practical joke?"

"Cherie, that was trigonometry. Trig is easy compared to other stuff you're going to have to learn, like quadratics."

"You just made that word up."

"You know I didn't."

Cherie blew a raspberry. "Worst boss ever."

"No, I'm not."

She couldn't actually argue with that.

Taylor

"Hi," said the young woman brightly, standing up as we entered the front office. I vaguely recognised her as one of the teachers' aides. "I'm Miss Parrish. Which of you is Cherie Reynaud?"

"That's, uh, that's me," Cherie said. "Taylor here was just making sure I got to the office okay."

What I heard, and Miss Parrish didn't, was what Cherie didn't say. And didn't go hide out for the rest of the day. It was kind of true, though I didn't really think she would go against my wishes so blatantly. I suspected she wanted me along so she could tell herself that she was being forced into this against her will, and thus satisfy her pride.

Even without Heartbreaker's influence informing her every move, she was still a surprisingly complex individual.

"Hi," I offered, with a brief wave. "I've got to get to home room now. See you at lunch, Cherie."

"Uh, see you then." She gave me a brief dirty look, along the lines of 'how dare you abandon me like this', then turned her attention back to Miss Parrish. "So, what happens now?"

"Well, now," said Miss Parrish as I opened the door to leave, "I'll be putting you through testing to see where you place academically in the various subjects …"

Grinning, I went to class.

That Afternoon

Cherie

Taylor was waiting on the front steps of the school as Cherie straggled out. "Hi," she said cheerfully, standing up. "Testing all finished?"

"I think so." Cherie fell in step with her as they descended to ground level. She tried not to grumble, but it was very difficult. "I don't think I passed a single one. How do you even learn all that stuff?"

"Attend school on a weekly basis over the course of ten years or so," Taylor said blandly. "You're coming at it from way behind the eight-ball, so yeah, it's gonna be a struggle to catch up. But don't worry. You're smarter than a five-year-old, and you already know how to read and do basic math, so you'll be able to understand a lot more. It just won't be enjoyable."

Cherie had absolutely no doubt about that. "And I've got to do this, no matter what?"

"Hey." Taylor spread her hands. "I'm working to make Brockton Bay into a better city. We need to provide a good example to all the impressionable young minds out there. If they attend school, they'll have much better prospects than if they don't. More options."

"And here, I thought you were the cool supervillain."

Taylor chuckled. "Depends on the definition of 'cool'. Like where we're going next. Some people might call it cool, and others might call it lame."

"Where's that?"

"Well, you might get to play some video games. What do you say?"

Cherie brightened right up. It had been a long time since she'd had the chance to play video games. "Well, why didn't you say so at first?"

Taylor just grinned.

The Lair of Uber and Leet

Uber

Brendan was on the gaming couch, working on wrecking the day of a snot-nosed little brat from Seattle or wherever, when Leet dropped onto the cushions beside him. "Ugh. Wow. That really took it out of me."

"It's done?" Brendan didn't look around.

"Yeah." Leet fished out his phone. "Weirdest fuckin' thing, though. I got it done about an hour ago, then I figured I'd put my head down for a nap. Woke up five minutes ago, and I just found out that while I was asleep, I typed up a complete user manual for it, and printed it out."

That was definitely weird enough for Brendan to give his buddy a brief stare. "What the hell? The closest you've ever come to a user manual is a scrawled note to not press the blue button at over five thousand RPM."

"I know, right?" Leet woke up his phone. "Anyway, it passed all the self-tests, so Imma contact Atropos and let her know she can come pick it up."

There was a beep from the console; when Brendan looked back at the screen, it had gone from single to two-player. As he watched, the new player sniped the opposition player from right across the play area. Slowly, he turned, following the trailing cord up and over the back of the couch. Atropos stood there, controller in hand, with a masked teenage girl beside her.

"Dude?" Without taking his eyes off Atropos, he nudged Leet's shoulder.

"What?" With his eyes on his phone, Leet hadn't noticed the new player on the screen. "Gimme a sec. Just gotta finish this text."

Brendan sighed. "Don't bother. She's already here."

"What? What do you ..." Leet raised his eyes from his phone, then followed Brendan's line of sight up and around to where Atropos gave him a little finger-wave. "Gah! How did—how long have—don't do that!"

"And hello to you too." Atropos didn't quite snicker, but she was definitely amused. "Guys, this is Cherish. Cherish, meet Uber and Leet. I'll leave it up to you to decide whether they're cool or not."

"Hi." Cherish was wearing a basic red domino mask that matched the red streak in her hair. "I thought Leet was supposed to be a Tinker. Where's all the gadgets?"

"We moved them all out," Leet said defensively. "Soon as we're done here, we're packing up the last of the gear and disappearing over the horizon. Leaving Brockton Bay."

"I did say it's not totally necessary." Atropos only sounded mildly censorious, as though she didn't care either way.

Brendan nodded. "We talked about staying on as purely show-villains, but Leet's tech has been known to fail in unexpected ways, and the last thing we want is for something to explode and hurt an innocent when we're pulling off a joke heist. So we figure it's best we just go somewhere else."

"Understood." Atropos handed over the controller to Cherish. "You two want to play a couple of rounds while Leet shows me what he's got for me?"

From the way Cherish grinned, she'd been jonesing for some console time. "Sure ... uh, if it's okay with you?" Almost as an afterthought, she looked over at Brendan.

"Hey, why the hell not. Sit yourself down." As Leet got up, Brendan moved over to give Cherish some room. "Want to restart, or keep playing?"

She sat down, eyes on the screen. "I'm good to keep playing if you are."

He grinned. "Cool."

Whatever else Atropos had going on, at least she brought over interesting people.

Leet

"Okay, this is it. It should slide onto your left forearm and lock into place." Rodney stepped aside so Atropos could lift the sleek black device he'd built off the stand and slip her arm inside. It fitted like it was made for her—which it had been—and locked into place as advertised.

"Nice," she said, hefting it experimentally. "Not too heavy. You got it done pretty quickly too, including the user manual. I'm impressed." Taking up the manual, she leafed through it. "Okay, now I'm even more impressed. No complicated maintenance required at all?"

"Yeah, it's all solid state. Minimal moving parts." Rodney shook his head. "It was really weird building it, though. Stuff that I normally breeze through when I'm building my tech, I had to really go all-in on. But not in a 'this is difficult' way so much as a 'you better not fuck this up' way. And other stuff that I usually have trouble with, like the power supply, I sailed through. Like it really, really wanted to get built."

"Well, just so long as it works, I'm happy." Atropos went back to paging through the manual, apparently impressed by its completeness.

If she was impressed, Rodney was downright astonished. As Uber had noted, this was the first user manual he'd ever come up with, and he'd done it while he was asleep, to boot.

"Any questions?" he finally ventured.

"A couple." She tapped the upper panel in just the right spot and it swung open to give access to the tiny screen and keyboard. "I either type in latitude and longitude or specific distance and direction from me, or I use the laser?"

"Yeah." He stepped in beside her and pointed. "If you're in a hurry, you activate the laser and aim. When the dot is where you want it to be, you hit the go-there button. That only works with instant translation."

"Nice." She closed the panel and nodded. "And what's the difference between instant and step-through?"

He cleared his throat carefully. "Instant just puts you on the spot, with anything that's eight inches or less from your skin, and assumes where you're going is motionless, but you can do one about every ten seconds. Step-through lines up your movement with wherever you're going and lets you bring more stuff, or a person, but the cooldown period is one minute minimum, counting upward depending on how complex the last jump was."

"Understood." Shifting the manual to her left hand, she offered her right to shake. "Thanks. I appreciate it."

"Ahh, it was fun." Rodney grinned as he shook her hand. "And besides, how many people can say they built your tech?"

"Very true. I wish you luck wherever you go." Turning, she opened the workshop door. Across the room, in the gaming area, sounds of electronic combat indicated that Uber and Cherish seemed to be getting along well.

"Thanks." Rodney crossed the room with her, to see the pair laying waste to the opposition. Uber was the better player, but Cherish was gamely hanging on in there, seeming to instinctively know when he needed support.

Beside him, Atropos cleared her throat. "Wrap it up. Time to go."

"Aww." But Cherish didn't press the matter. She fired a few more shots, dispatching the last of the current crop of enemy forces, then put the controller down. "Okay, done. Thanks, that was fun."

Uber turned and bumped fists with her. "Likewise. You're pretty good at this."

Grinning all over her face, she bounced up from the couch. "I've made up my mind. This was definitely cool."

"Good to hear." Atropos popped up the panel on the device and tapped in a series of numbers so fast her fingers appeared to blur over the keys. When she hit the final button, the device hummed and a smoky grey portal, about seven feet tall and shaped like an arch-topped doorway, formed in front of her.

Cherish stared at it. "What the hell is that?"

"Our way home." Taking her by the arm, Atropos stepped forward into the portal. They both vanished, as did the portal, a second or so later.

Uber turned to Rodney. "That's what you were building for her? A teleporter that lets her step out of nowhere?"

"Well ... yes." Rodney shrugged. "That's what she asked for."

"You realise you just gave her the option to be ten times as terrifying, right?" Uber gave him a level stare.

Rodney held up his finger. "To everyone else, bro. You and me, we're out of here. Remember?"

Slowly, Uber nodded. "Good point. Very good point. Let's finish this game, then get everything packed up. The sooner we're out of here, the better."

Rodney grinned. "Leaving town before everyone finds out just who gave her that teleporter, you mean?"

"Damn straight."

End of Part Thirty