Executive Search 2

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

[Coil]

I was in my Prius on the way to work on one side, while I was going over the reports of my moles in the PRT on the other.

I had confirmation from one of said spies that Lung had met Slenderman and had been depowered. Official data this time, not gossip.

Good.

The three ABB members were soon to be transferred to prisons outside the state. I made sure my undercover employees knew that I wanted to know where they would end up, as I owed them a painful prison life.

They'd gotten closer to stopping my plans than any before.

I didn't know which of Lung, Bakuda or Tian Yan had given the specific orders, but the ABB had made sure to target well known members of the public.

People in the running for mayor, for example.

I rose from my desk, directing myself to an isolated corner of my base. Only Mr. Pitter and I had access to this specific room, and only through my office.

The place itself would be in the running for the best hospital room in the country, and every device there was top of the line. All for a single person.

Dinah Alcott.

Even after a week in my care, she was still clearly injured. She had numerous bruises, dozens of stitches, burns in great quantity along with both a broken arm and a leg. I had to be even more careful with her dosages, as the drugs might interfere with her healing. While I had no issue with her being stuck in a bed, dying from her wounds would be a horrible setback.

She, and I by extension, had been lucky. She'd been on the second floor when the ABB device triggered. This one emitted plasma in great quantities, but did so only horizontally. There was nothing left of every other member of her family that had been present, uncles and aunts included. The only family member she had left was a cousin who was at work at that very moment.

I had a pair of soldiers on lookout over Dinah's house at all times, and their reactions had been exemplary. The two of them had managed to extract and spirit Dinah away before the authorities arrived on the scene.

I sent them on a suicide mission against the ABB the next day, and made sure they didn't make it. It was quite a loss to have them both killed, but they knew too much.

I stopped beside Dinah and took a deep breath. The past was the past, it was the future that was important now.

"Up you go, pet," I said at Dinah's bedside. "It's morning."

Her eyes opened blearily and turned to look at me. "Already?"

I nodded. "My usual morning questions, please?" I would ask again later after I canceled this reality. I didn't rise to the position I was in without double-checking everything.

She sighed. "One point zero zero eight percent chance there's any problems here in the next hour. Four point three seven seven percent chance there's any problems before lunchtime," she announced. "Candy?"

I shrugged. "Not yet. Chance my grand plan succeeds without using my power?" I followed.

"Seventy three point four two two percent."

A difference of point three percent, I noted. Now to get to the day's real questions.

"Probability of my plan's success if I accept the Undersiders' request for a face-to-face meeting?" I asked.

"Twelve point zero zero nine percent."

My eyebrows rose while my lips twisted in a grimace. That's not normal, I thought.

"Probability the Undersiders will work against me provided I do not go against them?" I had to be specific with the questions I used, I'd learned earlier. If I didn't add the second part of the question, the percentages would be skewed.

"Seven point six four nine percent."

Not that then. "Chance at least one member of the Undersiders does in the same case?"

Dinah's face scrunched in pain. "Sixteen point eight seven three one percent," she forced out. "It hurts. Can I have my candy now?"

I didn't reply, ending this reality instead. My other self was by now at the computer back in my office checking over events, while Dinah was still asleep. I split realities again and left once more to wake Dinah up while I kept checking events in my other self.

I asked the usual questions along with the last one once more, just as a verification, and got the very same answers in return. Nearly seventeen percent chance of an Undersider working against me didn't match a difference of sixty percent in my plan's success. So it meant someone else, and I had a good idea who.

"Chance Slenderman removes my power in the next week?" I asked.

"Thirty-five point four three eight percent," Dinah answered.

"Chance Slenderman removes my power in the next week if I meet with the Undersiders personally?"

"Eighty-six point three three nine percent."

Just as I thought.

"Chance Slenderman removes the power of at least one Undersider in the next week?" I continued.

"Ninety-six point nine four zero two percent," Dinah said, and there was an undercurrent of pain in her words.

I killed that reality as soon as I had the answer. Another split and I got the answer as to which Undersider was Slenderman's target. Or were, as it turned out.

Both Grue and Tattletale had a beyond eighty percent chance of losing their power in the week that followed, with Tattletale being a full ten percent higher than her leader. The rest had a much lower incidence of falling prey to him, with Apparition being the lowest at less than a percent. Informing them of this didn't change their chances one bit and nothing I could think of affected the probabilities greatly, so I decided to keep mum on the subject.

It seemed like the Undersiders were Slenderman's next target, and that they'd draw his attention on me if I met them. A meeting with them was off the table, then. I stopped my main reality and split another timeline from my backup.

This time, I focused more on the fundraiser the PRT was planning. It took three sets of questions before I had enough data to commit to a plan.

Hitting the fundraiser did improve my master plan's chances, but the actual impact depended upon who did so. The Undersiders were the best both in impact and chance of success, but the price for that was much too high. The Travelers were second best, with less impact but a similar success rate. The rest of my mercenaries, powered and unpowered, all fell below the two groups. I asked about the Travelers meeting Slenderman, but it seemed he was focusing on the Undersiders based on the percentages.

The Travelers it would be, then.

I created a final split, asking only my usual questions, with no real difference from when I did so nearly an hour before. I instructed Mr. Pitter to give Dinah a light dose, then retreated back to my office to think.

Thinking about the PRT fundraiser was put on hold when I received a reply from the PIs I'd put on ferreting out the identities of the E88 capes. They were the main opposition I had to total control of Brockton Bay's criminal activities. Even with every cape I could access, my forces couldn't match the Empire's numbers.

This would be perfect to change the odds.

As such, it was 3 PM before I could find time to answer Tattletale.

"Lisa here," she answered in her usual knowing tone.

"It's the Boss." I didn't use my name in the conversations I had with her, just in case she taped them. "I'm sorry to say I have to refuse your invitation for a face-to-face meeting."

I could read her well enough, and I could tell this wasn't the reply she'd hoped for. "I'm sad to hear that." There was no hint of sadness in her tone, and I was sure she'd expected such an answer. "Any reason why?"

"An important and urgent matter just fell into my hands." Which was true, if not the whole truth. "And I'm sorry to say my attention will be focused on it for the next few days."

"Think it would be possible to schedule a meeting afterwards? Our latest recruits aren't too happy to be working under an unknown, and it's probably going to be the same with whatever candidates we find."

"I can't promise anything, but I'll see next week once the current matter has been put to rest." Permanently, if I could arrange it. And if Slenderman did visit the Undersiders, meeting them would lose all usefulness. "I may actually have work for your group during the coming week."

"A different Protectorate attack?" she asked.

"No. The Protectorate is a target of opportunity," I replied. "Based on the work your teammates did against the ABB, I don't foresee any issue with what I might ask."

I could hear the smile coming back in her voice. "Any details?"

"None as of this moment," I said. "This fell into my lap not four hours ago, and there are still things to analyze before any real plans are made."

She sighed. "Keep me posted, then."

I didn't answer, just hung up as usual.

A few presses on my keyboard and the maps of my planned Brockton Bay takeover loaded onto my computer screen. I had many versions, mainly due to the uncertainty regarding which capes would be at my side when I succeeded; I had planned for the Undersiders to account for the central part of the city, along with some of the more wild areas, but it seemed like I'd have to adjust my proposal. While Slenderman had been a great help in eliminating the competition, it looked like he'd finally turned his head toward the groups under my control. I suspected this was due to Bakuda's capture, but I had no way to be sure.

The Travelers alone wouldn't be enough to cover the entire city, so others would be needed for best results. Hopefully there would be a few members of the Undersiders left after Slenderman went after them to account for other parts of the city. I had other options, but I'd prefer not to use them. I still owed Cauldron a favor, and I didn't want to be indebted to them any more than I was now.

I rose from my chair after splitting timelines once again as I always did before going to see Dinah. I had a few more questions to ask regarding my plans for the E88, and for the Undersiders' future. Better not to waste any time and have the information as soon as possible; I didn't want to do anything before I verified it wouldn't be my undoing. I'd dodged a big bullet this morning, as the Undersiders had seemed ready for meeting with me before I'd gone over things with Dinah.

I wasn't going to make a mistake like that, not if I could help it.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"Afternoon, Lisa," I said as I answered the phone inside my suit.

"'Lo Taylor, or should I say Arsenal?" I could hear the smirk in her voice.

I was always surprised at what she could pick up. "How could you tell?"

"I can hear the echoes and hydraulics that make it clear you're in your Arsenal suit," she answered seriously. "Though I am surprised to find you there on a Saturday."

"School is restarting on Monday, and T decided to monopolize my base's workshop. Working as Arsenal seemed the best use of my time." I stopped for a second to think. "I suppose you're calling with the Boss' reply?"

"Right in one," she replied. "The Boss has declined the demand for a meeting and preferred not going forward with having us attack the fundraiser."

"That doesn't fit with what I know of Coil," I said. "Did he try to haggle something?"

"No, and you're not the only one who found that bizarre," Lisa pointed out. "I expected a long discussion with him, but it ended up being a clear no along with a possible future mission that he said we wouldn't find offensive."

"Which is?" I asked.

"He didn't say anything, but from what I picked up it's striking at other gangs or something similar. Probably the E88," she said.

I had to say I preferred that quite a bit to striking at the Protectorate. "If it is that, much better. Anything else you picked up?"

"A lot, but not much that's useful," she pointed out. "One thing I got is that either he's the best liar there is, or every word he said was the truth."

"You can detect lies, even through the phone?!" I exclaimed. I wouldn't be surprised if she could do so live, but through a phone line?

"I can hear people's heartbeat and reactions, so yes," she explained. "I'm not one hundred percent sure I have it down, but I didn't pick up anything even ambiguous from him."

"What else?" I asked.

"He's got some form of advisor or something of the kind. That's the only reason I can get for why he would have waited so long to reply, and not answer directly when I called when I could hear that he wasn't doing anything urgent. Fits the change of methodology, too," she explained. "More importantly, he's expecting something to happen to the Undersiders within the week."

"What?!" I exclaimed, surprised.

"I didn't react audibly to the Boss, but that's how I felt too," she replied, and I could see her face tense in my mind's eye. "He said he'd see about a meeting next week, but what I could read into his words and tone said that something would happen during that time that would make a meeting useless. I'm pretty sure it's because he's heard rumors of something planned."

"Could he be planning something against us?" I asked.

"I didn't get that feeling. There was actually an undercurrent of sadness in his words, as if he was unhappy over losing a good resource."

I took a moment to think and my eyes fell on the invitation Armsmaster had brought. "I have a ticket to the fundraiser as Arsenal. Think I should go?"

"It's really your choice, but you might pick up a clue regarding the Boss' plan if you do. More information would always be welcome, and that would only help your Arsenal persona's identity."

I'd already given quite a bit of thought earlier about going, and finding what Coil was up to was yet another reason to go. Thanking Kid Win officially might help his career as a cape, and I (and T) owed him that much. Getting closer to the Protectorate could only help the worth of my Arsenal identity as an alibi.

I opened my mouth to say something, only for Lisa to speak. "So you'll be going." She had her smirking tone on. "If you could tape everything, that would be best. Feel free to edit out anything you feel is too personal."

"You know that this ability of yours can be horribly annoying, right? You get that clearly?" I growled at low volume.

If anything, I would have bet that her smirk increased. "I'm still getting an undercurrent of laughter anyway…" she said in a sing-song voice.

I sighed. "See if I lend you another spark anytime soon."

"Oh, no! What will I do?!" she replied theatrically, then started laughing. I tried to hang on to my annoyance, but I started snickering before ten seconds had passed.

"Anyway, that's pretty much everything. Remember to add something for eating and drinking to your suit if you want to enjoy the party." One could still hear the smile in her voice.

"Will do!" I said with a similar tone. "Catch you later."

"Toodles!" She then hung up.

I turned back to my work bench and started planning. I didn't have that much time before the fundraiser, and there was quite a bit of work to be done. I withdrew a metal saw and a welding torch, and got busy.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

My presence was somewhat conspicuous in the line leading to the Forsberg Gallery. Around me were people in expensive dresses and tuxedos, and while my armor had been cleaned, repaired and polished, I still felt out of place with all these visibly rich men and women around me.

"I'm sorry, you're Arsenal, correct?" a young woman asked, stepping in front of me from somewhere before me in the line.

"Indeed," I said gruffly, getting into my Arsenal persona. "And you?"

She curtsied a little. "Amy Dallon. Panacea."

I thanked the fact that the armor hid most of my reactions. Panacea was big. While Armsmaster was somewhat famous in Tinker circles, Panacea was the one cape from Brockton Bay that was known worldwide. The best healer in the world, it was said (not that she had much competition).

I recognized her now, from the Bank Job. She hadn't been wearing a dress at that time, but the cut and color of her hair along with the shape of her body made the resemblance clear. I was glad to see she seemed in good health. Bakuda's bombings must have ran her ragged.

I forced myself to bow only a little to maintain character, not that I could do much while in the line, and spoke. "Greetings. What can I do for you then?"

"I've heard rumors about your beacons, and even seen one," she replied. "Could I have more information about what they do?"

What could she need to know? Is she worried about her own health? I thought to myself. "Sure, but mind if I ask why?"

She sighed. "My efforts are barely a drop in the bucket even with the hours I put in, and in emergencies I have to deal with multiple patients where every seconds counts. Knowing how your beacons work and what they can or cannot cure means better triage when time is short. That way I can focus my efforts more efficiently on wounds and sicknesses your beacons cannot deal with."

Valid reasons, I thought, though there was something that didn't feel right in there. Still, I answered. "Mainly, it's a powerful booster to cellular regeneration."

"How does it work?" she asked.

I was surprised to see she could follow even when I descended into Tinker speak, and she brought up good points over possible improvements. We segued from there to a discussion about sicknesses and the like, and with her help there were quite a few ideas I wrote down in my suit's integrated computer. Not everything could be cured (the only real cure for cancer was complete modification of the human body at the cellular level, and that sickness was one thing my beacons could make worse), but some of the most common issues could be fixed. It'd need a better lab than I have now (nanotech is quite touchy to build), but with that and some help we had a good plan for fixing coronary artery disease.

By that time we were finally through the door and in the gallery proper, and I was surprised to find Armsmaster covering the exit, seemingly at guard. I could see his lips curl upward somewhat as he saw me.

"Arsenal!" He spoke. "Good to see you." His eyes fell on the screen I still had out. "Working, I see."

I nodded. "Miss Dallon was a great help while we were dicussing finding solutions for various sicknesses."

Armsmaster turned toward my conversation partner. "Panacea," he said, and bowed more respectfully than I'd expected of him. I'd noticed he tended to be curt, most of the time. She curtsied somewhat in return.

"I'm surprised to see you waiting at the door," I said.

He moved as if he was about to say something, then stopped and indicated my onboard computer with a movement of his head. "Address?" he asked.

A few clicks opened a port for simple communications. I made sure that it was protected as well as I could. I doubted he'd do anything, not here with the most important people in the city present, but no sense taking risks. I then gave him the address.

Instantly a message popped up.

Armsmaster: I'm the local Protectorate leader, and everyone wants to meet me. I just had the most inane conversation about patrols and deployments with the current mayor's wife, and she wasn't done. I'm watching the door just to get out of it. Please tell me you can act like you need me to look over something.

A quick look to the side revealed that, yes, there was a somewhat overweight woman looking in our direction from right beside the mayor.

I smiled inside my suit. Building credit with Armsmaster was exactly what I wanted from the fundraiser. "Miss Dallon and I were talking about the plan for a device to purify blood in major arteries. Mind if I ask for your expertise as a Tinker?" I made sure that my voice could reach far enough for the woman to hear.

"I could look at it," he said, waving at Velocity to take his place. The three of us then moved to a table deeper in the room. There was a couple there for a moment, but they quickly went back to chatting with the guests when we started discussing machines.

Armsmaster: Thank you.

This didn't stop us from being interrupted numerous times though, but the guests were nice enough not to take too much of our time.

I was surprised to find out that the Protectorate leader wasn't the only one people wanted to meet. Panacea had a few people who came her way to offer thanks for whatever miraculous healing she did, and even I attracted a few guests.

It seemed that my fight against Lung was known by more than just the Protectorate, and that some wanted to know how it felt to face the ABB leader. Answering the same questions over and over was annoying and most conversations were boring, but nothing compared to my old school life. I could deal with it.

I went with the personality I'd decided for Arsenal, that is quick and direct, and pointed out that in a suit like mine outrunning someone with long range attacks wasn't conductive to long-term survival. Fighting head on until reinforcements came had been the only way to have a chance at winning, and I gave most of the credit to Kid Win and the Protectorate.

Speaking of Kid Win… I thought.

I took a good look around, and couldn't find him. Surprising, I thought to myself.

I then turned to Armsmaster. "Do you know where Kid Win might be?" I asked. "I wanted to thank him officially for my rescue."

The man's lips turned into a frown, and he tensed. "He's busy at the console today."

"Why?" I asked. "He was instrumental in Lung's defeat. Surely he deserves to be here today." I pointed toward Gallant, who was standing near Amy's sister, which wasn't in costume. "I'm pretty sure he contributed as much as any of the Wards that are here today."

His scowl deepened. "There were other factors that meant he would not be here today."

I had a flash of Armsmaster's look to Kid Win that T had seen after Lung's battle, and put two and two together. "You mean…" I started, only to be interrupted by the Mayor as he spoke to the crowd from the podium, the microphones droning out most of the conversations.

"Ladies, Gentlemen, welcome to the Forsberg Gallery," he spoke out loud, and the entire room fell into silence at his words. "Thank you all for being here."

"We citizens of Brockton Bay have faced harsh times recently. I know that there are those among us that have lost children, family and friends to the explosions. A moment of silence, please, for those who are no longer among us."

Everyone bowed their heads in silence, and I was no different. I hadn't lost anybody, but I could remember the rest of the Undersiders stepping into my base covered in blood. We had been lucky, and there were others that hadn't been.

A minute passed while silence reigned.

The mayor was the one to break the calm. "The ABB had long been a blight on our fair city. There was no gutter to which they would not stoop, no crime too low for them. There had been a period of silence after the fall of one of the ABB lieutenants, and I, like many, hoped that the Asian gang had finally crumbled before the pressure our own heroes and soldiers had applied."

"We were wrong," he exclaimed, and everyone could see sadness and rage in his eyes. "The ABB launched the worst criminal attack in the history of the city, worse than the visit of the Slaugtherhouse Nine, years earlier. Billions in damages, nearly a thousand dead and ten times that number wounded."

"But this city fought back," he continued, rising his fist. "Bakuda, the Mad Bomber, was in Protectorate custody as of last week, and just Thursday an ambush by the ABB leader Lung was turned back on him. The ABB is now gone, a thing of the past, and the city survives!"

He took a glass of wine from a desk beside him. "Please join me in raising a glass in honor of those who fought, both heroes…" He turned his head toward the table where most of the capes were stationed. "and rogues…" This time, he inclined his head after looking to where Panacea and I were placed. "Who fought hard for our freedom. To you all!"

"To you all!" most of everyone in the room echoed.

Then a single voice rang from the back. "And what about the villains?"

I turned, as did everyone, to find a trio of capes walking from the back of the room, where the window was. All wore red and black, and I recognized them.

The Travelers.

Weren't there guards there before? I wondered. I thought I'd seen some, but I couldn't be sure.

"My team and I, we fought Lung more than a dozen times in the past week. How many times did the Protectorate face him?" the apparent leader, a man in a black and red suit with a top hat, asked. Trickster, I remembered.

A snippet of conversation came back to me. 'Embarrass them', Lisa had quoted. I realized just now why Coil had given up so easily. He had another team to do the job. The seat Trickster had taken right beside Coil at the meeting now had a much better explanation.

I looked from one side to the other. Armsmaster was tense, Panacea, scared. And there were dozens of bystanders all around me, prime targets for a teleporter who could swap things between locations.

A large gargoyle-like creature flew down to the balcony right then, landing heavily. Genesis. The only member of the Travelers whose power I didn't know.

I saw Armsmaster reach toward his back for the Halberd folded there.

This is going to get ugly.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

I wasn't sure what to do. The Travelers were a powerful group, with abilities I knew could be lethal, but not doing anything meant leaving them free to do whatever they wanted.

The mayor, who was still at the podium, took offense at their presence. "This is a private party!" he ground out in restrained anger, and his words echoed in the silence. "You are not welcome here!"

I could see Trickster smile at these words, and he instantly switched with one of the mayor's assistants hanging at the back of the podium. He then put one hand around the mayor's shoulder as if he was a close friend and reached inside a pocket with the other.

I tensed, expecting a weapon, and I wasn't the only one. But the item he withdrew was simply one of the tickets for the event. A look to the other side of the room revealed the rest of his team presenting theirs, and Ballistic had a hand on the assistant's shoulder.

This was now a hostage situation, and the tension in the room tripled in an instant.

"Now, what was I saying…" The leader of the Travelers continued as if nothing had happened. "Ah, yes. The Protectorate… What did they do? They reacted, that's what. They tried to contain the damage, to limit the casualties. They didn't do so bad, sure, but they let the ABB dictate how things would go."

"The protection of civilians is and will always be the first priority of the Protectorate," Armsmaster replied, and I could clearly hear him trying to contain his anger.

"That's just an excuse, and the public is intelligent enough to see through it. Fact is, it's the villains who took the fight to the ABB, who forced them on the defensive. They're the ones who really had an impact." His gaze swept over the whole crowd, and I saw everyone going rigid, hoping to pass unnoticed. "And that's not even taking into account the leaders. The Undersiders were the ones who took out Bakuda and Tian Yan, leaving them trussed up like turkeys outside the PRT building. The only thing the so-called heroes did was provide the cells."

"They're the ones who took down Lung!" Someone in the crowd yelled. He instantly went quiet as Trickster turned his attention in that direction.

Trickster's smile didn't budge an inch. "Sure they did… when someone else gave them a golden opportunity. If Arsenal here…" The villainous leader inclined his head in mock deference, "hadn't held for minutes when most people would struggle to last seconds, the Protectorate would still be sitting on their thumbs, waiting for someone else to give them a chance. All the while, we villains were grinding the ABB's businesses down one by one, leaving them nowhere to run or hide."

The Protectorate leader said nothing this time, standing completely rigid.

Trickster looked right at the unmoving Armsmaster. "Was it any surprise that Lung did something foolish, like trying to capture a Tinker?" He thumped his fist on his chest. "We're the ones who pushed him far enough that attacking a Tinker in his lair seemed a good idea." His eyes went wide. "Are those tempura shrimp?"

He vanished for a second, replaced by a heavyset man in his forties. Then he switched back beside his teammates with a plate from the buffet in his hands. He wasted no time in eating a pair, then offered some to his compatriots.

I was distracted from the scene by a beep in my armor. It took a few voice commands, but I managed to bring up the message without a sound chiming outside.

Armsmaster: Can you take Genesis?

Nice to see he'd at least been planning, and I understood why he gave me this particular assignment. The only heroic flier in the room was Glory Girl, and Armsmaster wasn't the type to send young people into possibly deadly combat, especially not when they weren't even part of the Wards. But he'd seen me fighting Lung even when he was in the air, and Genesis wasn't on that level, as far as I knew.

I could take it.

Anyway, Genesis might very well be my best match. I doubted I could tag Trickster as just 'Arsenal', my armor couldn't take the flames of Sundancer's miniature suns, and Ballistic might be able to redirect every single one of my strikes. So Genesis it would be.

I gave Armsmaster the slightest nod I could make while Trickster was handing the plate to Ballistic.

Armsmaster: Confirmed. Thank you; wait for my signal.

Trickster turned back to the frightened crowd, then switched directly with the mayor this time. The politician now found himself trapped even worse than earlier, with a cape beside each of his shoulders. "So, Mr. Protectorate leader," Trickster said from his new position at the podium. "How many attacks did the 'Good Guys'…" One could hear the quotes. "Make on the ABB since the bombings started?"

"The operational specifics of ongoing Protectorate deployments are classified information," Armsmaster answered with a growl.

"Do you think that will satisfy the public?" He put his hand behind his ear as if he was straining to hear. "I don't think…" He started.

Then all hell broke loose.

There were four Protectorate capes in the room, and two of them were speedsters. Both rushed forward, Velocity toward the teleporter while Battery barreled towards Sundancer. This didn't give the expected result as Trickster did another switch, and the two heroes found themselves colliding with each other. The crowd screamed and tried running anywhere away from the villains, and I saw from the corner my eye Gallant trying to put some order to the stampede.

He didn't have much success.

I ignored Armsmaster dashing for Ballistic, focusing on my own target. Luckily, it would be free of teleportation shenanigans, as I knew Trickster was limited by volume and Genesis was the largest object here by a good margin.

I didn't waste time, drawing Lucifer from my back as I charged and activating the mace as soon as I could. My foe was prepared and easily dodged, taking to the air.

Just as expected.

The business end of my weapon turned in the air, and Genesis turned with it. The spikes passed much closer to it this time, flashing less than an inch from my enemy's skin.

Then the cable trailing behind the spiked ball caught behind Genesis' wing.

That was one of the ways I could use my weapon, using the wire as an entangling tool. I hadn't against Lung, since I was unsure if he could just melt his way through, but against my current opponent it was perfect. Especially since I didn't know how solid it was or how its powers worked. I didn't want to kill it by mistake.

It dodged twice more, something which only trapped it more. A few more and I would have it trussed up like a rodeo steer.

In response, it turned toward me, took a deep breath, and screamed.

The sound hit like a physical force, and I found myself pushed back, falling to my knees. The external pick-ups I used for hearing shorted out instantly, which was the only thing that prevented me from blacking out then and there. Worse, I lost control of Lucifer for a moment, and the chain retracted as it was programmed to. Genesis took some hits as it did, but the flier was now completely free.

Note, I thought. Add a copy of the sonic nullifier to the Arsenal Suit.

Getting up, I found myself on shaky ground. Genesis' scream had done a number on my surroundings, and I didn't trust the place to take many more hits. I thanked whoever was listening that there hadn't been anyone close, as they quite probably wouldn't have made it. Above, Genesis held position as if waiting for something.

I took the time to think. I could retreat to get off the balcony, but that wouldn't help much. Unless Glory Girl joined the fight, there wasn't anyone able to efficiently take on a flier with a ranged attack. Getting back inside would only limit my vision, and wouldn't impair it at all. Not to mention that would put other people in the line of fire.

I can't hold back anymore, I thought. "Lucifer, disable Brute Restrictions."

"Acknowledged," my suit answered.

Seeing that I wasn't running away, Genesis shook its head and breathed in again.

My weapon barely left my hand when it released its attack, only for the blow to be interrupted by Lucifer breaking the sound barrier multiple times. That punched right through its scream.

Genesis clearly hadn't expected that, and Lucifer struck it right at shoulder level. I saw something there break, and the spikes also twisted its wing as they cleared its body.

I prepared myself to catch it with Lucifer if I needed to, but its shoulder started bleeding smoke. I kept ready for another attack, but it didn't come. Instead, Genesis burst like a smog-filled balloon.

I released a breath I'd been holding. Lisa and I had theorized a number of possible powers for Genesis, and one of them was that the form we saw was a puppet, and that the real Genesis was a Master. The quickly disappearing vapors pointed in that direction, instead of being a Tinker's robot or a modified (unpowered) human.

I waited until Genesis dispersed, then turned back to the rest of the fight, which was becoming a warzone.

Armsmaster and Ballistic were still engaged, the latter keeping the other at a distance. Velocity was in the middle of the room, his foot stuck in containment foam. Glory Girl was in a similar predicament, only she was covered up to neck level.

Miss Militia was clearly trying to evacuate the civilians, but Trickster kept switching them (and the capes, and himself) all over. Battery was nowhere to be seen. I could see people doing their best to remain out of sight, and a few were trying to crawl out of the place. With my mics destroyed, I couldn't hear anything, and I was suddenly glad for the fact as I could see a man screaming in fear.

I decide to engage the only Traveler that wasn't occupied: Sundancer. "Lucifer, restore Brute Restrictions." I spoke inside my suit as I ran forward.

"Restored."

I went for a pincer attack, the spiked end of Lucifer on one side and myself on the other. Sundancer, outside her Blaster ability, was a normal human, and my suit had an integrated taser. One good hit was all I needed.

I didn't even get that.

Ballistic suddenly appeared in Sundancer's place, and he put a hand on my armor before I could do the same. The next second I was flying back, courtesy of his power. I managed to halt my momentum using Lucifer before I hit the wall, but by then Ballistic had been switched again.

I looked around for something useful to do. Trickster was the main issue, but unless I went with supersonic attacks, I wasn't going to accomplish much, and I couldn't take such a risk. Ballistic was once again keeping Armsmaster busy with Sundancer at his side.

I couldn't see anything good I could do in the chaos.

A look to the side revealed a human-shaped form made out of smoke entering from the balcony. Lightning could be seen running within what was surely a construct.

I didn't need two guesses to know who it was. "Ahh, come on!" I yelled inside my suit.

My armor wasn't lightning proofed, so engaging the latest form of Genesis wasn't a smart idea.

"Well, this is getting boring," Trickster said, microphone in hand, having reappeared at the podium. "I see that the great Protectorate heroes are being as efficient as usual." I saw Miss Militia raise her gun, only for Trickster to smile and swap her with an especially large potted plant.

"Thing is, it's getting late, and we have an early day tomorrow." Armsmaster appeared at the podium, the Mover having taken his place. "See you another time, people!" he said from the other side of the room.

Miss Militia shot as soon as Trickster's back was turned, but only hit a storefront mannequin. Sundancer and Ballistic were next, replaced with more mannequins. Genesis was last, and it simply lost cohesion and dissipated.

The Protectorate was left with half a dozen civilians, most of them cowering in corners or trying to hide, a damaged building and nothing to show for it.

This was a fiasco, I thought, and I was pretty sure I wasn't the only one thinking it.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

I was ignored by the majority of the Protectorate heroes for a good twenty minutes after the Travelers' departure. Armsmaster was the only exception, giving me a once-over from a distance, clearly checking if everything was OK. I answered him with a nod. He then turned to the rest of his team and the civilians still present.

I didn't disagree with being left alone because I had work to do. I currently couldn't hear a single spoken word, and while the official heroes were right now otherwise occupied, they wouldn't be so for the whole night. As such, I needed to fix a few of my built-in microphones as soon as possible.

Luckily, my suit had integrated tools.

By the time Armsmaster came to stand beside me, I'd fixed three of my electronic ears. Of course, I had to cannibalize a half-dozen others to do that much, along with a few other sensors. I stopped working on the fourth to face him as soon as he reached me.

"Thank you for your help," he said. It sounded forced.

I could hear the tension in his voice, so I didn't push. "Didn't do much," I pointed out, "nothing that worked anyhow."

Armsmaster's mouth moved as if he was about to say something, then closed. He turned around halfway to look behind him at the rest of the room.

By now, the place was just about empty. There were only a few PRT troopers left, along with Miss Militia. They were extinguishing small fires with foam guns the size of leafblowers.

Armsmaster dragged a chair over and sat. "I know how you feel. This was a disaster."

I could only nod. "Worse thing is I get the feeling they held back. A lot, even." It wasn't a feeling. I knew for certain that, if the Travelers had gone all-out, this place would be a smoking hole in the ground. Even during my fight with Genesis, there were moments where she waited for my reaction, as if she had no problem taking her time.

"They did," Armsmaster replied. "I went over the Travelers' files as soon as I heard they were taking part in the counterattacks against the ABB, and we got off lightly. The only civilian injuries were from the stampede out, and Panacea was on hand to make sure that those were fixed as soon as possible. A few bruises here and there…" Armsmaster rotated his shoulder, and I could note some stiffness there. "But nothing that could keep someone down." He looked straight at me. "Everything fine on your side? Panacea is still below, last I heard."

I shook my head. "Nothing that can't be fixed by some time in the workshop. Genesis' sonic scream did a number on my sensors, but nothing I can't replace." Even if I was wounded, I wasn't going to ask for Amy Dallon's help. With a single touch, she'd know it was a girl inside the armor, and I was pretty sure she could guess my age. I wasn't going to risk anyone else connecting Arsenal to Taylor unless my life was at risk.

"Good," he said with a tired smile. "Send the bill for the repairs to the PRT, and I'll make sure it'll get through." I nodded in thanks.

The two of us stewed in silence for a moment, then something occured to me. "Mind if I ask a question?" I asked.

"Go on."

"Why start the fight at that moment?" I asked. "Sure, Trickster was on his soapbox, but starting a fight didn't help the Protectorate's cause."

Armsmaster sighed. "PRT regulations state that all Protectorate members must engage assailants in case of a possible kidnapping attempt, especially when the targets are members of the government."

This time I was the one who opened and closed their mouth while saying nothing. Sure, I'd known that kidnapping wasn't part of the Travelers' plans, but that was only because I had inside information. What the Travelers ended up doing was much more embarrassing to the Protectorate than something serious like a kidnapping would have been, and that was their sole goal.

But the Protectorate didn't know that.

With the mayor flanked on each side by one of the Travelers, Armsmaster probably thought he had no choice but to engage. Only, by doing so, he walked right into their trap.

Looking at the Tinker now, he probably knew he'd been played. He didn't look like a hero right then, more like a tired man after a particularly unfruitful day's work. Most of the time he walked around like he was invincible or untouchable. Now, he just looked spent.

Miss Militia caught Armsmaster's attention with a few handsigns in his direction, and the Protectorate leader rose. "Duty calls," he said. "We're closing this place. After the damage this floor took, it probably won't be open for a while. You gonna be okay getting back to your place?"

I nodded.

"Thanks again for tonight, especially the first part." It sounded a lot less forced this time.

"My pleasure," I replied with a slight smile inside my suit. At least today had helped build Arsenal's cover.

It wasn't a total loss that way.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

I didn't stay long in the suit. I ducked into the first alleyway I could spot, found a dark corner, and turned into shadow state as soon as I confirmed I was out of sight. I went straight to Arsenal's workshop, dropped the suit, then headed right back to base.

I was simply tired.

"So, how did it go?" T asked just as I changed back to human form at the base.

"Bad," I replied, tiredness evident in my voice. "The Travelers were there, and they embarrassed us worse than I believed possible. It felt like we were the bad guys in a Looney Tunes cartoon."

T cringed. "That's rough."

I looked around at what T was working on. Whatever it was, there were two of them, as I could see two exactly identical pieces, one aside the other. I let my tinker spark come to the fore as I looked at the various components.

That's a control module… sensors… power supply… I noted mentally. Then I came onto the last part and smiled. I should have known. But why two? I thought. A backup, maybe?

My musings were interrupted by a chime. T quickly grabbed her phone, looked at the received text, and then handed it to me. "Lisa wants to talk to you."

That sure hadn't taken long, I noted. Still, I rang her a moment later.

"Judging by what I'm hearing on the PRT channels, the fundraiser didn't go so well," Lisa said as soon as she answered the phone. "You OK?"

"Hello to you too, Lisa," I said sarcastically, then sighed. "Yes, I'm fine. What do you know?"

"Not much. I'm not tapped into the Protectorate channels, so I have a bare minimum of information. Plenty of guesses, but nothing concrete." She was silent for a moment. "What happened?"

"The Travelers happened, and they played us like a drum," I explained. "If the Boss wanted embarrassing, he sure got it. And since the press were present, how ineffective the Protectorate was is sure to be front page news tomorrow."

"Shit!" She swore. "I was ninety-five percent sure the Boss had other capes in his roster, but not a group like Trickster and his gang." She paused for a second as I heard objects moving in the background. "Give me the details," Lisa said in complete seriousness.

I went over everything from the moment I arrived at the Gallery to the instant I left. I didn't spare the details, explaining everything I noticed along with every theory I had. I even sent my camera footage to an address she gave me right then and there.

"I'll go over it before tomorrow," she said as she received the data.

"Anything your power tells you?" I asked. I'd gone over everything in my head more than once, and it still didn't make sense.

"Well…" Lisa said, sounding unsure. This wasn't something I was used to. "If the goal was really to embarrass someone, I can think of only two targets: either the Protectorate or the mayor. And it seems very heavy-handed against the mayor. He's already behind in the polls, and the Boss could fabricate a scandal easily enough without going for something this direct."

I boggled. "You think he's trying something against the Protectorate? That he's trying to get Armsmaster replaced by someone else?" That's the only reason I could think of.

"That's what seems to make the most sense, except it doesn't really do that," Lisa replied. "I don't see how he could have a way of getting a mole anywhere important among the Protectorate. Miss Militia is next in line for command, and I'd bet my power against a toaster before I believe she is in the Boss' pockets. Assault and Battery are married, and the former villain had to have his contacts and loyalty gone over a dozen times. Not to mention that I don't see either of them as the next Protectorate leader. Velocity's not management material, and the others lack seniority for a post like this one. Unless they bring someone from outside the city, I don't see how the Boss could have his hooks in someone."

"What about blackmail?" I replied.

"Not very effective at that level, especially considering the PRT's Master/Stranger protocols," she continued. "The discrepancy would be noted, and someone of that rank has more than enough power to go after threats like that. I don't see a ploy like that working."

I let the words sink for a moment. "So…?" I finally asked.

"I hate admitting it, but I have no idea," she finally replied. "I'm even starting to doubt my previous conclusions. Maybe I was wrong and this was a decoy, or this is something else completely that we don't even have a clue about." She sighed again. "I'll go over the videos as soon as I hang up. Maybe there's something there that'll give me a hint."

"Hopefully."

"I'll be getting on it, then," Lisa said. "Catch you tomorrow."

"Good luck. I suppose I won't hear from you before two, right?" I said with a smirk.

"That's a safe bet," She replied, and I could hear something of a smile in her voice. "Toodles!" She said and disconnected.

I put the phone back on T's work desk, then rolled up my sleeves. After the night I had, doing a little tinkering to boost my mood was exactly what I needed. I grabbed a soldering iron and went to work.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

[Legend]

"Thank you all for coming, especially this early on a Monday," I said right as the clock struck eight. Most people were barely starting off their day, if they were awake. Villains waited for no hero, unfortunately.

At least I could conduct this meeting from my office using video conferencing. Even though I could be on the other side of the continent in less than an hour using my powers, gathering the heads of every Protectorate regional office on the east coast would be a scheduling nightmare, even without accounting for the others currently connected.

"As of now, I'm pretty sure all of you have either read or heard the news," I continued, looking straight at the camera on my screen. "Last Thursday, the cape known as Slenderman hit Paige Mcabee's trial right as the sentence was being delivered, stole said woman's power right in front of the entire courtroom, then vanished without a trace."

"There wasn't anything we could have done," Herald, who had been in the courtroom, countered. His pride was clearly wounded.

I shook my head. "No one is claiming otherwise. The Boston team was selected for the possibility of Paige escaping, not dealing with a power nullifier. Two close-range capes to knock her out quickly, a shield generator to protect possible hostages, and yourself to nullify her song with your sonic abilities. Perfect for a Master like Miss Mcabee, but not against a Trump like Slenderman."

There were a few mutters along with some nods, but no one pushed the issue.

"This was the first time he struck outside Brockton Bay, and as such everyone was unprepared for his appearance. That is the reason for this meeting." I took a sip from my coffee cup. "Slenderman has shown that he isn't going to limit himself to what seems to be his home city, and every Protectorate team has to be prepared to deal with him."

"Brockton Bay should…" one of them started, only to be drowned out by a half-dozen other barely-intelligible comments. Linker's voice overwhelmed everyone else's, however. "How is he rated?" the second-in-command in Washington asked.

A valid question, at least, I thought. "Armsmaster?" I replied, ceding the floor to the Brockton Bay leader.

"Difficult to say, especially since he seems to be deliberately holding back. High-level Trump/Striker, that's for sure, along with both Mover abilities and either Brute solidity or Breaker-type immunities. And his last appearance implies Stranger abilities."

"Stranger abilities?" Revel, the Buffalo Protectorate leader, repeated.

"For those who haven't yet seen the Protectorate footage, Slenderman did not teleport behind Paige Mcabee to steal her power as the newspapers reported," Dragon interjected. She was the one on top of the conference's security, and such meetings were only possible with her help. "He appeared in the room before sentencing and took a spot in the witness chair, then waited there for the judge to render his verdict. Only then did he move, crossing the line of sight of more than a dozen bystanders without provoking a reaction."

There was a moment of uneasy silence. I had seen the footage, and even now the simple reminder made me shiver. An invisible power negator? Slenderman deserved his unofficial status as a boogie man.

The idea that Arthur or Keith could find themselves in front of that man made me want to hunt him down right now. Instead, I forced the feeling back. For the moment, Slenderman hadn't even been seen by anyone who wasn't a parahuman.

"How many capes have had their powers removed as of now?" Chevalier asked as I purposedly calmed myself.

"Eight confirmed along with two more as near-certain possibles," Dragon replied instantly.

"Can you go over them all chronologically?" Herald asked.

Armsmaster nodded. "Dragon?"

"The first, unconfirmed, victim was Shadow Stalker of the Brockton Bay Wards. Given the last confirmed use of her power, she would have to have been attacked on February 4 or 5. By the evening of the fifth, it was found she had lost her powers. As Slenderman's existence and abilities were still unknown at the time, dozens of medical and psychological evaluations were performed with no results." An image of said Ward appeared on the computer screen, then shrank to place itself on a timeline.

"The first confirmed sighting of Slenderman was very early on Valentine's Day, based on available timestamps. The Trump struck Skidmark and Squealer, a pair of parahuman drug dealers and gang leaders." Pictures of both Merchants joined the timeline. "Two videos were uploaded to the net, the first showing the attack and the second the results. This was the last time the two of them were seen in Brockton Bay."

The branch heads waited expectantly as Dragon paused for a breath before continuing.

"Slenderman was then silent for nearly a month, only to reappear on March 12, striking at two parahuman members of the Empire 88 gang." I saw a number of nods in response. The Empire was well known to those on the east coast, having been a thorn in the Protectorate's side for more than a decade. "He was again seen on video. The interrogation of his victims, Othala and Victor, revealed that he was struck by a number of high-caliber bullets at close range without flinching."

"Not that uncommon…" Someone whispered. I didn't catch who.

"The second unconfirmed victim came next, only five days later on March 17. Oni Lee, a member of the ABB, was found deceased in a large room that had visibly suffered numerous grenade detonations." Oni Lee's masked face appeared on the screen. "The villain left a message as he died, the Chinese character for 'slender', which seems to imply the Trump's presence, along with another incomplete ideogram. If he was correct that Slenderman was the attacker, he is the only person known to have fought against him for an extended period of time."

"Any idea how the fight went?" Alexandria quickly asked. She was the only Protectorate leader present from the west coast.

How unsurprising, I thought with a slight smile. She always went after how people thought and fought.

"Very little," Dragon replied. "The explosive patterns suggest that Oni Lee was having difficulty getting a bead on his opponent. Whether this was due to his Mover or Stranger abilities is unknown, though."

The Triumvirate member nodded in response, and I indicated that Dragon should continue.

"Whether Oni Lee's death precipitated events or not, the ABB started a bombing rampage across Brockton Bay with the help of Bakuda, their newest recruit. Slenderman mostly faded from public scrutiny in the face of the deaths and the damages done to the city." I scowled. I'd seen pictures of some of the explosion sites, and it reminded me unfavorably of the passings of the Slaughterhouse Nine.

The images of two women appeared on the screen. "Early on April 29, Slenderman interrupted a battle between the Undersiders, a somewhat new villain group, and Faultline's mercenaries, carrying the two parahumans currently on the screen, Tian Yan and Bakuda. He seemingly went after the Undersiders, who retreated with Slenderman's two captives, now de-powered. Faultline's crew also escaped without any losses. Again, Slenderman's performance was captured on video, this time on the store cameras."

"They managed to recover people from an enemy like that?" Revel asked. By the looks of the others, she wasn't the only one pondering this.

"No," the female Tinker replied. "Slenderman used the two former villains as projectiles against the Undersiders. The group simply escaped with them."

I'd seen the video. It was clear that, without powers, the ABB members meant nothing to him. He'd tossed them away as if they were trash.

"Him being seen on video is starting to be a pattern." Hermitage, second-in-command in Norfolk, pointed out. The Protectorate leader for that region was currently in the hospital following a hold-up gone bad. I'd heard good things about his second.

Someone muttered "You think?" in the background, and was ignored.

"Indeed." Dragon replied before continuing. "The seventh target we discussed earlier. Slenderman appeared at Paige Mcabee's trial on Thursday, waited until the verdict was rendered, then stole her power. Chevalier, you have confirmation?"

The Philadelphia leader nodded. "I do. For those who do not know, my power includes a weak Thinker aspect that provides me with limited insight into a cape's powers." I was glad he didn't explain further. Testing when Chevalier was only a Ward revealed he saw glimpses of trigger events, and those were intensely personal. What he saw wasn't much different for Cauldron capes such as myself, though the images tended to be much less traumatizing. "She was no different from any non-parahuman. Were it not for her feathers, I wouldn't be able to differentiate her from any other woman."

"All that time for nothing," Herald grumbled.

"She still went through the same battery of tests that Shadow Stalker went through," Dragon added as if the Boston leader had said nothing. "From a medical point of view, there is no appreciable difference between Paige Mcabee after Slenderman de-powered her and her state when she last had a medical checkup."

"We're still missing one," Herald said, and others echoed him. "Wasn't Canary the last one?"

Dragon shook her head as a photograph of a wide-shouldered Asian man appeared on screen. "The eighth and last confirmed target was Lung, again on last Thursday."

Eyes went wide. "Wasn't he taken into custody that very same day?" Hermitage asked.

"Indeed," Armsmaster replied.

"You mean Slenderman struck at Lung, inside the Protectorate building, only hours after his imprisonment?" the man from Norfolk continued. The surprise was clear in his voice, and the others' whispers could be heard in the background.

"No," the Brockton Bay leader replied. "He struck Lung as he was being carried from the site of his capture to the Protectorate's jail."

"How long a drive is that?" Alexandria asked, eyes serious, speaking over two others who probably were about to ask the same question.

I wasn't surprised. That had been the same question I'd had when I read the report.

"Less than ten minutes. Lung had been in custody for six minutes when Slenderman struck."

"And I suppose we once again have him attacking Lung on camera, correct?" Hermitage asked.

"Correct," Armsmaster answered.

"However he does it, this Slenderman is disturbingly well-informed," Alexandria said, cutting off everyone. I could see the gears turning in her head. "From what I see, each of the targets he struck was either in a place they considered safe, or otherwise incapacitated. The reports indicate that he quite likely struck Shadow Stalker in her civilian identity, and that without her realizing. Both the Merchants and the members of the Empire were attacked in their very homes. All this may be explained by his Stranger ability."

"Yeah, but…" another started.

"But others aren't," she continued, ignoring the interruption. "Unless he was already present on the scene of the attack, a Stranger ability would have been of no help getting to Lung. The report on Bakuda's capture says that she and her compatriot had been escaping when they were hit, which points toward exact timing. With the abilities he has, he would have had no issue getting to her long before had he been aware of her presence."

"He may have been tailing the Undersiders when they found the ABB hideout," Dragon pointed out.

The female member of the Triumvirate nodded. "Possible. He also managed to attack Oni Lee in his resting place, and a teleporter is notoriously difficult to track, even for another such."

"Especially when said teleporter is also a duplicator," Armsmaster added, clearly speaking from experience.

"Quite," Alexandria confirmed with a smirk. "Only Paige Mcabee was in a public place when attacked. And all of this is not including the leak the PRT had regarding some of Slenderman's videos."

There was a moment of silence as everyone digested that. "Let's come back to security later," Alexandria continued. "Are there other rumors of parahumans losing their abilities?"

Dragon sighed. "There are a number of people saying they have been attacked by Slenderman, but none with any sort of real proof. Most of these do not fit with what little is known of Slenderman, and in most cases those propagating these rumours are not known to have had powers at any time."

That didn't surprise me in the least, even if I hadn't known about it beforehand. We had the same problem with all the high-ranked threats, and without Dragon sifting through the dross with her systems, we wouldn't be getting anywhere. We'd had that issue in the beginning of the Protectorate. The amount of false reports was staggering.

"Are there any physiological or psychological effects of power loss? Long-term or short-term?" Chevalier asked. "This might make it easier to separate real instances from charlatans."

"In the short-term, the reactions of the victims vary greatly. They range from calm to anger, from long-lasting denial to quick acceptance with no common denominator. On the physiological level, there were no details noticed that might flag someone having been attacked by Slenderman." Dragon explained, then looked to the side for a moment. "As for the long-term, there isn't anything yet proven, but there is one common link between all the earlier victims."

"Which is?" I asked.

"All are missing or dead," Armsmaster replied gruffly.

"What?" Three different people exclaimend at the same time. He had everyone's attention, including mine.

"Out of the ten victims above, only two are known to be still alive: Paige Mcabee and Lung," the male Tinker continued.

"How long has this been known?" Alexandria asked as leaders whispered amongst themselves.

"This trend was only noticed this weekend," Dragon said. "Shadow Stalker vanished from confinement at the South Boston Correctional Facility on May second, but the rest of the data was only found in the last few days. Adam Mustain and Sherrel Bailey, the former Merchants, overdosed in early March while in Tampa Bay. This wasn't seen as abnormal, as they had been heavy drug users all their known lives. Victor is known to have died during the ABB bombing, and his wife Othala hasn't been seen since the first detonation. Oni Lee died the day he met Slenderman. As for the other two ABB lieutenants, Tian Yan committed suicide early on Friday, and Bakuda was found dead in her cell the next day. Bakuda's death, however, isn't believed to be a suicide but retribution for her actions."

"That's a little bit much for a coincidence," I said after a moment of silence.

"True, but outside the Merchants no two died the same way, and even the two who vanished did so under much different circumstances," Dragon pointed out.

I shook my head. "Still, no chance on taking risks. Have the two watched day and night if necessary."

All nodded.

I was interrupted for a moment by someone at my door, and by the time I came back to my desk, the meeting had turned toward security measures. It was clear from the discussion that even a good number of the Protectorate leaders were afraid of what could happen. Paranoia was rampant, and the measures suggested reflected that state of mind. The only ones who seemed in complete control of their emotions were Chevalier, Dragon, Armsmaster and Alexandria.

I won't say there wasn't a knot of fear deep within me, especially at the idea of him in my home, but I didn't see this Slenderman as a current threat. He'd struck fewer than a dozen targets in three months, and outside the first all were villains.

And that's if you consider Shadow Stalker as a Ward. Her file had been particularly illuminating as to why she might have been targeted.

I wasn't going to say he wasn't dangerous, but there were simply more important issues at hand. There was an Endbringer coming in the next few weeks. Other issues paled compared to that.

After a fruitless hour of debate, I closed the meeting and let everyone get back to their regular work. It was clear that further discussion wouldn't improve things.

All save Dragon and Armsmaster, actually. The three of us discussed the matter alone, and after not even fifteen minutes we had the first draft of a valid counter-Slenderman protocol. It wouldn't fix everything, which I doubted was possible, but it was a good first step.

I'd make sure to have it improved in the future.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*