Catching Up

— Sophia Hess (Shadowstalker) —

She hadn't entirely realised just how much she had missed this, the feeling of hunting criminal scum without having the PRT holding her leash.

Midas was an asshole, but he was right, she'd been collared and controlled by the Protectorate, turned from a lone wolf into a show dog for them to parade around, defanged so the PRT could show that they'd tamed her.

But now she'd slipped the leash and was free to hunt again, whenever and whoever she wanted.

She'd actually planned to take down some of Midas' men, to show that even if Midas had Sophia Hess under his thumb, Shadowstalker was a free agent.

But it turned out, there was no point. Midas was what people called a white-collar supervillain, because his men didn't do any of the shit she'd come to expect from thugs.

No muggings, no assaults, no rapes, hell most of the civies in Midas' turf seemed happy to see the Syndicate men, they kept the peace and policed their own turf.

The only time things turned violent was when they met with ABB or Empire thugs trying to push into the docks, or if they caught some dumbass deciding to cause trouble in their turf.

She had spotted White Rabbit breaking into a museum or art gallery once or twice, but she'd already learnt she couldn't catch that slippery bitch. Rabbit wasn't a fighter, but she was so damn fast and agile it made catching her near-impossible so she didn't even try anymore.

She didn't care about art theft anyway, who cared if some rich assholes lost fancy drawings?

It was funny, but his turf was basically crime-free compared to the rest of the city, even with it openly being controlled by a supervillain.

Midas told her that it took someone willing to do the bad things to really do good, that they were alike in that regard.

She killed or maimed the dumb thugs who she caught causing trouble so they'd never hurt anyone again, instead of sending them into the revolving doors of the prisons, to be back out on the street in a month.

Midas was conquering the city, because the PRT had failed to make a difference, just maintaining the status quo.

His iron fist made the city a better place, her hunts did the same. They were the same, even if Midas worked on a much larger scale.

So she turned her attention to the rest of the city, the ABB and the Nazis, plus the random scum and leftover merchants who hadn't gotten the message that they weren't welcome anymore.

Midas had supplied her with a phone that had access to his network, a map of the city with marked locations for crimes in progress, villain sightings updated in real time, it made hunting so much easier.

She knew Midas was using her to weaken his enemies, but she didn't particularly mind either.

Her reputation had only grown after her departure from the PRT, even with the PRT declaring her a villain. People had noticed the sudden increase in her activity, how many criminals she'd put down without the PRT deciding when and where she could patrol.

She wasn't just killing anyone she came across, she wasn't that dumb. She decided to follow the Syndicate's guidelines and make the punishment fit the crime.

Petty criminals got off with a beating, nothing permanent but just something to remember her by. If they were committing worse crimes, like assault, she'd leave them with a few broken bones.

You couldn't assault anyone with two broken legs after all.

Rapists and murderers she killed, she had no mercy for scum like them.

The gangs wanted her dead for how many of their members she'd put down, the PRT had decreed her a villain and claimed they'd bring her to justice, but the public?

With Midas making villany popular, the public loved her. Sure, some pussies said she was too brutal, but they'd seen the result of Midas's rule, the golden age the docks were experiencing, and they wanted that for themselves.

She was bringing some of that order to the rest of the city.

The PRT could call her a villain all they wanted, she didn't give a damn. Hell, she hoped they were dumb enough to try and take her down, maybe they'd bring Hebert with them, she had that score to settle after all.

Maybe she should thank Taylor for getting her arrested, because that was what helped her break free from the PRT, but she still needed to teach Taylor that even if she was a cape now, she was still prey.

The heads up display in her mask lit up as she got a text, making her pause as she read her message.

'Have you talked to him yet?'

Ugh, Emma was many things but patience wasn't one of them.

Replying quickly, she rolled her eyes as she reminded Emma that Midas was a busy guy, and that she'd talk to him when they next met up.

Which happened fairly often in all honesty, Midas calling her to his bed.

Emma wanted to be a cape, and honestly, she thought Emma would make a decent sidekick, but the only way for her to get powers was through Midas.

So she had to convince Midas to make Emma a cape, which shouldn't be that hard right?

But for now, she had more important things to focus on, peering over the rooftop as she arrived at the marked crime location, seeing three skinheads breaking into a store, Empire 88 markings on their body or clothes.

Checking the map, she made a note of where the empire's heavy hitters were last sighted before grinning and taking aim.

The Empire had made it clear they wanted her dead or gone, but Midas' network made avoiding the ones she couldn't handle all too easy.

Yeah, life was good for Sophia Hess, and it was about to be real bad for skinheads 1, 2 and 3.

— Helena Bertinelli (Huntress) —

Somehow, being turned into Midas' sex toy for a week or two was the least problematic part of her having been captured.

Midas had plenty of sex tapes of her and him, and every day she expected to find her nudes leaked all over the internet, but whatever he wanted them for, he hadn't shared them since he'd released her, thanks to the deal the Birds had made to free her.

Honestly, she didn't even mind the sex that much, even if she wasn't used to being the sub. Midas was in damn good shape and he knew how to use what god had given him.

If he leaked the videos, it would be rather embarrassing to have the world see her begging the villain not to stop, pleading with him for more, but she supposed it was better than not enjoying her time as his little heroic cumdump.

But no, the worst part of all this was Shadowstalker.

She'd gone off the rails, leaving a trail of crippled thugs and corpses in her wake, and while Helena didn't entirely disagree with crippling criminals, Shadowstalker had pissed off the ABB, Empire and PRT simultaneously, and it was going to get her killed at this rate.

Midas had manipulated Shadowstalker, and it was her fault. She'd been the one to take Shadowstalker with her to spy on the League, resulting in Shadowstalker getting captured.

She needed to fix this, hopefully by convincing Shadowstalker to join the Birds of Prey. Of course she needed to find Shadowstalker first, and the vigilante had become extremely elusive lately, striking without warning before vanishing, only to strike again halfway across the city.

— Carol Dallon (Brandish) —

"Don't glare at me, I'm trying to save New Wave," Jin said, making her roll her eyes as she sat in his office, mercifully dressed again after the unnecessarily-long naked photoshoot he had had her do.

It was bad enough that he now had dozens of professionally taken photos of her in various states of undress, including plenty of tasteful nudes, but he also had a few ones for his private enjoyment that wouldn't be going public that were certainly not tasteful.

Ugh, going public. After all she'd said to Vicky, her own breasts were going to be on the internet soon.

"By blackmailing me?" Carol asked, making him chuckle.

"I'm covering for your reckless behaviour, do you realise how quickly New Wave would fall apart if people found out about your little affair?" Jin pointed out calmly, making her wince slightly. "New Wave has always styled itself as a family unit. Do you really think people will trust you if they find out two of the top members were having an affair? That's ignoring Sarah's reaction when she finds out that one of the many women Neil was fucking was her own sister, and of course Mark's reaction if he finds out Vicky isn't his daughter. I can certainly see where Vicky got her recklessness, Carol."

She didn't respond, how could she? Jin was right, if word leaked it would be the end of New Wave. All the lectures she gave Vicky and Amy about the importance of keeping up appearances, and it was her that would destroy them.

"What if Amy tells someone? I don't know where-"

"I do, and Amy won't leak this, for Vicky and Mark's sakes if for nothing else. Amy is safe, she'll return when she's ready," Jin said, making her pause.

"You've known where she is this entire time?" Carol asked, making him nod.

"I have, but forcing her to return would just make matters worse. There's burnt out and then there's Amy. You realise you were pushing her far too hard, right?" Jin pointed out, continuing before she could protest. "But we aren't here to talk about Amy. Frankly, Midas already knows about your affair, fortunately I was able to convince him not to leak it. To say you owe me would be a colossal understatement, given that securing his silence wasn't cheap."

"How did he know?" Carol asked, dreading to think about what else the supervillain knew about New Wave.

"The same way I did, he's a Thinker and a damn powerful one. Assume he always knows everything and you'll be right more often than you're wrong," Jin sighed, taking a sip of his whiskey. "Fortunately, I had some information he didn't and he agreed to keep your secret in exchange for it. Don't worry, the only people it will hurt are the Empire, though it will help Midas expand his territory as well."

She'd helped Midas, inadvertently or not, she'd helped the villain who was rapidly becoming the biggest threat in Brockton Bay.

"If New Wave is going to survive, some changes are going to be needed. Firstly, Neil has to go. Sarah planned to bury his affairs at first but too many people have come out claiming to have had liaisons with him, some with evidence no less. Plus, that was before over a dozen women have come out accusing him of sleeping with them, some of them younger than Crystal, Sarah won't stay on a team with him on it, neither would Crystal," Jin continued, making her sigh and nod.

"I've spoken to Sarah about this, they're divorcing and Neil is leaving Brockton Bay. Eric is probably going with him," Carol admitted, seeing New Wave fracture before her eyes. At least this wasn't entirely her fault.

"I know, Sarah has been coming to me for advice on how to proceed. What you probably don't know is that Neil is in talks with the PRT to join them, with Eric joining the Wards in whichever city they end up in. Eric looks up to his father, even despite all this. Frankly, New Wave needs a major victory to pull themselves out of this situation," Jin said, leaning back in his chair. "I have a few ideas about how to get New Wave some good PR, but without any actual results it won't matter."

"Why are you even helping us?" Carol asked, making Jin chuckle.

She didn't believe it was out of the goodness of his heart, especially not after he'd essentially blackmailed her into working for him.

They'd just got done with her first photoshoot, and he'd clearly enjoyed making her strip for him.

"I have plans for Brockton Bay and New Wave are a part of them. I can't have you falling apart when I need you to help counter Midas' little League of Villains," Jin said plainly. "Besides, Vicky asked me to help and despite what you may think, I do care for her."

"Despite the fact that you're fucking my sister and niece as well?" Carol asked, making Jin chuckle.

"And many others, I assure you. Everyone has their vices, and unlike you I've always been open about my dalliances. After cuckolding Mark and your sister, making him think that Vicky was his daughter, are you really in a position to judge me for my actions?" Jin asked bluntly, making her wince at his tone.

She wasn't used to being on the defensive like this. She'd spent years being in charge and Jin had just walked in and taken that away.

"That's what I thought," Jin said simply. "It's your fault you're in this mess, so be a good girl and do as you're told. Honestly, you Dallon girls need a firm hand to keep you out of trouble. Vicky is happier and far more effective with my guidance, I'm sure you'll also thrive under me."

The worst part is that she couldn't deny that Vicky was doing much better lately, besides the amount of criminals and villains she was taking down increasing considerably, she wasn't even committing anywhere near as much collateral damage anymore. Plus, she was clearly happier with Jin than she was with Dean.

"And if I don't want to be under you?" Carol asked, making him smile.

"We both know that isn't really an option for you, to be perfectly blunt, New Wave can survive without you. You're powerful but rather… unpopular due to your personality, even amongst other heroes. If your family finds out about you and Neil, it would break them, but I could use that to rebuild them. Sarah, Vicky, Crystal and Amy would rebrand as an independent team under my guidance, Mark, I imagine, would fall deeper into depression and potentially become suicidal, and you'd be seen as a complete hypocrite. Maybe you'd be able to stay as an independent hero, but you'd need to rebrand and move cities at the very least. I assure you, Sarah and Vicky would never forgive you, I don't need to be a Thinker to see that," Jin explained, laying out her future.

"And you'd put them through that?" Carol asked darkly, making Jin chuckle.

"No, you would. I'm betraying Vicky and Sarah by not telling them, the honest thing to do would be to expose your betrayal, despite the consequences. You've always pushed for heroes to have more accountability, and here you are trying to avoid taking accountability for your own actions, so don't try to paint yourself as the victim here," Jin said coldly, making her wince again.

"You're not exactly innocent yourself, I doubt those pictures you made me take were purely for the sake of this photoshoot," Carol growled, knowing he had pictures of her naked and touching herself.

"No, that was because I'm annoyed at how much work your indiscretions caused me and I wanted to punish you for it," Jin said, moving around his desk and bending her as she stiffened, his hands on her shoulders, gently massaging them. Despite her tension, she couldn't help but enjoy the way his talented hands massaged her shoulders. "With how much stress and work you've made me, I decided to punish you a little while getting some entertainment at the same time."

Going silent, she bit down her natural reaction as one of Jin's hands moved down and unbuttoned her shirt, before he slipped his hand into her shirt and cupped her breast, groping her over her bra.

Pulling back, Jin smirked at her as he walked back around. He'd proven his point, he could just blatantly molest her and she couldn't stop him. She was already under him, nothing she said would change that.

"Stand up," Jin ordered, watching as she reluctantly obeyed. "Bend over my desk."

She hesitated again as she gave Jin a truly venomous glare, before she slowly and mechanically moved to obey his demand, not resisting as she felt him undo her belt and pull her trousers down to her ankles.

He paused for a moment, looking at her ass, which was barely covered by the lacy black underwear she had been told to wear for the photoshoot, the string slipping between her firm buttocks.

"You know, I'm a little undecided here. I could pull those sexy panties to get side and fuck you right here and now, on the same desk I fucked your daughter on earlier today," Jin said, giving her ass a light slap. "Or I could just spank you, discipline you for being such a naughty girl."

Looking over her shoulder, she glared at him as he gave her a cocky smirk.

"Why don't you choose?" Jin asked, making her glare deepen. To be honest, she'd been drinking while they had been doing the photoshoot, and with the expensive wine in her veins she didn't think about her answer nearly as well as she should have.

"Fuck you."

"As you wish," Jin replied immediately, her eyes widening as she cursed her poor choice of words, but as her panties joined her trousers and his belt was undone, she didn't move at all.

Legs as parted as they could be with her trousers still partially on, she gasped as she felt him push the tip of his cock against her ever-so-slightly wet slit.

And then he was inside her, no foreplay, no gentleness, a single thrust and her daughter's lover sheathed his cock entirely inside her tight cunt, a moan leaving her lips.

A traitorous part of her mind suddenly realised why Vicky, Sarah and Crystal had been so happy lately, as Jin hit spots that had been left untouched for a decade at least.

Gripping the expensive wood, she grunted as she tried to force down her moans, not wanting him to know that her body was enjoying this more than it should have been.

Her sex life wasn't exactly active. Neil might have continued his indiscretions with other girls after she broke off their affair, but she hadn't.

Mark hadn't slept with her in years, between the meds killing his sex drive and his depression doing the rest when he didn't take them, he just wasn't interested in her body anymore, and the only time in recent memory where she'd touched herself was when Jin had ordered her to do it for the camera, and she hadn't managed to cum then.

She did cum as Jin railed her hard and fast against his desk, roughly using her body for his own pleasure with no regard for how much she wanted to be there. Mark would never just use her like this, but Jin wasn't Mark, Jin didn't give a shit how much she disliked him, he didn't care if she enjoyed this because he was punishing her.

Tch, this wasn't about punishment, the horny bastard just wanted to fuck her, like he'd fucked her daughter and sister.

He'd practically had the entire set, all the New Wave girls with the exception of Amy, and somehow she wouldn't be surprised to find out Amy was stashed in one of his fancy penthouses, riding his dick daily.

Her grunts quickly turned into reluctant moans as Jin had his way with her, one leg pushed up on the desk as he thrust into her again and again, the sounds of flesh clapping together filling the office.

She was a talented lawyer, a powerful heroine, and here she was being used like a cheap whore by some asshole thinker who'd shown up and immediately taken control of everyone's lives.

…she fucking hated Thinkers.

As Jin pulled out, she felt his seed splatter against her ass and lower back.

"Wouldn't want poor Mark to have to raise yet another man's daughter," Jin said calmly, grabbing his glass and finishing it as she stood up on shaky legs.

"Y-you don't seem to care about cucking him," Carol muttered, panting slightly as Jin chuckled.

"I don't, and don't bother getting dressed, we aren't done. Actually, lose the rest of the clothes," Jin ordered, taking off his shirt.

Despite herself, a thrill of arousal shot through her as she watched him unbutton his top, revealing a very well-built chest.

Sighing, she copied him as she removed her own shirt, feeling his eyes on her body as she unclipped her bra.

She shouldn't like this. He was blackmailing her into being his sex toy, she should hate every moment of this.

Sitting down on his couch, he leaned back and smirked at her, his cock still hard and standing proud.

"Come here, ride me," Jin ordered, watching her move over and climb into his lap, grasping his cock and lining it up with her now very wet pussy, before she lowered herself down onto it, hating that she enjoyed the feeling of fullness as he cupped her ass, giving her a light spank. "Good girl."

She should hate this, so why did she feel a thrill of pleasure as he pulled her towards himself and roughly kissed her?

— Lisa Wilburn (Tattletale) —

Life was good for her, since Midas had taken over the Undersiders.

Sure, Coil was still alive and a threat, but Midas assured her that he had plans for him, and she believed him, if only because she didn't believe he wanted the competition.

But in general?

Sitting in her very fancy office, she stretched with a grin as she looked over the data she was being fed by Midas' expansive information network.

Midas had realised that she was wasted on the ground, sure she could be useful on heists, but her powers were better suited in this kind of role.

Sitting in the shadows, pulling strings and gathering information without ever being in the slightest amount of danger.

She basically ran Midas' shadow network, making a fortune without ever needing to leave her very fancy penthouse (provided by her generous boss).

Of course, given that she ran Midas' network, it meant she had access to information that nobody else but Midas himself could access… and she could see how far his plans truly went.

He didn't want Brockton Bay, he didn't even want America. Midas was already spreading his roots through almost every first world country, just information gathering at the moment, but she didn't need her power to tell her that he had much bigger plans than that.

He wanted the world, and she was starting to believe he'd truly get it.

Of course that meant she was along for the ride, because she found that she very much enjoyed her current life.

Sitting back in her chair, the Shadow Broker smiled as she looked over the secrets she'd gathered.

It was Midas' idea of course, to make a new persona for her as the world's most premier trader of secrets. A rogue, affiliated with the League of Villains, trading in secrets across the world.

His men gathered the information, and she found how best to use it. From her laptop, she could blackmail a politician, destabilise a country, rig an election and start a war without even bothering to get changed out of her pyjamas.

Some days she dealt with top-level government officials and capes while she was still in bed.

Of course, if she forgot just who her boss was she'd end up dead by the end of the day, but she could happily live as Midas' pet information broker if it meant she got access to secrets like these.

Coil never trusted her nearly this much, but Midas wasn't a fool.

All in all, life was good for Lisa Wilbourn, and Sarah Livsey was truly dead and buried, her parents locked away thanks to an anonymous tip about her father's insider trading. Were they actually guilty? Well, did it really matter?

If Coil had access to even a quarter of this information, he'd have won already. Hell, he'd never even needed her to begin with, so she was pretty sure Thomas wasn't in for a good time.

It hadn't been hard to work out when Midas had started making files on all high-ranking PRT members and found more than a few discrepancies around a certain Mr Calvert, PRT Consultant.

It was breaking the Unwritten Rules, but in the mature and wise words of King Midas, Coil started it.

She'd spilled the beans that Coil had her investigating the civilian identities of the Empire capes, and Midas had paused for a moment before deciding that Coil had forsaken the protection of the Unwritten Rules himself by doing so.

So yes, Mr Calvert didn't have long in this world, whether he knew it or not, as she accessed the camera in his office, deep in his underground base.

The funny thing was that she could kill him right here, right now. His entire base was rigged with explosives, which Syndicate 'Netrunners' had compromised. A single push of a button and Coil would be blown to bits, without even knowing why or how he died.

But Midas had plans for him, and he'd promised her that she'd get her revenge, that Coil would wish she'd just blown him up.

So she watched and she waited.

The rest of the Undersiders were doing pretty good as well, Alec was living his incredibly lazy dreams where he got paid to sit around and play games all day in a fancy hotel room with fancier room service, Rachel was living her best life with her pack which seemed to be constantly growing, a massive piece of land set aside for them to roam.

That, plus her pardon meant she wasn't even wanted anymore, Rachel Lindt was for all intents and purposes a civilian who didn't care about anything but her dogs.

Paige wasn't really an Undersider, but she was doing good as well. She had an apartment in the same building Lisa's penthouse was in, and while she couldn't move freely yet since her pardon was taking longer due to some people dragging their feet back in New York, she was certainly enjoying the fancy apartment more than her cell.

Brian and Hitoshi…

They were in trouble, because Hitoshi had convinced Brian to turn on Midas. She always knew Hitoshi wanted to be a hero despite his master power being seen as villainous, but she didn't think they'd be dumb enough to actually do this.

Brian was pissed that Midas had Aisha and his mother, and Hitoshi convinced him to start leaking information to the PRT, to Armsmaster specifically, as the Tinker was still pissed about how easily Midas humiliated him.

Naturally she found out immediately, because the PRT systems had more holes than Swiss cheese, and Midas told her that he knew they were going to start leaking information on the Syndicate before they even started

He was using them both as enforcers to help keep the other gangs out of his territory, sending them on missions while knowing they were leaking information.

It was a trap, but not for them, it was a trap for the PRT who were starting to see them as legitimate and reliable sources. Midas was giving them crumbs to lure them in, before he'd feed them false information at a crucial point.

This would leave Brian and Hitoshi looking like they'd tricked Armsmaster, closing off that avenue and making it clear that Midas knew what they were doing.

If they were smart, Midas would spare them and put them to work, but if they weren't…

She liked her former teammates, she truly did, but she wasn't going to die for them. She'd try and help them when Midas struck but they'd dug their own grave, she wouldn't be joining them in it.

But until then?

Her life was too good for her to risk messing it up. Sipping her drink, she changed the camera feed, moving from camera to camera, spying on people who would never know she was there.

Stretching, she made sure to aim her body towards the camera in her apartment, wearing only a pair of tiny panties as she gave Midas a show. She didn't know if he was actually looking at her, but she was fairly certain he did check the feeds occasionally.

It was both because she genuinely wanted Midas, his power blocking hers made such thoughts actually possible again, as she didn't get the endless feed of unwanted information from him when they met up in person, and because she knew he was possessive and would take care of her even better if she was a member his ever growing harem.

Then, pressing a few buttons she arranged an untraceable information leak on a politician's embezzlement, smiling as she did. His most likely successor was in the Broker's pocket, her pocket, and Midas was one step closer to achieving his goals.

This was what she was made for, not running petty heists for pocket change.

Yup, life was good for Lisa Wilbourn.

— Rebecca Costa-Brown (Alexandria) —

Midas, Prophet, Jin, whatever the fuck he was calling himself right now, had them by the balls and he knew it.

It wasn't that hard to work out his little deception with the Think Tank once Thinker powers started working again, but they also realised something else.

If Midas got exposed as Prophet, it would only hurt the 'good guys'. Sure, it'd stop him from manipulating New Wave and the other heroes of Brockton, but Midas would drop the act and go villain full time.

Right now, Midas had created a superpower arms race, with his ability to improve powers, and the only dealers were Midas and Prophet.

Villains would go to Midas for upgrades, while the heroes would need to go to Prophet just to keep up.

If Prophet was exposed as being Midas, then he'd drop that persona entirely and there would be no dealer for heroes. Villains would constantly get stronger while the already outnumbered heroes would fall even further behind.

Midas could turn even a useless power into a truly dangerous one in time, so even the lowest of villains could become true threats if they just went to the King.

Which meant that they couldn't let people find out Midas was Prophet. He'd made it so the very heroes he was deceiving needed to help him keep up the act.

The fact was that Prophet could demand any price for his upgrades, and the PRT would have to pay it, because already villains from around America had started to make contact with Midas, negotiating for power ups.

Accord had made a deal with Midas, working as something of a middleman between him and the villains who wanted to approach him, working with the League of Villains (which had already opened a branch in Boston, Hawaii and New York).

That wasn't even mentioning the healing pods Midas had made, he'd sent a single sample to be examined and they did exactly what he claimed. Thinker support claimed he'd found a way to make a Tinker-equivalent of Panacea's power.

Having these set up near an Endbringer attack would save countless lives, and his upgrades were a force multiplier for those same attacks.

So yes, Midas currently had them all by the balls and he could name any price, and they'd have to pay it.

If he wanted Brockton Bay, well Cauldron had already decided to let Coil have it as part of their experiments and she didn't think Coil was long for this world anyway.

If he wanted more Heroines in his bed than just New Wave? He could have his pick of the PRT heroines, including her.

…Especially since Contessa seemed convinced that her becoming Jin's little sex toy was an essential part of the path to beating the Endbringers and Scion.

And the path to ensuring humanity's survival for that matter, as she seemed convinced that Jin would be able to rebuild entire cities (which was certainly necessary given their best estimates on how long civilisation was going to last with the constant threat of the Endbringers).

After everything they'd done? Every evil they'd committed in the name of defeating Scion and saving humanity, pimping out the heroines wasn't even enough to make her bat an eye.

Of course there was also the probability that Contessa's paths were broken, but whatever Midas was doing to break Thinkers had stopped recently and she was still utterly convinced that Jin was the key to victory.

Or they thought she did, considering she was still missing (and occasionally popping up to leave various bdsm equipment and pornographic material in her house).

Even if recruiting him meant giving him Earth Bet, and everyone in it.

— Thomas Calvert (Coil) —

Even with his power working again, Coil didn't trust it as much as he used to, Midas had proven that he could manipulate Thinker powers and that meant he was more vulnerable than he was used to being.

He'd lost the Undersiders, but except for Tattletale he didn't particularly care about them beyond the principle of the matter.

Everything had been going exactly as planned, until Midas had shown up and ruined countless plans, setting him back years.

"Ah, Coil. I wondered when you'd be in touch," Midas said over the phone as Coil scowled. "I take it you're calling about the Undersiders?"

Pausing, he split the timelines out of sheer habit as he tried to decide how to approach this.

Timeline B

Using his second timeline, he decided to try a more aggressive approach, Midas tended to avoid actual confrontation with Villains (beyond the merchants who barely counted on their best day)

"I am, did you really think you could steal my minions without consequences?" Coil asked darkly, hearing a sigh on the other end.

"Ah, so this is your play? Well, yes I did," Midas said calmly.

"I think you'll find-" his words died in his mouth as he watched the security door to his office slam closed, his panic room button activating on its own.

"I did promise Tattletale I'd kill you, and frankly this city only has room for one mastermind, and I think we can both agree I fit the role better," Midas continued as Coil quickly opened his computer, trying to work out what was going on.

Locked out of his own system, he watched the self-destruct countdown start, before rapidly going from thirty minutes down to five.

"How did you-"

"If that's the best security system your money could buy, I would suggest getting a refund, but I suppose that's not going to be an option for you," Midas said calmly.

"You're bluffing, if you know my systems you know these bombs would destroy a good portion of Brockton Bay, you wouldn't blow up the city you keep claiming to want to improve," Coil said quickly, making Midas chuckle.

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong. It's true, the bombs will destroy a considerable portion of the city but whose territory are you hiding under again?" Midas asked rhetorically. "The Empire will be massively weakened when your base blows up such a large section of their territory, and I'll be able to move in and pick up the pieces. The city will be grateful when I rebuild the demolished territory in my image."

He was bluffing, he had to be, but as the timer ticked down, Coil felt a cold sweat come over him.

"People will-"

"Plus, I imagine when they pull the charred remains of Thomas Calvert, PRT Consultant, out of the ruins wearing the burnt remains of a supervillain's costume, the PRT will have bigger things to worry about than me," Midas continued. "Goodbye Coil, Tattletale sends her regards."

Ending the call, the timer suddenly sped up as he desperately tried to input the command code to stop it, watching as it ticked to zero and he discovered that Midas didn't bluff.

— Timeline A —

Sitting in his chair, he suddenly felt extremely unsafe in his own office, Midas had to have already compromised his systems before the phone call.

How long had Midas been in control of his base?

"No, I'm sure Tattletale thinks she's extremely important to my plans but she's always had an over-inflated ego," Coil said smoothly, hiding his sudden terror. "The Undersiders were a useful tool, but one I've already replaced. I must say, I am rather disappointed however."

"Oh? And why is that?" Midas asked.

"I was waiting for my invitation to your League, but I suppose we have little Tattletale to thank for that. I'm sure she's poisoned your opinion of me," Coil said with faked amusement. "Honestly I'm rather disappointed in myself for not thinking of forming such an organisation myself."

His little Dinah claimed there was a 94.68% chance that Midas would allow him to join the League of Villains if Coil approached Midas.

"Ah, considering she claims you want to rule Brockton Bay, a position I also aspire for, yes I suppose she has," Midas chuckled, making Coil frown under his mask.

"To be entirely honest, I did have plans for that, but recent events have changed that. Brockton Bay requires too much work to be worth it, and while you certainly seem to have the resources for your little renewal project, I'm turning my attention elsewhere," Coil claimed, lying out of his ass. "I'm calling because I have an offer for you. I'd like the League's assistance in settling myself up in Honolulu, where the League has just opened its latest branch, in exchange for the services of the Capes I have under my control, including a movement Tinker, a powerful precog, and many others."

He wanted out of Brockton because this base was certainly not safe, while he was further away from Midas he could use his power to compromise the League and turn it against its founder, while Midas busied himself renovating Brockton Bay. Then when he returned, he'd enjoy the fruits of Midas' labour.

"It's certainly a tempting offer, but unfortunately I promised someone your head. Did you know that Tattletale was able to work out exactly when you'd make this phone call?" Midas asked calmly, making him freeze as his door opened.

A group of heavily-armed men walked into his office, deep in his extremely secure underground base. The lead man worked forwards, calmly reaching forwards and pressing the button to put Midas on speaker.

"Now, I don't think this is the kind of conversation we should have over the phone, but don't worry, my friend Bob here will be… escorting you to me so we can discuss just how useful you will be for me in person."

"Wait, you are making a-"

His words were once again cut off as the man apparently named Bob hit him in the side with a stun baton, making him convulse as electricity coursed through his body, and as he fell out of his seat, he watched as another man walked in, wearing a costume that looked identical to his, walking around him and taking a seat in his office.

Pulling off the mask for a moment, the man stared down at him with a face identical to his own.

"Bob, if you could remove Mr Calvert from my office, that would be much appreciated," the fake Coil said, with a voice that was identical to his own.

"Sure thing, Boss.," Bob said calmly, looking down at him for a moment before he shrugged and kicked Coil in the head, knocking him out.

— Jin —

Sitting in Coil's office, with the body Amy made for me, I smile to myself as my netrunners give me access to Coil's systems.

Two down, three to go.

The PRT, the Empire, and the ABB are all that stand between me and ruling this city now, and Coil was nice enough to completely compromise the PRT for me.

As for Coil himself? Well, Lisa said he put a gun to her head, and it's only fair she gets to do the same.

Now that I have my scapegoat, it's time for the next step.