8

Interlude 2

Sophia growled as she took a chair positioned away from the other Wards. Nobody really paid her much attention; most of them were too busy staring at their hands or the table. Armsmaster, standing at the head of the table, eyed them all with stern frown. He crossed his arms. "Today's mission was a failure. I want you to figure out why."

"Aegis, Clockblocker. Why did you two switch costumes?" Sophia didn't even realize they had done that. She arrived a little late to the party, having to come from a bit further away. She hadn't discussed the strategy with the rest of them.

"We thought we could confuse them," Carlos said. "Trick them into attacking Clockblocker first, so he could freeze one of those giant dogs right away."

"Did it work?" Neither of them answered. The question was rhetorical. Armsmaster continued. "They have a high-level Thinker on their team. Did you think they would be fooled for even a second?"

"I'm sorry sir. I..."

"I don't need you to apologize. I need you to think. Analyze. Improve," Armsmaster said. "Now let's suppose they were fooled for some reason. What else could have gone wrong?"

Dennis held his hand up. "I guess… if I didn't tag the dog fast enough, I could have been injured."

"That's right. There's a reason we want Aegis at the front of the fight. We make his costume distinctive bright red. It attracts attention. His powers are meant to take hits. We want enemies to know this as well, so they know to hold back against everyone else. Villains or not, most are willing to follow the unwritten rules. The Undersiders are small-time, and have no kills to date. Baiting them into accidentally killing one of you helps nobody."

Sophia resisted the urge to scoff. It had been a stupid move, for sure, but she wouldn't have even cared if Clockblocker got himself killed. He annoyed her so much with what he considered to be a smart mouth. But she only ever heard dumb shit spewing from him. If his dying earned the Undersiders a reputation for killing, then it would be even easier to justify if she "accidentally" used lethal force on them. Especially Grue.

Carlos hung his head low. "Sorry, sir. As the leader of the Wards team, I'm taking responsibility for the decision." The idea had seemed brilliant at the time, but they had only thought of it on the way to the bank. They'd fallen into the trap of thinking of all the ways it could go right, they didn't stop to think of how it could go wrong.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Carlos. We discussed the strategy together. We all made the mistake as a group," Dean said, giving Carlos a pat on the one part of his back that didn't have holes or blood on it. Vista and Kid Win nodded.

Sophia just dropped her chin on to her hand. Good thing they couldn't see her roll her eyes through her mask. She couldn't stand this lovey-dovey group hug bullshit. Her whole team acted like weak herd of scared animals, huddling together like that.

"Kid Win. What was the weapon you used?" Armsmaster turned to Chris, who shrank back as his breath hitched.

"Um… I don't really have a name for it... I just finished building it." Chris rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"The name is unimportant," Armsmaster said. "What is it?"

"It's a cannon based on alternating EM and gravitic fields, so for now I'll just call it an Alternator Cannon..."

"This cannon. How powerful is it?"

"Um... Brute... four?" he said without any confidence, as if Armsmaster had the answer himself. Armsmaster had confiscated the cannon immediately after the bank robbery, but even the experienced Tinker couldn't analyze new tech that quickly.

"Any weapon capable of a Brute four takedown would be lethal to all non-Brutes it hit, unless it operates specifically with nonlethal methods. An EM-gravitic force projector simply applies direct force, if I'm not mistaken. Am I?"

"N.. no sir, you aren't. I thought it would be helpful against, you know, the giant dogs..."

Fucking hell, Sophia wanted to smack that dumbass. First you have a Tinker who couldn't even do math, and then he goes out and uses a lethal weapon in broad daylight.

Not that she had any problem with her teammates using powerful weapons – she thought the PRT was way too soft, and the Youth Guard just got in the way. She hated how the Wards program had muzzled her. She'd been making a real difference, teaching criminals lessons they wouldn't forget, before the damn PRT stopped her. Some criminals just didn't learn, and needed to be put down permanently. Others were just that fucking tough – Hookwolf, Kaiser, Lung, among others. This was a town where a villain with car-sized demon dogs was considered a small-time criminal. They needed hard-hitting weapons.

Except Sophia prided herself on being smart enough to keep a hidden stash, and do it at night, and off-patrol. Kid fucking Win was such a loser, he couldn't even think of something that obvious. Sophia wasn't jealous of his power, but she was certain she could have done way better than he did at it.

"Untested, and unapproved, Tinker-tech on the field. You know exactly how many rules that broke."

Chris nodded quietly without answering.

"If you need more power against a tough Brute opponent, then call for PRT backup. Testing isn't meant to be done on the field, especially not a situation that involves civilian hostages, Kid Win. We need to know your weapon's strengths and weaknesses. Accuracy. Reliability. How it fits into the team dynamic. What's its major weakness that you saw today?"

"I… I have to mount on a tripod to operate it?"

"That's one of them. You're meant to be our aerial scout and mobile support. What happens when one of our most mobile members suddenly becomes rooted to the ground?"

Chris didn't answer, feeling ashamed of himself.

Dean gave Chris a light punch to the shoulder. "Hey, Chris, don't worry. Look, it's a good weapon, and I think we can develop good strategies with it. Armsmaster is just saying that we need to figure out how to fit it in, right?"

Armsmastaer cut in. "No. It is unlikely such a weapon would ever be approved, especially now that the board believes you brought it out in secret specifically to undermine their authority. Moreover, there will be additional restrictions on your Tinkering –"

Chris's face turned to horror. "No..." he squeaked out quietly.

"– including a sign-in, sign-out system for your workshop, a cut to your Tinkering budget, and unscheduled inspections to your workshop by any board member at any time for the next three months."

Chris looked like he was in physical pain.

"I... I don't think he should take all the blame," Carlos said. "Sacrificing our most mobile member for more firepower is a strategic decision that affected the entire team. It's partly my fault for not seeing those issues."

Armsmaster nodded. "As for you, Gallant. Was it your call that brought Glory Girl to the scene?"

"Actually, it was her sister. She texted both of us when the robbery began," Dean answered. He knew everyone would suspect he was involved when Glory Girl was involved. They were dating again, and he often skirted the line when it came to sharing intel. This time it really wasn't his fault, though.

"Do try to coordinate with other heroes when possible," Armsmaster said. That was probably the closest thing to a compliment they could expect today.

Dennis snorted. "Coordinate? With Collateral Damage Barbie? She does what she wants and we just have to plan around that."

Dean glared at Dennis. "Hey, don't call her that!"

Dennis shrugged. "Just because you're dating her doesn't mean it isn't true. I bet the damage she caused to the building costs more than what the villains managed to steal."

Carlos got up and pushed the two of them apart before the argument escalated. "Guys, drop it. That's not the point. We need to work with allies sometimes, and not all of them are just going to follow our orders even when we're working for the same goal. We just need to plan around that. Right, Armsmaster?"

"Correct. This is especially important during Endbringer fights. If you choose to join, you will be fighting alongside villains. I can give you recorded data on several non-Protectorate heroes, especially New Wave, as well as some known villains as well. This is something you need to account for in your plans. Other times, especially against S-class threats, we may potentially have to enact a truce."

Sophia hated that. They wouldn't have problems like that if they just dealt with the criminals instead of slapping them with paper handcuffs and letting them walk free. Let 'em die, end of story.

Finally, Armsmaster turned to Sophia. "Shadow Stalker. What happened at the back of the bank?"

"I ran into someone," she said.

"Why didn't you escape immediately? If you were spotted, any stealth advantage is forfeit. That means it's time to regroup and develop a new strategy."

Sophia balled her fists tightly, feeling her nails dig into her palm. She didn't run. She was a fucking predator, and she sure as shit didn't show weakness in front of that loser Hebert of all people. "I thought I could take them. It was just the Thinker."

Armsmaster tapped something on his suit. "A high-level thinker who has previously demonstrated the ability to formulate advanced escape strategies. According to witnesses, she also had a hostage. This sounds like an extremely high-risk situation."

"I could have taken them," Sophia muttered.

"The results say otherwise," Armsmaster said plainly.

"She fought dirty-" She started to retort.

"They're villains! Of course they fight dirty!" Dean said.

"No, I mean, the hostage wasn't really a hostage! She's working with them! She's a villain too!"

Armsmaster frowned. "Witness reports say that she was taken at gunpoint. When the fight was over, she stayed behind to render first aid, according to Glory Girl. I find that hard to believe." He silently checked his lie detector. 68% chance of truth. Hm. Not enough to confirm, but she probably suspected or believed it herself. Interesting. Might be cause for investigation, but he would put it at low priority. The girl had been helpful and stayed with Panacea when she was taken to the hospital, so they hadn't managed to contact her for an interview yet.

"If you believe the hostage was secretly an accomplice, then you were even further outnumbered. Even more reason to retreat. You will need to review risk assessment protocols and simulations. You were found unconscious after the battle. You could have been killed. You're lucky they were merciful."

Sophia fumed. She did not run away from the loser. She was a predator, those scrawny bitches were prey. She didn't win by luck, she won by skill. They were the ones who had gotten lucky. And she sure as fuck didn't depend on the mercy of her prey.

"Wait, you're calling her a villain? What's her power?"

"Fuck if I know. Something to do with hair, I bet," Sophia answered. It couldn't have just been coincidence that, just after they tried to cut Hebert's hair, their own hair started falling out. They hadn't noticed the first few days, but tracing it back, it made sense. It figured that loser would trigger from something as dumb as a fucking haircut. And get an equally weak power from it.

"Hair? What makes you say that?"

"Just look at me!" Sophia snarled as she finally took off her mask. The hair covering went with it, and now she was practically sporting a buzz cut. There were a few normal-length hairs left on her head, mostly at random though, making it especially patchy and ugly. It was quite possibly the worst haircut any of them had ever seen. She hadn't shown herself outside of her costume even to her teammates for the past week, having chosen to change before arriving.

"She's this loser at school that has no friends! I think she probably triggered when someone made fun of her hair, and now me, along with any other girl with better hair than her, is losing their hair." Sophia didn't want to give away the fact that she and Emma had specifically been targeted by Taylor. That would draw too much attention. Just pretend she had been caught in the crossfire.

Armsmaster didn't quite understand fashion or style. He understood function. And, to be frank, short hair was far more functional in the field than long hair. Less things for enemies to grab, less chance of snagging on random equipment. He would have approved Shadow Stalker's new haircut for its practicality, except she started yelling.

Oddly enough, his truth detector was also running low. 25% chance of truth. Either his lie detector needed more refinement, or Shadow Stalker was making things up. Then again, the software was still in beta. She was already agitated because of the failed mission. Teenage emotions ran higher than with adults, throwing off the detector's accuracy. And he had yet to fully calibrate perspiration and circulation graphs for people of darker skin. He didn't discount either possibility, but he knew the software wasn't good enough to judge people with just yet.

"Are you certain she is the parahuman? How have you confirmed it?"

"I just... I... no," Sophia said with an angry huff. She had to admit there was always a possibility that it wasn't Hebert. A small one, sure. She could feel it down to her bones, but Armsmaster would mostly dismiss her feelings as pointless, non-objective evidence. It could have been someone wanting to frame Hebert, because everyone knew she hated her, Emma, and Madison. But she knew it was Hebert.

"No injury, no permanent damage. I can't seem to detect the method of damage. Maybe a capillokinetic Shaker? Did she touch you?"

"At school? We bump into each other in class all the time," Sophia said. "You need to come to Winslow and arrest her."

Armsmaster shook his head. "Not without evidence. And we are not outing the identity of a cape, if she is a cape, who by all public accounts was a victim and acted heroically under threat."

"A fucking hero?" Sophia shouted angrily as she pointed at her head. "You think someone who does this is a hero?"

The other Wards were standing far away from Sophia. They didn't want to be part of this fight. Dennis was tempted to crack a joke if it had been anyone other than Sophia, but he had learned that she couldn't take a joke. She'd punch him. Not a friendly punch, either. A straight-for-a-broken-nose punch. Then again, he hadn't been able to voice his feelings on Sophia for a while. As long as she didn't hear...

"Well, at least her hair matches her personality now. Prickly and not much of it," he whispered to his teammates.

"Shut up, Dennis," Carlos whispered back.

"As I already said, we will investigate. Do you believe she had a personal grudge against you?" Armsmaster asked.

"Who doesn't?" Dennis whispered.

"Shut up, Dennis," Carlos repeated.

"Hell if I know," Sophia said, crossing her arms and avoiding Armsmaster's gaze.

5% chance of truth. Armsmaster noted that his lie detector flashed a silent warning at him. A number this low was almost certainly a lie, despite the experimental nature of the lie detecting software. Then again, Sophia was of African descent, in a school with large numbers of Empire Eighty-Eight members. Her vague answer didn't inherently indicate deception. The Hebert girl was white, but there were no other indicators to indicate she was a neo-Nazi.

"So you haven't had any significant interaction with this person before?"

Sophia huffed angrily. "She keeps trying to get me in trouble. Blaming me for random shit just because she's a weak, unpopular loser."

8% chance of truth. Armsmaster noted the consistently low score. He'd developed this system with Dragon. Together, they were two of the best Tinkers in the world. Granted, the system needed more testing, so maybe he would save these recordings and run them through the software again when it was improved.

"And you're sure she's a cape? How do you know?"

Sophia grabbed the last remaining strands of her hair and lifted them up with her hands. "Look at this! You think anyone could do this without cape powers?"

Dennis leaned over to Carlos. "Shaker 1, definitely. Causes hair in the area of effect to fall out. The Barber of Brockton Bay," he said in a low voice.

"Cockblocker, as your team leader I am ordering you to shut up," Carlos whispered back.

Armsmaster noted the 90% truth rating. The only thing that was probably truthful so far. But she only stated the obvious. He hadn't detected anything on Sophia that would indicate a chemical or biological agent, which would generally lead to a Shaker power. The exact nature of those were much harder to pin down, and often needed to be witnessed in the act.

"The fact that a power was used is not in question. I'm asking how sure you are that the owner of such power is the same girl who was taken hostage at the bank."

Being a Tinker himself, he suspected the possibility of a Tinker as well. Then again, it was easy to pin everything on Tinkers; they had the greatest flexibility given enough time. He had found some micro-machines in ABB territory after Lung's last rampage. He also knew the ABB had recently recruited a new Tinker, though they primarily suspected the Tinker specialized in explosives. That was unconfirmed, though. The micromachines he found could have done the damage to Shadow Stalker's hair, and she may have picked some up when patrolling in the area.

It was a shame the machines had self-destructed unexpectedly before he could properly analyze them. He would have wanted to get the samples to Dragon, but that was no longer possible. In any case... why would Bakuda specifically want to cut Shadow Stalker's hair? It didn't make sense.

Then again, why would a supposed villain be abandoned by her teammates and stay with Panacea? It sounded far too elaborate and convoluted. It didn't quite make sense either.

In the meantime, though… he had to know more about this cape. "So you suspect this girl is a new cape? Did you try to introduce her to the Wards? Did you witness the trigger event?"

Sophia stiffened almost imperceptibly, but for his social analysis suite it was clear as day. "I don't know, okay? Maybe she has a shit home life."

0.1% chance of Truth. Curiouser and curiouser.

"We will put that matter aside for now. This is also the first major encounter with the Undersiders. What can we say for certain about their powers or how they operate?"

Sophia wanted to say more, but without any evidence to add, she didn't have anything else to pin on Taylor Hebert. She also didn't want to admit that she had been taken out by a desk lamp, either.

"Regent has a taser in his scepter," she said.

"Circus is able to put things into some kind of pocket dimension," Missy said. "In fact, I could sense a weird space-warp near her every time she took her weapons out."

"Well, that would explain how she's so good at stealing things," Gallant noted. "But aren't her jobs usually more lucrative? Like, twenty thousand and up, minimum? Expensive art and jewelry or technology?"

"True. We suspect that's why she prefers to be independent," Armsmaster said. "Though given the Undersiders' theft today, it's far below her usual take, assuming the amount was split five ways."

"How much do the Undersiders usually steal on their jobs?"

"I don't think the other villains reported their losses to us," Dennis said with a grin.

"Did Circus really join the Undersiders?" Kid Win asked.

"Unlikely given her past history, but given the increasing aggressiveness between the ABB and Empire lately, Circus may have joined them seeking protection," Armsmaster said.

A buzzer sounded, along with flashing lights. "Panacea and Glory Girl are here for medical aid," came a voice over the intercom.

Most of the Wards didn't bother masking up again, though Sophia did. Apparently they were mostly friends with each other at Arcadia, so there was no point. Sophia, though, didn't want too many people to recognize her wherever she went.

Panacea walked in with her arm in a cast.

"Oh wow, how did that happen?" Carlos asked.

Panacea sighed. "Don't ask, it's... a dumb story," she said, her eyes flickering over to her sister. Glory Girl was uncharacteristically quiet. "Carlos, if you want to begin..."

"Ah, I'm fine for now," Carlos said. "Dennis might need it more than me."

"Just a scratch," Dennis responded. "You, on the other hand, are still bleeding over the floor. You know we're the ones who are going to have to clean it up later."

"Alright," Carlos agreed. He took off his glove and presented his bare hand to Panacea.

"While you're here, Panacea, could you give us any details about the girl who stayed with you?" Armsmaster asked.

Panacea narrowed her eyes. "Why would you need to know anything about her?" she asked.

"Shadow Stalker suspects that she may have been working with the Undersiders as some kind of hidden member," Armsmaster said.

Panacea shook her head. "I don't see any reason to believe that. She's very kind. All she did was give me first aid. She didn't do anything before the heist as far as I could see, she was just standing in line. If you suspect that she's a cape, then you need to bring her in and interview her. I won't be party to any unmasking."

Armsmaster noted his lie detector's rating on his HUD. He was satisfied with the answer. "No, I simply wanted your opinion. I don't believe there's any further concern."

Sophia gritted her teeth. She had tried to steer Armsmaster to arrest Hebert, but the damn bitch was getting away with it. She got Panacea on her side? Nobody was going to question the city's pet healer. Not only that, Hebert got away with repeatedly calling her a weakling at school. Hebert made a fool of her at the bank. That girl was pissing her off more and more, and she needed to be put in her place.

"I don't need any healing. I'm out," she said, shoving her chair back angrily before stomping out of the meeting room.

The next day, after completing hours of remedial courses later, Sophia needed to work off some steam. Fucking Piggot had grounded the entire Wards team because they failed so badly. She wanted to be out patrolling, catching actual criminals. Sure, the other Wards were also stuck reviewing Rules of Engagement and Basic Patrol classes as punishment, but it wasn't as if they were any good at catching villains. Sophia had actually caught dozens of criminals before the PRT had put her on a leash and threatened juvie.

Now Piggot was punishing her while letting real criminals walk free. This was so fucking backwards!

Her head was nearly bald, and she was certain that Hebert was the cause even if the other heroes weren't taking her seriously. She was certainly a cape, but one that played tricks and couldn't couldn't fight face to face. She was a fucking leech, a disease. She must have allied with the Undersiders – even the Empire wouldn't take a loser like her.

Pretending to be a hostage at the bank pissed her off. Who does that? Who was she fooling? What were the chances that Hebert just happened to be at the bank when the Undersiders robbed it? What were the chances that she just happened to be picked as a hostage? Sophia didn't believe in chances, she didn't believe in luck. The strong survived, the weak died. That was all. And Hebert was weak, so she had gone running to a bunch of other weaklings that would take her in.

Hebert had tried to hide the laugh, but it didn't manage to slip past her. She knew what she had been doing. That fucking pest didn't didn't fear Sophia. She didn't know her place. Sophia was at the top of the food chain, Hebert was at the bottom. She thought she could hide and pretend she was innocent while working with the villains? She needed to remind her what a real hero did to the scum in the city.

Hebert had powers and she was a pest. But whatever power she had, it was obviously nothing to worry about. Garbage in, garbage out - no way a weakling like her could get a strong power. That's why she had resorted to some stupid shit like cutting her hair. She couldn't fight, so she pulled underhanded crap like that. Sophia didn't have proof, so the PRT wouldn't allow her to take down Hebert, and the Protectorate was doing nothing about it.

The Protectorate were sheep. They had stopped her when she was just getting good at stopping villains. They grounded the whole Wards team for trying to stop some villains. They shut her down when she told them exactly where to find a villain. It pissed her off. But unlike the other Wards, she had experience taking out villains without PRT backup – or permission.

She still had her old costume back from her early days as an independent hero. It was simple, cobbled together from a spray-painted hockey mask, dark clothing, and mountain biker pads. Nothing like the armour plating and specialized equipment that the Protectorate had given her during her "rebranding" but against Hebert, it would be more than enough. She also left her crossbow behind – no need for it. Just a knife and some chloroform. Maybe some duct tape. Just enough for a bit of payback, put a healthy dose of fear into the bitch.

It was time to teach Hebert a lesson.

Emma was kind enough to tell her exactly where Hebert lived, and she was smart enough to not ask questions. Hell, she even told her about a weird broken step in front and a creaky gate to watch out for. Sophia chose to head over to at two in the morning. She was sure that the Heberts would be asleep. She found the house pretty easily, and the dark streets kept her hidden. No witnesses.

She prowled around the perimeter of the property first, making sure there were no motion sensors or other alarm systems. It was unlikely she had any; most houses in this area of town were barely being held together. Most of the people who lived here were lower-middle class, and they couldn't afford advanced security systems.

The curtains were mostly closed, and none of the lights were on. No dogs in the area to bark at her either, which was good. She did take the time to check where the power lines connected to the house and any outdoor lights. It was a lesson she had learned the hard way when she had first started out; accidentally running through some live wires in her shadow state. It nearly got her killed.

Like how Hebert and Tattletale had fucking got her at the bank. The memory just pissed Sophia off even more.

One of the few things she was grateful for with the Wards program were the special Tinkertech goggles Armsmaster had given her that gave x-ray vision of wiring in walls. But she couldn't use that here tonight; it probably had tracking tech built into it. She had to rely on her old skills. Good thing that she always kept up her training and didn't let it go to waste. She didn't ever want to become reliant on the PRT, after all.

She used her basic parkour skills and a few seconds later, she was standing on the patio roof. She paused for a minute, waiting and listening. She peered into a window, but trying to see between the curtains didn't give her a great view inside. Climbing up to the second floor was the loudest part of the whole mission. She wanted to make sure she hadn't woken anyone up. As quiet as she was, some people were incredibly light sleepers.

She didn't hear any noise or notice any movement at all through the window, and was satisfied that nobody had noticed. She stalked around the outside of the second floor, carefully peering through the cracks between the curtains of each window to figure out which room was Taylor's. She came across Mr. Hebert's room first, who was snoring loudly. That would help cover her entrance, actually. She moved on, and the next room was obviously Taylor's. She even had an Alexandria poster in her room. What a joke.

Taylor was curled up and hiding completely under her blanket. Good, she wouldn't even see or hear her coming. Sophia phased into her shadow state and silently hopped through the window; it was the only place guaranteed not to have any wiring running through it. She crept up to the bed and pulled out the chloroform, ready to grab Taylor and knock her out. Three… two… one…

She moved away the blanket, only to find clumped up laundry underneath. What?

She sensed danger, and immediately shifted into her shadow state preemptively. She felt a shock of static electricity from the carpet, the pain multiplied by her sensitivity in shadow state. She shifted back to normal for just a second as she winced in pain.

CLANG