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♦ Topic: Fall of the Empire

In: Boards ► News ► Organizations ► America ► Brockton Bay

Bagrat (Original Poster) (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)

Posted On Feb 4th 2011:

The title is only slightly click-bait, folks. I'm still vetting my sources to add to the thread, but we're possibly looking at something big, and Avalon is the start of it all.

If you live anywhere close to the I-89 exit Downtown, you'll know exactly what I mean. Looks like our resident new rising star decided that things were a little too quiet for his tastes after bagging Hookwolf. As a result, he's made the executive decision to take the hurt to the Empire themselves... by straight up killing three of their capes during what looked to be the Empire's attempt to bust Hookwolf out of containment.

Yes, you read that right. Killing. Deaded. Vamooshed.

Crusader, Stormtiger, and Alabaster were killed with various powers, some of which have not been shown by Avalon before, and to make matters even more crazy - he's apparently running with a team, too. The media I have is only a part of the battle, starting from when the PRT was shot at by what we know was Victor with a sniper rifle.

Obvious warning is obvious: There's blood and dead bodies here, so be advised. I'm not breaking any rules by posting this, but I want to cover my ass.

[TinkertechTruck.jpg]

[ManInPowerArmor.jpg]

[PRTPinnedDown.jpg]

[FinalBossAvalon.mp4]

You can see for yourself in the video above - thank you to @ Brocktonite03 for sharing the footage, but screw you for recording it vertically. I hope you're staying safe, man.

The three neo-nazis killed tonight weren't the only ones involved here, either. Victor and Krieg were captured off-camera, and word on the street is that the same convoy holding Hookwolf was last seen heading out to wherever the hell Birdcage escorts are taken, so chances are he's gone for good. I have no idea what happened to Rune, other than what we saw on camera - Avalon quickly incapacitated her, forced her to yell something out, and then captured her in what appeared to be a glass archway? [GlassArch.jpg]

Regardless, considering she didn't show up for the rest of the battle, it's safe to assume that she's captured as well.

This is all in one night, people. Three of the Empire's parahuman force captured, and three slain, all done either by Avalon's hands or by proxy of him being there just in the nick of time. They have, like, what... six capes left, assuming Purity, Night, and Fog are back terrorizing minorities under Kaiser's orders? That's half of their group, cut in half in one fucking evening.

I'm supposed to go out drinking with my wife tonight so I can't add much more, but I want to be the first one to speak up about the elephant in the room:

Yes, Avalon killed three men.

Yes, Avalon 'escalated' the situation from your standard 'prison break' scenario.

Yes, things are going to get crazy for a while.

But, and take this as MY opinion, I Do Not Care. As a man who, everyday, fears for his life, the life of his black wife, and the life of his unborn daughter... thank you, Avalon. There's so much I could say here, but just thank you will have to suffice until I can buy you a beer. I'm rushing to finish writing this thread as I screw up tying my tie, but I needed to be the first one to post about this situation before someone else flies in and paints this hero out to be the bad guy.

The fewer neo-nazis on the street the cleaner they get in my eyes.

Remember to stay safe, stay strong, and keep believing that things will get better. Brockton Bay is six powerful, white supremacist villains freer than it was yesterday. Things may seem scary, but that's because we've gotten so used to living beneath a status quo of fear, subservience, and ignorance.

Maybe I'm getting more emotional in my old age, but something is moving in my chest and it sure as hell isn't the flu. I got vaccinated last month.

Bagrat, signing out.

PS: Click [HERE] for Avalon's Fan Thread, and [HERE] for his Wiki Entry. It's actively being updated by @ Valkyr while I'm out tonight.

(Showing page 1 of 53)

►Brocktonite03 (Veteran Member)

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

First.

Well... holy shit. I'll share my side before this thread inevitably blows up:

I work a lotta different jobs to keep busy, and one of them had me at the Pilor Resort last night. I was mopping on one of the upper floors when one of the loudest gunshots I've ever heard went off above me. Like any reasonable human being, I went for cover near the window and took out my phone to call the cops.

I didn't have to call them because the PRT were the ones getting shot at, so I ended up just recording it. You can see how that went.

I'm still blinking dark spots out of my eyes from Avalon letting that fuck-off laser beam rip, but I'm back at home safe and sound now with my cats. Paid leave. So feel free to ask me any questions you have while I'm still awake and not in an alcohol-induced coma. I've seen some shit tonight, man.

@ Avalon can't blame you for out-murdering the murderous nazis, but did your driver really have to turn Alabaster into meat confetti?? That's gonna be stuck in my brain for months.

►Thatdude

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

first

►Thatdude

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

FUCK dude how did you type that fast

nvm, who gives a fuck LETS FUCKING GO AVALON!!! i fucking knew he was the chosen one man i told my grandma, literally told her he wasnt fucking w them nazi bitches being in OUR city killing OUr ppl

fucking kill them all dude.

►Deimos

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

Heard the fight from like three blocks away while walking my dog. Went STRAIGHT the opposite fucking direction.

I don't even know what's going on anymore. First Purity strafing beams down the Docks, Night and Fog coming back, and now Avalon's throwing the gauntlet down and killing capes. Is there about to be a gang war? Do I need to move back to Boston??

►Brocktonite03 (Veteran Member)

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

@ Deimos This city's my home and I'm not going anywhere, but I'd understand if you took a vacation or something while shit hit the fan. I doubt the ABB's going to just sit back and accept their turf getting shat on like that, and Avalon doesn't seem like the type to just let things rest after a move like this.

Like Bagrat said, just stay safe man.

►Chaosfaith

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

the fucking mad man actually did it. i genuinely thought hookwolf was a one time thing since he was the one who attacked avalon. this looked planned, though - see how they drove in at the perfect time to hit alabaster?

[screenshot1.jpg]

just... fucking hell. who's he moving with? do we know the ugly guy in the power armor, or the person driving the truck? I'm so lost.

►Deadman

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

Good fucking riddance, about time someone with balls humbled those arrogant fucktards. And of course the PRT was barely able to mop up the leftovers. Smfh

►Lolitup (Cape Groupie)

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

I don't give a shit about the actual murderers dying, call me an evil bitch all you want, but I AM curious about these new powers. @ Bagrat didn't give us many details.

Are we finally respecting Avalon? He can freaking FLY, punch through stone, fire lasers that rival Purity's (link to Purity's feat thread [here]), and none of you are talking about that fucking anime ass golden spear attack he did on Stormtiger towards the end.

I am freaking out right now. He's so fucking BADASS.

@ Chaosfaith Looks like some sort of combat tinker with arm cannons. Check 3:43, Stormtiger kept deflecting his shots back but he's definitely shooting something hot and sharp. The pipes on his back are blowing steam, too.

►Deimos

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

@ Brocktonite03 Nah, I'm going to hold out. I grew up here too. I just don't like how this feels. Like something big is happening and we're in the blast zone.

@ Deadman Fuck off with your edgy anti-authority bullshit, the PRT was clearly taken by surprise by the Empire squad. Whoever was driving that truck barely avoided hitting Armsmaster and the other fucking heroes. The Protectorate's doing the best they could with what they had.

Avalon was out of line here and I stand by that, string me up if you want. Cool powers but the dude’s too much of a wildcard.

►winged_one

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

Hello,

I am not from Brockton Bay but I have been following threads about Avalon for a while now, and I am a big fan. He is a very interesting Parahuman. Is he in trouble for this?

Thank you.

End of Page. 1, 2, 3 ... 51, 52, 53

(Showing page 2 of 53)

►XxVoid_CowboyxX

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

Anyone notice how Rune was the only nazi he saved? after he made her yell something we cant hear and toyed with her like a freaking cat playing with a mouse? plus that archway thing where he captured her for unknwon reasons

theres something there! I've been trying to tell ppl, Avalon isn't just a normal hero. He has PLANS. BIG PLANS. And seducing parahuman women is part of it!!

my mom made an account to follow him on here and she HATES capes. this is bullshit

►FlippinMad (Cape Groupie)

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

I don't know about looking at the video with nazis dying or whatever but can some1 send me the new screenshots of Avalon in DMs please???

►Lolitup (Cape Groupie)

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

@ FlippinMad I got you, check the FC group chat.

@ xxVoid_Cowboyxx You are weird. Don't make claims about Avalon 'seducing' anyone, let alone an underage girl, without knowing anything about him.

►Deadman

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

@ Deimos How about you fuck off and go choke on the Director's clit? I've had homies DIE to these racist assholes, good guys who didn't want shit to do with superpowers or 'gang wars'. Guys who used to just throw dice on the corner for spare cash. Dead and fucking gone because some Empire asshole wanted to shank a person of color for some gang rep.

They shoulda been wiped out years ago. The Protectorate can't handle shit by themselves so it's about time someone steps in and wipes their ass for them. It's just too bad he didn't execute Hookwolf and Krieg on the fucking spot.

Fuck the PRT and fuck you.

►Whitecollar (Cape Wife)

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

Extrajudicial killings are unlawful for a reason, people. Don't let the shiny powers and handsome face distract you from the fact that Avalon and his 'team' straight up killed three capes tonight, and we have NO idea what their overall goals are. At what point are we just condoning vigilantism and street executions for the sake of vengeance and justice? Where is the line drawn?

Can we get an official PRT statement on this before the thread descends into juvenile name-calling and slander?

►AvalonFan82 (Cape Groupie)

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

DOWN WITH THE EMPIRE! WE STAND BEHIND AVALON! DOWN WITH THE EMPIRE! WE STAND BEHIND AVALON! DOWN WITH THE EMPIRE! WE STAND BEHIND AVALON! DOWN WITH THE EMPIRE! WE STAND BEHIND AVALON!

►Tin_Mother (Head Admin)

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

@ AvalonFan82 Take an infraction. No spamming.

@ xxVoid_Cowboyxx You've been warned before: Do not spread unproven rumors or conspiracies about heroes, Void. Take an infraction.

@ Everyone Keep to the topic at hand. The thread about Avalon's supposed powers are here: [LINK]

►ImpishDelight

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

@ Whitecollar sounds about white! LMAO

try talking when you can't walk to school without ugly ass skinheads staring you down like a piece of meat. mfs will follow you to the fking bus stop and laugh when you get scared. freaks

@ Avalon if youre reading this you should totally text me at Removed by Tin_Mother

i'd make a badass sidekick hehe

►Skinhead_88 (Banned)

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

You cut off three heads we just grow them back. Do you really think our glorious Leader is going to be backed into a corner by a fucking dirty Removed by Tin_Mother

User Banned by Tin_Mother

Reason: Racial slurs and general disgusting behavior.

►Reave (Verified PRT Agent)

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

I was on site for this clusterfuck, and I have full permission from Director Piggot to lay out some facts for those worrying about the events that have transpired here.

While we do not condone the unlawful killing of Alabaster, Stormtiger, and Crusader, we will not be pressing down on Avalon from a legal standpoint anytime soon, if at all. There are too many things to worry about right now for us 'good guys' to actively be fighting against each other, like the literal fire raging in the Docks from Purity, Night, and Fog's attack against the ABB. The PRT is not affiliated with Avalon, and furthermore will not corroborate any further premeditated attacks against the Empire 88 while we work to contain the shitshow in the Docks.

That isn't to say that we are going hands-off with the Empire 88, but Avalon's MO is NOT our MO. We do not act above or below the law - we follow it, because to do otherwise introduces a hundred other problems that we could not have possibly accounted for.

Avalon, if you do read this - take it from me, as an agent that has been working his ass off in service to the greater good for years: Slow down, breathe, and fully think about what it is you're doing. Chopping down the root of evil isn't something anyone can do overnight.

End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4 ... 51, 52, 53

(Showing page 3 of 53)

►Deadman

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

Cut and dry milksop bitch response by the suits, fan-fucking-tastic.

@ Deimos You wanna keep riding their dicks or you finally ready to admit that the PRT are the weakest gang in the city?

►Dawgsmiles (Veteran Member)

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

Is the situation in the Docks even that bad? You'd think you guys would capitalize on this opening and actually make some high-profile arrests while the iron's hot...

►Mousiest_Protector (Unverified Cape)

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

MMMMM......

the bay is getting vrrryyyyyy spicy ;] idk what ur feeding the new capes over there, but momma likeys!

►Avalon (Verified Cape) (Actually Him) (Leader of Invictus)

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

@ Reave I ain't reading all that

I'm happy for u tho

Or sorry that happened.

Anyways, logged on to say this: DM @ Iris if you're having any neo-nazi or ABB troubles. We're cleaning shit up tonight.

Avalon out. 👉

►Tin_Mother (Head Admin)

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

... @ Avalon Do I even want to ask about your tags? Who approved of these?

►Valkyr (Wiki Warrior)

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

@ Avalon Invictus???? Is that your team name???? How many powers do you have? Who is @ Iris?! Who else is on your team?!?!

I NEED TO UPDATE THE WIKI!

►Brocktonite03 (Veteran Member)

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

Well god damn, hello @ Avalon. Hope you're having an... eventful night? Don't know why it's so surprising to see you post. We were able to tag you, so obviously you had an account

What do you mean you're cleaning the streets, though?

►Lolitup (Cape Groupie)

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

WAIT WAIT WAIT. @ Avalon Are you out patrolling right now? Like, at 2 AM? What part of the city are you in right now?

►Lady Photon (Leader of New Wave) (Verified Cape) (Verified Mom)

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

The entirety of New Wave is out patrolling right now, @ Avalon. Though we are affiliated with the PRT, we are still our own independent hero organization. If you're performing street-level patrols and sticking to nonlethal with the non-parahuman criminals, we would like to join forces with you and your team and assist with the cleanup. I'll have @ Glory Girl message your partner.

You've done good work.

►winged_one

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

Hello,

@ Avalon You are interesting. I am a big fan.

End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ... 51, 52, 53

(Showing page 4 of 53)

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

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

At dinner with the wife. Saw that Avalon posted, almost choked on my food. She's mad at me for being on my phone.

Why the hell couldn't you break your silence when I was free?!

►AvalonFan82 (Cape Groupie) (Suspended)

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

@ Avalon @ Avalon @ Avalon @ Avalon @ Avalon @ Avalon @ Avalon @ Avalon

WE STAND BEHIND AVALON AND INVICTUS! WE STAND BEHIND AVALON AND INVICTUS! WE STAND BEHIND AVALON AND INVICTUS!

User Suspended by Tin_Mother

Reason: You've been warned.

►SGB

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

@ winged_one Did you see what he did to Stormtiger? They’re not going to fucking touch him with a ten foot pole. Guy’s like a juiced-up video game character that gets stronger every time he fights, and he seems to be fighting quite a lot. No wonder he’s doing their jobs for them.

►CarpeDiem

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

im just fucking happy he’s on our side. brockton bay needed another heavy hitter for the good guys!!

End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 ... 51, 52, 53

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His eyes roamed the assortment of tabs opened up on his laptop’s browser. There were other threads, of course. The denizens of the internet were ridiculously active online, ridiculously nosy online, and ridiculously brave…once again, online. He saw threads like Avalon: Vigilante or Savior?, Avalon VS Kaiser - Who Wins?!, Avalon Dogwalks E88 Stooges, Avalon & Invictus: New Hot Team-

Avalon x Purity Fanfic Suggestions…

Max wanted to toss the whole damn thing out the damn window and rip Downtown to pieces with pillars of steel.

But throwing a temper tantrum was juvenile. It was unbecoming. It wasn’t him.

Instead, he allowed himself a moment to breathe and ruminate on the after-effects of his most recent failure. It had been an overreach of significant proportions, he’d be the first to admit. Hookwolf was important to his organization and one of the strongest Lieutenants he had, and losing him had originally been unacceptable - especially when he took into account just who he’d lost to.

Avalon. Just repeating that boy’s name in his own head made his blood pressure rise.

The new cape was strong and skilled, ridiculously so, and if he had been any flavor of white then the Empire would have snatched him up in a heartbeat. Only, he was a black kid, and a proud one at that. He was the antithesis of everything the Empire 88 stood for, and although that did not necessarily diminish his power or skill in Max’s eyes, it definitely did in the eyes of his organization at large. The Empire was built on the bones and suffering of the colored folk, carefully and painstakingly created by his father before him, and who was he to rip up what worked?

White people loved hearing about how much better they were than others. Arrogance and pride ran blood deep in his family, and Max didn’t think that he managed to avoid all of the prejudice propaganda fed to him since he was a baby. The blacks were notoriously ghetto and noisy, the spics were good at yardwork and jumping borders, and the Asians were apparently sex traffickers, so they were clearly the ones fucking up their own reputation. When everything lined up so seamlessly, even if he didn’t truly believe as strongly as his father and sister did, why wouldn’t he take the easy way to the top and perpetuate those beliefs?

It kept everyone fat and happy with delusions of superiority beneath his rule, which was all that mattered.

Avalon’s fate was supposed to have been sealed alongside Hookwolf’s arrest. They’d break him out, as they did the other two times he’d been captured, and spend the next few weeks hunting down this new cape, feeling him out and getting a good grip on how he operated and where he patrolled. Before he could truly make a name for himself past what nailing Hookwolf managed to garner him, they’d move in - fast, strong, overwhelming - and crush him like the bug he ultimately was.

Individually, he was strong. Against an entire Empire, he was nothing.

At least, that’s what Max had thought. 

He had dedicated an entire squad, roughly half of his active parahuman force, to retrieving Hookwolf in the off chance that Avalon intervened. It had been a decent plan - a good plan, with Purity, Night, and Fog dividing the Protectorate’s attention. The boy hadn’t shown any sort of Thinker ability back when he had fought Hookwolf, so how was he supposed to know that he would show up just in the nick of time? How was he supposed to know that the kid had apparently grown in leaps and bounds in like five days, gaining the ability to fly and summon hurricanes at will?

His eyes returned to the laptop, and Max clicked back to the video of the fight. The footage was blurry due to the zoom, and nothing could be heard past the cameraman’s frightened breathing, but none of that mattered at all. He played that one clip again.

Golden spears lit up the sky like the weapons of a vengeful angel, and Avalon stood above it all, arrogant in the way that he looked down at Stormtiger. He gestured down, and the spears - over a hundred, conjoined by rippling lines of energy - descended with righteous fury.

His jaw clenched, and despair gnawed at his heart. He had to think. He had to recover. He had to win-

“Max,” Kayden’s voice, hesitant but resolute in that juxtaposing way that would have normally amused him, pulled him out of his thoughts. Before he could properly shush her, she quickly pushed on. “I- no, we’ve done as you’ve asked. Regardless of whether your plan was successful or not, I… I want what you promised me. I want your legally-bound and documented word that you leave Aster in my care permanently, no loopholes or backdoors. I’ve emailed you the documents already.”

Anger immediately overwhelmed the flagging anxiety in his heart, but Max knew how to walk, talk, and play the game - intimately. He hid his frustration behind a cold, yet charming smile, leaning back just enough to steeple his hands in front of his chin. Kayden was standing - he’d removed the seats from in front of his desk for this exact meeting - with her arms crossed over her decently sized chest.

It was a defensive tactic.

She was uncomfortable with simply standing there with her arms flaccid at her side, watching him lounge back and recline in his expensive leather chair, so she crossed them over her chest in a failed attempt to seem more assertive and dominant. Her eyes were staring at a place between his own cool blue gaze and the chiseled slant of his nose - meaning she felt intimidated by his presence, all things he already knew.

As much as she tried to seem in control, Max knew the truth. Kayden was desperate. He was the one who had what she wanted. He was the only one who could give it to her. And although he had failed tonight, she had just ruined nearly two years of ‘independent hero work’ helping him out.

She had no chips to play with, and he had everything.

“Kady,” he murmured, sounding the perfect mixture of frustrated and aggrieved, “I think we’re both well aware of the situation I’ve found myself in tonight. Do you truly wish to hammer it in by forcing me to sign away my rights as a father as well? The same night I’ve come so close to losing what we’ve both worked over a decade to build?”

He had always been an amazing actor and gaslighter. If it wasn’t for the fact that he owned a multi-million dollar company and a lucrative criminal enterprise beneath it, Max probably would have given being an actual superstar a genuine attempt. As it stood, his life’s goal of being an Emperor of Man was better achieved via neo-nazism and bloodshed than movie roles and sports cars.

Kayden, of course, fell for it hook, line, and sinker, an almost heartbroken sound of hopelessness being swallowed down into a displeased grunt. The halogen lights streaming down from his ceiling made her chocolate brown eyes almost glint with barely restrained emotion. “I told you-” she licked her lips, taking a step forward. “I told you that the plan was too risky, Max! You should’ve known-”

“Known what, Kayden?” he rebutted, head angled downwards to darken his face with shadows. His lips were frowning, but he resisted the urge to scowl in anger. “That this ‘Avalon’ boy would have a team of Tinkers ready and prepared in three short days? That they would possess the ability and stomach to kill three of my men in front of the PRT? You and I both know that is unfair.”

BAM!

Her hands, so small and pale, slammed into the varnished wood of his office desk, misplacing a few sheets of paperwork. Calmly, Max moved the documents back into their proper spot.

“Then you have Rune and a few others cause trouble some other place! Screw up traffic, make the heroes sweat trying to contain all of us attacking from separate angles! Night and Fog could have disabled the Protectorate heroes guarding the van much faster, and Night’s speed would have made her a better counter to Avalon’s teleportation. You fucked up here, Max, not me.”

His lips pulled back into a smile, one that he carefully angled to come off as both pained and prideful. He knew her, quite possibly more than she knew herself in ways - he was, after all, the one who cultivated the biggest part of her personality outside of being a desperate, single mother. Giving away too much humility and shame would only make her clam up and get defensive, correctly assuming him to be manipulating the conversation, but being too cold and stony would garner much the same reaction.

He had to thread it in carefully while keeping her passions inflamed. He needed her angry and upset, not cool and shut-off. She became almost impossible to mold that way.

“As pained as I am to admit it…” Max began, looking towards the polished window she’d flown in. In its reflection, he could see her glaring at him, shoulders moving up and down with barely restrained emotion. “You’re right. You’ve always been the more… strategically inclined of the two of us, Kady. I should have listened to you before barking orders, but neither of us was in the right headspace. You were upset to even be speaking to me, and I’ve been… stressed. Stressed, holding onto the remnants of ou-... my glorious Empire, alone.”

All lies. He’d simply overextended grotesquely, underestimating Avalon’s power, and he doubted Kayden's plan would have worked. But that wouldn’t happen again. He simply needed to reassess the situation, figure out the best way to take this one super-powered roadblock down so that the rest of his businesses could prosper.

Her shoulders were starting to sag.

He chanced another glance at her, forcing a badly-hidden fragility to his face that he certainly wasn’t feeling in that moment, and naked confusion and hurt greeted him. Perhaps if he was a decade younger and infinitely more naive and foolhardy, the way that she looked at him could have stirred some feelings of latent affection and guilt. Maybe the biting of the lip and clenching of the fists would have kickstarted that same protective instinct that he’d felt when she first fell in love with him.

Fortunately for him, and rather unfortunately for her, none of it mattered to him anymore. Kayden outlived her usefulness as a wife and mother of his children, and unless she shaped up, she’d outlive her usefulness as a tool as well. The only good thing about her was her light shows and that teasing slip of vanilla-scented cleavage that poked out of her white dress shirt.

“Max,” she whispered, his name heavy and tortured in the quietness of her voice, “You know why I left. That I didn’t want to leave, but had to. Your way of running things, of leading this Empire… I don’t agree with it. I refuse to stand it. The manipulation, the drugs, the lies.”

He had to play this carefully.

A lie that he could emotionally edge out of without sounding like a complete liar, like with Aster, was one thing. Outright shifting the dynamics of leadership and the direction of his Empire was another, but he had to give a little to take what was necessary. Without Kayden, he lost Night and Fog, and without all three of them, he was a sitting fucking duck. The Gesselschaft, after doing their due research online and realizing the sort of player Avalon was turning out to be, were as likely to cut him off as they were to send resources and support. Manpower. He had to work in-house, and Kayden would be in-house. He just… had to play house.

“I see,” he replied gruffly, artificially thickening his voice with both callousness and ‘emotion’. Kayden's confused and torn gaze followed him as he abruptly stood, long legs taking him to the window that overlooked Downtown Brockton Bay. “... Do you think of me as a monster, Kayden? Preying on the weakness of this city, pulling it down into a pit? Am I the source of Brockton Bay’s decay?”

“You don’t fight against it.” Was her quiet response.

Max inclined his head.

“Then help me.” He replied, simple and to the point. Max turned, staring intently at the flummoxed woman, his striking blue eyes glimmering with fervor. “I’ve been cut down to size tonight, Kayden, and our cause is crumbling. It used to be a bastion of righteousness and nobility, of better people cleansing the scum and dirt from our city. Purity of blood, purity of heart, but avarice got in the way. I allowed myself to get in the way. But we can do it right this time, Kayden… together.”

He reached out a pale, well-manicured hand, and she eyed it warily. Her own hand twitched, but then her lips pursed and heat filled her gaze. She took a step back and shook her head, brown locks flying over her shoulder in response. “How do I know that I can trust you, Max? You’ve made promises before. Broken them before. Changing your whole modus operandi… it doesn’t sound like you.”

He was giving her too much ‘leeway’ too fast. He needed to course-correct a bit.

Although it hurt to admit to his own mistakes, Max powered through. “Rushing Hookwolf’s retrieval and getting half of my retinue killed or captured…” he forced a chagrined, humorless smirk. “That does not sound like me either, does it? My way has been failing me as of late, my dear. I’m flush with money, both from our legal and illegal assets, but morale is dropping. We’re down two lieutenants, Avalon is riding around attacking our people with no rhyme or reason, and the ‘heroes’ are sticking their heads in the sand.”

Kayden tilted her head, her pursed lips relaxing into a bemused frown. “So?”

“So,” Max continued, hand still extended, eyes unblinking, “Perhaps a return to the old ways is due careful consideration. We pull our men from the streets circulating drugs, and gather them together for some… teambuilding exercises. Rallies, speeches, education. We quiet down, grow our forces, remember where we came from.”

Retardation more like, but the way that her eyes glowed - the way that she fought so hard to stop her frown from twitching back up into a hesitant smile… that was what he was looking for. How she ever thought she could be a hero while believing in the death and subjugation of multiple races of people had always thrown him for a loop, but their ignorance was just another tool in his arsenal. Another way to keep climbing to the top.

“We haven’t held an Empire Rally in years, Max. You haven’t… spoken like that in years. Are you sure you-” Kayden abruptly quieted, her eyes pensive.

He heard it all, even though she cut herself off. Are you sure you still have it in you? Are you sure years of doing the same self-destructive shit you once preached about the niggers doing hasn’t taken your edge, turned you into another ignorant soul?

Ironic, but he understood the flawed logic behind her hesitance. In an odd way, it offended him.

“It often takes adversity and loss to lift the fog of ignorance from one’s eyes, and I’ve been brooding over my defeat for long enough. Either you trust me, right here and right now, Kayden… or you turn your back on me, on our legacy, and watch from the sidelines as I struggle to correct what should have been corrected long ago. It’s your decision.”

She went silent, her face abruptly turning unreadable and withdrawn in that frustrating way that he explicitly did not like.

He had managed to successfully turn her mind away from Aster, that damn baby seemingly being her sole focus in life, and towards the glory days of the E88. Back when they held rallies and lynchings and speeches in seedy warehouses across the Bay, Mein Kampf in one hand and red hoods in the other. The money had come mostly from backers and donations, because of course some of the richest white men on the East Coast were racist as well, and the fervor and passion within the Empire had been at an all-time high.

It wasn’t sustainable, however. The heat they received from the heroes and the news was many times hotter than what they received nowadays, and Max didn’t even believe half the shit he spewed out during those events. He much preferred standardized crime with a side of the occasional minority assault and murder to keep his racist little monsters happy.

But, Kayden loved that hardcore shit. She believed in all of that ten times stronger than he did, and he was the one who made her racist to begin with. If he wanted to keep the strongest Blaster this side of Brockton Bay on his side, eating out the palm of his hand… then he was prepared to play things a little more risky, if only for a little while. Without Purity, Night, and Fog, the Empire was practically powerless before both Coil and the ABB.

They simply wouldn’t have the necessary parahuman strength needed to keep their territory.

Warm, smooth skin against his larger hand made him blink back into focus. Kayden was standing closer, her face still in an unreadable mask, but there was a light there in her eyes - one of hope, and determination. “I’ll join you, Max… but only if you share the crown. That is my only recession - that we are partners, working to recover the spark that the Empire once held. I won’t be pushed to the side.”

The confidence rankled, but he was already knee-deep in a lie… what was another one? At the end of the day, she’d still be a step below him in all but name. Kayden had never been a very good leader, despite technically having been the Empire’s co-leader, and he doubted that changed over the past two years.

There were no documents, no written or binding agreements. Just a handshake.

He smiled, this one genuine, even as his brain began to consolidate different plans. Ideas. Short-term goals to recruit, expand, and regain his Empire’s trust.

“Of course, Kayden.” Max murmured, his hand tightening firmly around hers. “With you at my side, we’ll regain our rightful spot at the top of the chaff. We’ll… make the Empire great again.”

They had a lot of work to do.

And he had a lot of phone calls to make.

Perhaps a certain snake was willing to call for a temporary truce…