Another Way Pt 11 (Patreon)

[A/N: this chapter commissioned by GW_Yoda and beta-read by Lady Columbine of Mystal.]

Claire's powers had always had a distinctly emotion-linked aspect to them. Up until this act of utter betrayal, her feelings toward the Empire capes had consisted of no more than mild disdain, verging occasionally on actual dislike. That all changed with one action; now, she was far beyond merely 'angry' with them. Carol Dallon had suffered minor skin burns because Claire simply didn't like her; if what Claire currently felt about these four capes was put into words, it would not be printable in any language known to mankind. Run? Hell with that.

Her father had just been decapitated in front of her. His brain had between two and four minutes before it suffered permanent damage. Her legs were still trapped, and four hostile capes stood between Claire and her goal.

Rage burned in her core as she struggled to release herself from the rubble that pinned her down. Barely able to recognise that she was doing it, she began to change her form. Delicate skin went dead-black as subdermal production of carbon nanotubes went into high gear. She felt her skeleton begin to reshape itself as the ribcage expanded to make room for her auxiliary lungs and hearts.

The air itself became thick and soupy, and her lungs ached from trying to draw in enough oxygen to serve her needs. Blackness crawled around the edges of her vision; Krieg watched her carefully from a prudent distance. Beside him, Hookwolf held a viciously razor-pointed spear that was as yet incomplete. If he hits me with that, I'll definitely feel it.

Blood thundered in her ears. She struggled to complete the transformation, but her labouring lungs could not drag enough oxygen from the air. Helplessly, she watched as Hookwolf drew back the monstrous spear. He wasn't going to miss; even from her angle, Claire could see that he wasn't a novice with the weapon.

That was when the car roared in from nowhere and collided with both Krieg and Stormtiger at high speed, knocking them flying. Cricket leaped nimbly out of the way, while Hookwolf went up and over the vehicle, smashing the windshield on the way. He landed behind it as it ploughed into rubble and stopped with a grinding shudder. But the air no longer stuck in Claire's throat; drawing in a deep breath, she forced the rest of her body through the metamorphosis. It was as she had described to her father, with the impromptu addition of slashing blades on her forearms and a long, wickedly barbed tail.

She began to kick free of the rubble trapping her lower limbs; with the increased strength of her now-digitigrade legs, she was moments from freedom. However, the Empire capes seemed determined not to give her that chance. Hookwolf advanced on her, another spear forming off the end of his arm, while Cricket made for the driver's side door of the car.

Before the Empire villain got there, the door burst off its hinges. Like a hugely muscled avenging angel, Jonas dived out, pistol in hand. He rolled and came up on one knee, then fired five shots in two seconds. Two missed Cricket by the barest of margins, while the other three hammered into Hookwolf, who stopped and turned slightly in annoyance. Cricket advanced on Jonas, who tried to get to his feet, then staggered back, shaking his head. Unfortunately for Cricket, she was now on Claire's 'extreme prejudice' shit-list. Worse, she was inside Claire's body-reading range, so Claire knew exactly what she was doing and how. Also, how to fuck her over.

The battle form had an enhanced larynx, designed mainly to do what Cricket was doing, but within the audible range. Claire modified it on the fly, going for a particular frequency, one that Cricket was optimised for hearing. Then she repurposed one of her sets of lungs, removing the alveoli and adding serious muscle banding to allow sudden and violent constriction. This was going to be all about volume.

When she let out the screech, ninety-nine percent of it went above normal human range. Dogs started howling for blocks around. The remaining one percent, a piercing shriek that went right through the head like a bandsaw on steroids, caused both Jonas and Hookwolf to clutch their ears and stagger back. Cricket, on the other hand, dropped her weapons and screamed as she tried to get her hands inside the cage that enclosed her head. Blood ran freely from her ears, eyes and nose. By the time Claire let up on the scream, the female Empire cape was curled up in a foetal position, either unconscious or catatonic. Claire didn't care which.

With a metallic snarl, Hookwolf recovered enough to shake his head and heft the spear once more. He took one step toward Claire before Jonas cannoned into him from the side. They traded blows, the enhanced human slugging it out with the parahuman blender. While Jonas' punches didn't do much, they still staggered the Empire killer; in return, Hookwolf's blades broke Jonas' skin but slid off of the subdermal armour with which she had gifted him.

Kicking away the last of the debris, Claire came to her feet in a smooth, lethal movement. Flexing her fingers, she felt the razor-edged claws slide into place. Her priorities were clear. Save Dad. Kill the Empire.

Adrenaline hummed through her veins; almost absently, she redesigned her cardiovascular system for greater efficiency as she moved to skirt the fight. While she had every intention of helping Jonas take down Hookwolf, for the moment her bodyguard seemed to be holding his own, and her priority was getting to her father's head before time ran out. This didn't stop her power from acting on its own, however; while she didn't get close enough to cause Hookwolf serious injury, he did falter and stagger back as she passed by. On the other hand, Jonas' wounds closed over, and the burly South African lunged forward with a burst of extra energy.

How long has it been? She couldn't tell; somewhere along the line, her watch had gone missing. It had been perhaps thirty seconds. Dad doesn't have much more time. The car was directly in front of her; not wanting to waste even a single second, she leaped on top of it, the snap and pull of her new muscles handling the jump easily. One stride forward, and she caught sight of her father's head, just before her instincts screamed danger! Not questioning them, she dived forward off the car on to the rubble-strewn ground.

Even while she was in the air, something hit her left leg, smashing her sideways. Something else hit the car, shattering one of the windows. Femur fractured. She hit the ground rolling, ignoring chunks of concrete under her ribs as she told the femur to woman up and stop being such a little bitch. The fracture healed itself, and she irritably set her body to start putting another couple of layers of nanotubes over her bones. What the fuck was that, anyway?

Coming up on to all fours, she pushed her senses out, increasing her eye size and ear sensitivity to detect her attacker more effectively. Only the whisper of wind warned her and she dived out of the way as a sharp detonation cratered the concrete where she'd been. I must've heard that before, but didn't know what it was. Now I do. Fucking Stormtiger.

One of those attacks could obliterate her father's head; if the Empire cape knew she was going for it, he might kill Marquis for good, just as a parting fuck-you. Carefully, she didn't look in that direction; instead, she raised her tail like a scorpion's as she grew an eye on the tip. Another series of organs took shape there as well, one that was only found in a certain type of insect. An inbound warbling hum warned her to dive aside; her powers, it seemed, were zeroing in on the audible signature of the asshole's powers. Which was useful, because it allowed her to figure out where he was sniping her from.

Even as she evaded the shot, her tail swung in that direction. The eye finally picked him out; he was lying partly covered in rubble and dust, not far from Krieg. Both had their heads raised, watching her. She brought the attack mechanism to maturity, then locked and loaded. Apertures opened just behind the eye, and high-speed darts shot out, each accompanied by a burst of steam. It hadn't been all that hard to adapt the defence of the bombardier beetle, using it to shoot bone darts.

The darts lanced out toward the Empire capes. Her aim was good, but both men apparently used their powers, brushing the darts aside before they came close. Claire had planned for this; she used that respite to lunge over to her father's body and scoop up his head. Even as another shot hit the ground at her feet, she dived behind the end of the car so that she could concentrate on what she was doing.

He was still alive, she could tell, but his brain was beginning to run out of oxygen. At a silent command, her abdomen split open, exposing a cavity where her digestive system had once resided. She shoved her father's decapitated head into the empty space, immediately cushioning it with surrounding tissue. The skin closed behind it, making her look somewhat pregnant. Not that she cared about her outward appearance right now. She set about hooking up the appropriate nervous and circulatory connections. Air had gotten into some of the veins and arteries; working as fast as she could, she replaced that first with basic saline and then with her own blood. Dedicating one heart and one lung to the head, she left her autonomous systems to complete the connections while she took care of business.

Jonas was still duking it out with Hookwolf. Her bodyguard was a little the worse for wear, but as far as she could see, he was standing his ground. Good. That left her free to take on Krieg and Stormtiger.

Of course, given that they were both ranged attackers, able to keep her at a distance beyond which her powers could really have an effect on them, this was going to be … interesting. She raised her tail to investigate the situation, just as a series of strikes smashed into the side of the car and the ground below it. Shards of concrete struck her, but they made no impression on her steadily thickening hide. Then she realised where she was going wrong. I need to change things up. Turning fast, she skittered around the car toward where Jonas and Hookwolf were still going at it.

The Empire cape sensed her and shot out a rain of metal shards; almost casually, she brushed the few that might have been dangerous out of the air with her tail. Jonas took the opportunity to land some heavy body blows which dented metal and drove his opponent back a few steps. From everything Claire could see, he was actually enjoying himself; since she had started upgrading his body, he hadn't had an opponent against whom he could truly let loose.

~I am going to have to give that man a raise.~

The thought wasn't hers; while she was familiar with the tone, hearing it inside her own head was a new experience. ~Dad?~ If this was indeed her father, then her power must have acted on her subconscious needs, and given him full access to her sensorium.

~The same, Claire-bear. Am I to understand that you're currently keeping me alive?~ His mental 'voice' was warm and approving.

~Hopefully, yes.~ She kept going, her power giving Jonas another boost as she passed by. Hookwolf staggered again, giving Jonas the opportunity to smash him to the ground. The metal-clad cape came to his feet almost immediately, but Jonas wasn't letting up.

Claire's tail-eye kept watch on the fight as she reached Cricket; taking hold of the cage around the woman's head, Claire ripped it asunder, then unhinged her jaw. Lifting the woman slightly, she bit off her head.

~My dear! Your form is making you more savage than normal.~ It didn't seem to be quite a condemnation; rather, he appeared to be making an observation. If a little queasily.

~A little, sure. But I need her powers.~ She let the head slide down her gullet, where it lodged in a niche she opened up for it. As she did so, she stripped away everything except the brain itself, then sent arteries, veins and nerves invading it. This was a different sort of connection than her father had; Cricket was a prisoner, not a guest. ~Also, biomass. Among other things, this will be useful for when I'm giving you a new body later on.~

~Really?~

~Don't think too deeply about it, Dad. Nature does it too. I'm just taking a shortcut.~

Taking hold of the body, she took great bites out of it, dissolving the mass into protein as soon as it hit her throat. Her body expanded as if it were a balloon being inflated under pressure.

Her tail-eye alerted her to the danger even before Hookwolf let out a roar of rage and loss. With Cricket's left leg still in her grasp, she turned as she came up in a rising lunge. Hookwolf, his exterior a whirling maze of razor-sharp blades, came hurtling at her. He was sporting four arms and each of them was a weapon; he had an axe, a sword, a hammer and something with far too many pointy bits for her to readily identify. Jonas, for once caught on the back foot, was in hot pursuit.

Her body-sense picked out exactly where in that mass of metal was Hookwolf's core. She didn't try to avoid his attack, but instead lifted her hand, preparing to slam a spike through -

~My dear. If I may?~

She wasn't sure what he was intending, but she trusted him. ~Go for it, Dad.~ She completed the connections, giving him nominal control over her body.

From her hand, instead of a spike, burst … bone. An endless stream of it. Hookwolf struck it, shattered it, but was slowed down. Each individual piece seemed to explode into clamps that locked around Hookwolf's body. He broke them again and again, but breaking them only made for more pieces, which then expanded once more.

~What the fuck is this? Where am I?~ The mental voice was thoroughly enraged, and slightly deranged. Claire could see exactly what was wrong with Cricket. She began to tweak, even as her father continued to work his bone shards in between Hookwolf's layers of armour.

~Oh, hi, Cricket. Guess what. You helped kill my Dad, so you get to loan me your powers for the duration.~

~Like fuck I am. My powers are MY powers, bitch. Nobody uses them but me.~

Claire sighed internally and brought Cricket to a mental even keel that would have required hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of therapy and medication to achieve in the normal run of things. ~We can do this the easy way or the hard way. The easy way is you do what I say. The hard way is I shave away everything from your brain that makes you 'you' and I just keep the part that controls your powers. Your choice.~

Cricket considered this. ~And what exactly do I have to do?~

~Help me take down the Empire.~

~I'm not turning on Hookwolf.~

~We'll spare both of you so long as you help out.~

~Deal.~

~Excellent. How's it going there, Dad?~

His voice was satisfied. ~He's a tricky one, but I think I've got him locked down.~ Before her was a mass of bone over eight feet tall and ten feet across. From within, Hookwolf's life-signs pulsed brightly.

~What if he digs his way out?~

~You forget, my dear, that was my favourite trick in the old days. He's got two yards of solid bone under him as well.~

~Sweet. We'll be back for him. Right now, it's time to take out the trash. Cricket, if you will?~ She turned and bounded over the car, her new sonar ability mapping out everything before her. Three pistol bullets and an explosive burst of wind came back at her; while she dodged two of the bullets and the wind attack, a shield of bone stopped the last bullet.

~Dad, you know I can survive bullets now.~

~There's no sense in taking chances, princess.~

Even as the lightning-fast exchange took place between them, she felt the air become thick and soupy once more. Her responses felt sluggish, the very air impeding her motion. She opened her jaws and roared; while impressive, the audible part of the roar was the least part of what she was doing. Also included was an ultrasonic squeal, courtesy of Cricket, that disabled the inner ear and induced extreme vertigo. That held them up just long enough for Claire to get within a few yards of them, and then they were asleep.

Unsurprisingly, both men had sustained broken bones and other injuries from to the collision. Not that this would change matters in any way; biomass, after all, was still biomass. Picking up Krieg, she unhinged her jaw and began to eat him, making sure to keep the brain intact.

<><>

Jonas approached her as she finished off Stormtiger's legs. Politely, she turned to face him. Something crunched under her foot as she did so; looking down, she realised that she'd just crushed someone's cell-phone. Crap, we might've been able to use that.“Yes?” she asked, tuning her voice to resemble what it had been while she was still human. She didn't blame Jonas for being just a little cautious; as it was, her current form was a nightmare of jet-black armour plate, fangs and razor-sharp claws. Having added the mass of three adult bodies to her own, her size was now equivalent to that of a grizzly bear. Of course, in any physical contest, said hypothetical bear would end up very dead, very fast.

“Ah … is that you still in there, chick?” he asked diffidently. “Just asking.”

She nodded. “It's still me, Jonas,” she assured him. “I'm just … upgrading. The Empire's declared war on us, so I'm going to show them exactly what a bad idea that was.” She flexed her spine, and another row of spikes extended alongside the first.

“Ahh … right. It's just that … well, I can't find your father's head.” He grimaced. “I wanted to give him a proper burial … to show my respect, and all …”

~If I can speak to him, princess?~

~Sure thing, Dad.~ She adjusted the vocal chords a little, then handed over a certain amount of control to him.

“That's all right, Jonas,” he said, in a reasonable approximation of his own voice. “I'm currently alive and well. It turns out that our dear Claire is extremely … versatile. She acquired my brain before it expired.” He nodded toward the burly man. “Though the gesture of respect is greatly appreciated.”

When Marquis started speaking, Jonas' eyes opened wide. To his credit, he didn't back away, but waited until his boss had finished.

“Right then, sir,” he declared. “So will you be, uh, coming back, then?”

“Claire assures me that it won't be much trouble to make me a new body,” Marquis said, sounding somewhat bemused. “But in the meantime, I agree that now is the time to end the Empire once and for all. So if you can take my body home and put it in the large freezer, we'll be home soon. We can talk about a burial ceremony then.”

Jonas nodded firmly, apparently relieved to have something concrete to deal with. “And what about the asshole inside that bone block, sir?”

Claire made her mouth smile; or at least, she bared her teeth. This time, Jonas did step back. “Oh,” she said in concert with her father. “We'll deal with him.”

<><>

Brad Meadows struggled to burst out of the enclosing block which held him prisoner. Every time he forced the bone to crack, it immediately fixed itself, robbing him of the leverage he had just used. Metal spikes and blades pushed their way into the bone, which then solidified around them, trapping his weapons. He was just lucky that the bone was porous enough for him to breathe …

A shudder ran through the block, and he thought he heard a crack. He heaved, and felt part of the block shift. Fuckin' yes, he exulted. The cavalry has arrived. He just hoped that whoever it was wouldn't gloat too much over his predicament. And that they'd left some part of that … whatever that bitch was, so he could shred it for killing Cricket. They'd slept together a few times, but it wasn't romance. It wasn't even a relationship. At most, they were battle buddies with benefits. But nobody kills my battle buddy.

The bone in front of him crumbled and fell apart, and he flexed his arms, bringing new blades to the fore. Image was everything, and he intended to show the image of a warrior ready for anything. “About fuckin' time …” He stopped talking as he took in what was waiting for him. The Brute he'd been fighting – and for a total unknown, the asshole could really land a punch – was standing back a ways, arms folded and a look of satisfaction on his face. His totally unscarred face. Okay, that just wasn't fair; the guy was a Brute and a regenerator?

All of this passed through his mind in a heartbeat. Then he raised his eyes to take in the horror looming over him. Eight feet tall if it was an inch, a much larger version of whatever it was had eaten Cricket, and it was right there.

And he couldn't move.

The thing brought its head in very close to his; the vaguely reptilian muzzle was plated in something black and shiny which he suspected would be proof against anything he could do to it. “Hi,” it said, in the voice of a teenage girl. “You cut my Dad's head off while he was still alive. While he was still awake. I'm gonna return the favour now, mmkay? Just so you know what it's like.”

His vocal chords unfroze, and he found that he was able to speak. Taking a shuddering breath, he stammered, “F-f-fuck you, bi-”

The monster struck.

<><>

Claire watched the car drive away down the street. The chassis had taken surprisingly little damage from the collision with rubble, and the tyres were still whole. After shoving it back on to the road, she had ripped the smashed windshield out of the car; Jonas had assured them that he could take it from there.

Of course, there was the other problem she had to deal with now.

~ … no fucking way I'm working with that bitch. She killed you! She killed me!~ Even with the mental reconditioning she'd given him, Hookwolf was still obnoxious.

~I worked out a deal with her. We help her, we get to leave town.~ Cricket, on the other hand, seemed more than anxious to please.

~You're shitting me, yeah? You made a deal with her?~

~Yes. We can't beat her. It can't be done.~ Certainty coloured the woman's mental voice. ~We do this, she lets us go. Together.~

~If you're about finished?~ Claire prompted. ~We've got places to be.~

[Now, now. Give them a little more time, princess.] Her father's voice, communicating on the private channel she had set up, was a little amused. [They've got a lot to get used to.]

[Okay.] She let the argument between Cricket and Hookwolf slide into the background. ~So, James. May I call you James? This was all your idea, yeah?~

~It was.~ Krieg's voice was resigned. ~I see now that it was a mistake. I think I should have used a much larger bomb.~

Fury blinded her for a moment, and she caused his pain centres to flare. ~You want to die, you son of a bitch?~

[Princess, you said we needed him. Remember what I said about the difference between torture and killing?]

[And what if I haven't decided which way I want to go?]

[Then decide. Now.]

~Gah. Ahh. I stand corrected. That was … singularly unpleasant. What do you want from me?~

~Just one thing, and it gets you a second chance.~

~And that is?~

~Help us take down the Empire. Use your powers when and where I direct. And once this is over, you get to leave Brockton Bay forever.~

~I … I have family here.~

~Then take them with you. Just never come back.~

~That's it?~

~That's it,~ she agreed.

~Then I accept.~

~Good. Stormtiger?~

~Did you fuck with my brain?~ The villain's voice was abrupt.

~Yes. You had a few mental issues. I removed them. I wanted you thinking clearly when I presented the deal.~

~You had no fucking right to do that.~

~You had no fucking right to blow up Somers Rock and cut my Dad's head off. Yet, you did it. I'm really not seeing your high moral ground, here.~

~But - ~

~Listen,~ she interrupted him. ~I've got many options for making sure I get what I want. This is the one where you get to walk away with your mind intact. Now, deal or no?~

~What's the difference to you?~ He sounded resentful.

~I want to be able to look back and say that I gave you every chance before I just took what I wanted. Do you really want me to go that way?~

~Oh, for fuck's sake!~ yelled Cricket. ~Take the fucking deal already! She's got us over a fucking barrel!~

Claire saw the moment when Stormtiger's stubbornness collapsed. ~Fine. Deal.~

~Excellent. And just in time, it seems.~ She tilted her head; at long last, sirens were becoming audible. ~Took them long enough.~

At the back of her mind, her father chuckled. ~It's only been ten minutes, princess. Give them some credit.~

~What happens now?~ That was Cricket. ~You're good, but if we tangle with the PRT and the heroes, this gets a whole lot harder.~

~If we're going after Kaiser and the Empire, we'll have to evade the forces of law and order first.~ Krieg was surprisingly matter of fact over the whole thing, which made Claire wonder exactly what he'd seen and done in his time. ~I suggest we take to the sewers.~

~Fuck the sewers, fuck the PRT and fuck the heroes too. Put me in the driver's seat and I'll show you how to do serious damage.~ It appeared that Hookwolf was also in a mood to cooperate … for a given definition of 'cooperate'.

~I don't see the problem.~ That was Stormtiger. ~We can barrel past the PRT while they're still pulling their thumbs out of their asses.~

~Heroes are the problem, dumbass,~ Hookwolf said. ~They'll slow us down long enough for the PRT to get involved.~

Stormtiger was unfazed. ~So we just eat them, too.~

~That way lies a kill order. Also, my darling daughter doesn't want me killing heroes. Thus, we don't kill heroes.~

~Technically, it's not killing if we let them go later,~ Krieg pointed out.

~I doubt very much that the PRT will hold the same opinion. So we don't go there.~

Claire smiled. ~It's okay. I've got a plan.~ She began to reshape the shared body.

~The fuck?~ That was Hookwolf, half a second ahead of the others.

~Whoa, what are you doing?~

~Not a tactic I would've considered.~

~What the fuck?~

Rising over the babble, Marquis' voice came through loud and clear. ~Need a hand there, princess?~

~No, I got this,~ she said. ~So long as everyone does their part.~

As the first emergency vehicles turned on to the street, the massive midnight-black leonine creature leaped into the air. Enormous wings, braced with steel and feathered with bone, unfurled and flapped thunderously. Buoyed up by telekinetic force and following winds, the creature gained altitude at a startling pace. Banking around in a long turn, it set course for the downtown area of Brockton Bay.

~So, James. Where can I find Kaiser?~

~Do you know where the Medhall building is?~

She smiled again, baring her teeth to the wind.

<><>

Max Anders

Max tapped away at the computer on his desk. From time to time, he glanced at the clock on his desktop. The time had just passed nine o'clock, which meant that the trap at Somers Rock should have been sprung by now. It's a pity that we have to blow up the meeting place, but I suppose James is right. It's worth it to get Marquis out of our hair.

Time dragged on; thirty seconds became a minute. And then his cell-phone rang. He snatched it up and hit the answer button. “James. Give me the good news.”

The first clue he had that something was wrong was in the very tone of Krieg's voice. Normally urbane and collected, the Empire lieutenant was breathing raggedly and sounded as if he were in pain. The second clue came in the first four words.

“Max, we fucked up. We killed Marquis, but the girl isn't just a healer. She's a Changer. And they've got another cape, a Brute. Hookwolf's taking him on right now. Cricket's out of the fight. I'm injured, Stormtiger as well. And the girl – there she is! Get her!”

Krieg's voice was cut off by the sound of several gunshots, followed by a monstrous roar that strained the capacity of the speaker on Max's end. From the sounds of it, Krieg's phone then clattered to the ground. Then Max heard what had to be heavy footsteps. Far heavier than a teenage girl should be able to make. What sort of Changer is she? he asked himself. The next sound turned his stomach, but he forced himself to listen anyway. It was the sound of teeth crunching through gristle and bone. It was the sound of someone being eaten. The sounds went on for a minute or so before a sudden burst of crackling static ended the call.

Max Anders grimaced. If his surmise was correct, he'd just heard two members of the Empire Eighty-Eight die. Worse, Krieg was an important link to Gesellschaft. At worst, he had to assume that the Empire had just lost four capes to an unspecified Changer and an unknown Brute. That made her … formidable. The only good news in all that was Marquis' death. Of course, this also had a downside, in that the girl was now angry at the Empire. Quite a downside.

On the upside, she had no way of knowing where he was. The worst she could do was harass his people; given adequate lead time, he could set up an ambush relatively easily. A Brute could only do so much to protect her; hit the Changer hard enough and she would go down.

He nodded and raised his desk phone. “Alert all operatives in the building to report to my office immediately.” Without waiting for a response, he put the phone down again. The Biermann sisters were in school at the moment, which was a pity; they would have enjoyed this mission. However, even without them, the Empire could certainly muster enough firepower to contain this situation.

Purity was the first to arrive, shooting him a quick smile. He made sure to return it; while he wasn't ready to begin courting her quite yet, that time would be soon.

Next in the door was Justin, or Crusader as he was calling himself. The Empire's newest recruit, Justin was only seventeen and cockily sure of his capabilities. Max was interested in seeing how well he did against this new menace.

Geoff and Dorothy arrived together, strolling in side by side as if stepping out of a fifties sitcom. Max was only just now getting over the shudder that went down his spine whenever he saw them. Behind that immaculate grooming and those empty smiles was … something horrible. But they were loyal to the Empire, so he ignored his own feelings about them.

Panzer was a little tentative about entering, in her reimagining of a World War Two tanker's uniform, with the goggles pushed up on her forehead. She sidled into the room and stood at the back of the group.

Last to enter was Alabaster, still buckling on his shoulder holster. He stepped over to the group and stood there, waiting.

Rather than bid them sit – there weren't enough chairs – Max stood. “We have a problem,” he stated flatly. “You people are the solution.”

Justin looked around, surprise creeping over his expression. “Uh … aren't there normally more people here? Like Hooksy and Cricket?” He glanced toward Max, and something about the latter's expression caused him to belatedly add, “Uh,sir?”

Max decided to ignore the disrespect, this time. “That's the problem. Krieg, Stormtiger, Hookwolf and Cricket went out to make a deal with Marquis. Unfortunately, Marquis attacked them, along with his daughter, and an unknown Brute.” The lie rolled easily off his tongue. “I've lost communications with them. As far as we know, they're either dead or in captivity. I want you to go to the site of Somers Rock, and evaluate what happened there.”

“Somers Rock?” Purity looked stunned. “That's truce territory. Marquis would never have violated a truce, especially with Marchioness along. He always respected that sort of thing.”

Why can't people just believe what they're told? Max kept his expression tightly controlled. “I got a call from Krieg. He said something about Somers Rock blowing up. He and the others only just got out in time, then Marquis' people attacked. There was also something about Marquis being dead and the girl being a Changer, then he was cut off.” He pointed in the general direction of north. “I don't know any more. Go. Find our people.”

There was a general exodus toward the door, though Purity stayed behind a moment. “I hope you're right about this, Max,” she said softly. “I've never heard of Marquis doing something like this.”

“He's been away for years, Kayden,” he said smoothly, exerting all of his charm. “Then he came back and found out that his old territory had been taken over. Are we surprised that he's taking shortcuts to get it back?”

Reluctantly, she nodded. “I guess.” Turning to the window, she opened it. As she climbed on to the sill, she looked over her shoulder. “I'll let you know what happens.” Arching forward, she dived clear of the building, on what looked for all the world like a one-way trip to the pavement far below. But one second later, she lit up and rocketed away. Max walked over and closed the window.

Maybe I need to work on her a little more. She really should've just accepted my word.

<><>

Kayden Russel

I'll be there long before the others. Kayden felt a twinge of smug superiority as she blasted across the city. She knew that Max was singling her out for special treatment because he recognised her worth. She was one of the Empire's hard hitters; as a flier and a blaster, she could stay out of the reach of most enemies while hitting them with attacks that could level buildings. Which meant, of course, that she wouldn't be so stupid as to land before the others got there. Air support stays in the air.

Brockton Bay had very few other fliers; while she'd heard that the Wards were fielding a kid who could fly and take a hit, she doubted that he'd be opposing her any time soon. Thus, she was concentrating mainly on the ground to make sure she didn't lose her way. Which made it a considerable surprise when she swept around a building and came within twenty feet of colliding with … what the hell was that, anyway?

Pulling sharply upward, she arched backward in a classic Immelmann turn, then rolled over to look at what she'd nearly run into. While she got a good view, it didn't help her confusion any. It was … a tiger? Or maybe a mountain lion? Whatever it was, it was also about ten or twelve feet long, with enormous wings keeping it aloft. The wings and eyes were the only thing about it that broke the darkness of the rest of its body, the former apparently composed of steel and bone and the latter a glaring yellow.

If it was any consolation, the creature … thing … whatever it was, had been just as badly surprised by the near-miss as she was. It was only just now recovering; belatedly, she realised that it was turning, beating its wings strongly to gain altitude toward her.

She didn't recognise it as an enemy, but nor was it any ally that she knew about. She considered calling Max to ask him, but then she recalled that he didn't know any more about this than she did. Still, she was now sharing airspace with a truly bizarre creature, and she had time to spare. If I can recruit it, Max will be thrilled.

“Who are you?” she called. “Can you understand me?” This is gonna suck if it can't understand or speak English.

The creature's mouth opened, and what came out was English, but she needed a few seconds to comprehend what had been said. “It's Marchioness,” she heard. “We met at Somers Rock. I was with my father.”

What?

She took a moment to stare at the creature before her. It had to weigh half a ton at least. Against all sane logic, it was supporting itself in the air on a pair of massive wings – that weren't, she realised after a few seconds, even moving. This did not fit her memory of the slender girl in the evening dress. But Max did say she was a Changer. Wow, some change. Reflexively, she backed off another few yards. “Are we gonna fight?” she asked cautiously. “Kaiser says you attacked his men. Where were you going?” All of a sudden, she felt a lot less smug about being a flier, especially given that the others could give her minimal backup from the ground.

“Kaiser blew up Somers Rock with us inside it!” shouted the … the girl. “Then Hookwolf cut my dad's head off! He was gonna kill me too! So yes, we attacked them!”

What.

“No, no, that can't be right,” Kayden protested. “Max would never do something like that.” The Max she knew, and occasionally fantasised about, was a better man than that.

Isn't he?

She knew how stressed he was getting about Marquis' return to Brockton Bay. He could be extremely ruthless if he had to be; she knew this. But would he break the neutrality of Somers Rock to be rid of an enemy like Marquis?

“It wasn't his idea,” Marchioness shouted back. “It was all Krieg. He just went along with it.”

To her dismay, Kayden found that to be more believable. That sort of move was very Krieg. Especially if he set it up first and only told Max afterward.

Kayden took a deep breath. Marchioness didn't seem to be attacking just yet, and it didn't seem as though she could gain altitude as fast as Kayden could, so she didn't have the upper hand in a potential fight. Which meant that Kayden could afford to talk. “Okay, so tell me what happened.” While I compare it with what Max told me. “Where did the Brute come from?”

“The Brute?” Marchioness seemed a little confused. “Oh, you mean … ha. No, he's not a Brute. He's just … really strong and tough. He's one of Dad's men. He hit Krieg and Stormtiger with the car, and saved my life.”

Kayden was pretty sure that 'really strong and tough' was more or less the definition of Brute, especially someone who could pick up a car and hit someone with it, but she let that go. “Where are they now? How badly are they injured? And what about Hookwolf and Cricket? What have you done with them?”

“They're … alive,” Marchioness answered, just a little evasively. “I had to, uh, resort to extreme measures. But they tried to kill us!” Indignation coloured her tone. “I thought Somers Rock was neutral!”

“It is,” Kayden assured her. “But Kaiser said you blew it up.” She tensed, building up energy in case the tiger-thing decided to attack her.

“What?” Marchioness sounded confused. “I told you, Krieg blew it up. I smelled the explosive, but Dad and me still got caught in the explosion. Then they attacked us so we had to fight back.”

“Wait, what do you mean by 'extreme measures'?” asked Kayden suspiciously. “And where are they?”

“Before I answer, I need you to promise that you won't freak.” If a half-ton pitch-black flying tiger could be said to look shifty, this one did. “I mean it. It's gonna sound really weird.”

We have super-powers. I can fly and shoot blasts of energy. My boss can make metal appear from nowhere. I think 'weird' is our ground state, right now. “Okay,” she said cautiously. “You've warned me. How weird are we talking?”

“Um, I ate them?”

For a long moment, Kayden thought the girl was kidding. But when no laughter was forthcoming – although she wasn't sure that she wanted to see this thing laugh – she began to take the statement seriously. “You did what?”

“Okay, I didn't exactly eat them. Not all of them. I kept the brains alive, inside me. The rest of them I used for biomass. But they're alive. You want to talk to 'em?”

The girl's voice was matter of fact, even as she said things that Kayden just knew would keep her awake in the early hours of the morning. I kept the brains alive, inside me. “Wait, what? Talk to them?”

“Sure.” The girl's voice changed then. “Purity. Do you recognise my voice?”

“Krieg?” Kayden didn't know whether to be relieved or horrified. “Is that really you?”

He seemed to sigh. “Yes. We miscalculated badly. It was all my idea, but … I really had no idea what resources Marquis could call on. Once Marchioness recovered, the battle was lost.”

The tone, the word use, everything he was saying seemed to be pure Krieg. But this could be a trick of some kind. “Tell me something only you would know.”

“My name is James Fliescher. Hookwolf's name is Bradley. The second letter of Kaiser's surname is N.” His voice was resigned. “Purity, we can't win. She's got all of us in here. She's got access to our powers. We broke the truce. We blew up Somers Rock.”

This was too much for her to handle at once. “What does she want? Where's she going?”

“It's me again.” Marchioness was speaking now. “It's really simple. The Empire attacked us. Your boss declared war on us. I'm gonna take the war to him, and I'm gonna put an end to the Empire. I thought you were nice when we first met, so I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt here. You didn't know they were gonna do this, did you?”

Kayden grimaced. “I didn't know anything about it.” She paused, a question occurring to her. “Why were you even meeting there? Whose idea was it?”

“I'll let Dad explain that one.” Marchioness' voice shifted again. “My dear Purity. Radiant as ever, if you'll excuse the witticism.”

“Marquis.” She would have recognised his cultured tones anywhere. “I thought you were dead. She said Hookwolf cut your head off.”

“He did.” The tiger's head nodded. “But my daughter is quite ingenious. She saved me, just as she saved the brains of the others. However, that's neither here nor there. A few nights ago, some Empire men attacked people under my protection, in my territory. I contacted Kaiser over the matter, and he claimed that they weren't Empire. He offered to meet at Somers Rock to discuss the situation. I took the offer in good faith. But apparently it was a trap. So here we are.”

“Okay.” She rubbed at her temples. “You say they're alive, but they're just … brains, now? What happens when you're finished with them?” She had a horrifying image of a pile of human brains ejected on to the ground, unable to see, hear or even feel what was happening to them.

“My daughter will be supplying them with new bodies,” Marquis stated. The sky is blue, water is wet, Marchioness can make new bodies for disembodied brains. “They will, of course, be required to leave Brockton Bay and never return, but this does not seem to pose a problem for them, given the alternative.”

Why am I not surprised, when the other option is sharing a city with something that can eat their bodies and use their powers?“Right. So you're going to confront Kaiser now, I take it?” Max, she decided, was not going to be happy with this.

“Sure.” It was Marchioness again. “Krieg might've thought of the idea, but he signed off on it, so I think it's only fair. Are you gonna try to stop me?”

There was just one chance to avert this. “Do you even know where you're going?”

“Yeah. Krieg told us. The Medhall building. This means that Kaiser's Max Anders, right?” For a half-ton flying tiger, Marchioness was being amazingly chirpy.

There goes my chance of talking to him alone. Kayden sighed slightly. “Yes.”

The tiger's head tilted a little. “So, are you gonna try to stop me?” she asked again.

Kayden considered her options.

<><>

Max Anders

“No, I don't know where she is. I thought she was with you.” Max gritted his teeth. “She was supposed to scout out the area and report back to you. You haven't seen her at all?” Why couldn't people just do what they were told?

“Not a peep,” Alabaster said. “We got cops and fire department all over the scene at Somers Rock, though, so we couldn't stop. PRT's out in force, too.”

“So what did you see?” demanded Kaiser.

There was a muted discussion, then Alabaster got back on the phone. “Somers Rock's totalled. Wreckage everywhere. Big-ass chunk of bone stuck in the ground; looks like the PRT's gonna have to truck it away.”

“Marquis.” Max put his hand over his eyes. I thought Krieg said he was dead.

“What we thought, yeah,” agreed Alabaster. “Also, some big-ass bloodstains with forensics guys crawling all over them. I counted five. One was on the chunk of bone. So maybe that's where Marquis bought it?”

“We can only hope. Anything else? Bodies? Pieces of bodies? Body bags? Were they questioning anyone?” Max knew he was grasping at straws here, but he had to try.

“Nope, no bodies. They were talking to a couple people, but nobody looking like a Brute or that little girl,” reported the albino. “Looked like local street trash, to be honest.”

“Right. Stay in the area. See what those people do once the cops have finished talking to them.” Max leaned back in his chair. It was a long shot, but it was the best one he had. “Call me back the moment you've got something.”

“Gotcha, boss.” The phone went dead. Max put it down again, closed his eyes, and rubbed at his forehead with his fingertips. What the hell's going on? Where is Purity?

As if in answer to his question, there came a tap at the window; at the same time, light impinged on his closed eyelids, turning his world pink. “Finally,” he snapped, leaping from the chair and striding over to the window. Undoing the latch, he flung the window open, holding up his arm to shield his eyes from her glare. “Where the hell have you been?”

She stepped inside, abating her glare as she did so, and that was when he realised that something was very wrong. For behind her, hovering soundlessly on outstretched wings of steel and bone, was an oversized tiger, wrought in utter blackness. Its burning yellow eyes focused on him as Kayden spoke.

“Max, we need to talk.”

Part 12