Buck barks and starts sniffing around, eventually running off. I switch to heat vision but that doesn't help me. They both register normal levels of heat, with the standing girl having slightly higher than normal temperatures. A normal occurrence with Spitfire.
I pull Newter over to the others and tend to their injuries. Who could have done this? Examining the area, I see scorch marks all over the area and small fires on the wall near the statue. Sure Spitfire could have done that...but she wouldn't. Who else can make fire?
Labyrinth has a world that can make fire but this is one of her good days. Lung? In the Birdcage. Sundancer? Also not her M.O. Genesis? Hell if I know but probably unlikely. Othala and Fenrir's Chosen? Maybe. None of the Pure nor the Undersiders have fire.
The Merchants picking a fight? Plausible but unlikely given the beating they took. Kid Win? Potentially but hardly anything he'd do. Miss Militia? Again, unlikely. No one in New Wave has fire either.
An out of town cape maybe? I don't think any of the heroes would do this? Who else has fire? ... Oh FUCK. The Slaughterhouse Nine! Burnscar! So, I don't see Shamrock, Spitfire, or Burnscar here. Buck's finding Shamrock and Labyrinth is clearly with someone up there.
I can't risk it not being Spitfire. I teleport into the room...just in time to see who I can only guess is Burnscar leaving through the door. She glances back at me and steps away. I look at the room. It looks like a twisted solitary confinement cell. Shit, Elle went to her bad place.
I panic for a moment when I don't see Labyrinth. Then I look down and see her, curled in a ball below the window. I'd shut down Burnscar...but she's leaving and Labyrinth needs me. I hop into the room and put my hands on Elle's shoulders.
My power quickly takes hold of her and immediately, the world starts to fade away as I pull her into a hug. I turn, with her in my arms to look at where Burnscar left, keeping my eyes on Elle. I will kill her. Whatever she did to Elle to put her in this mindset...she will pay dearly for it.
The air is charged with tension as we sit in the kitchen on the upper floor of Palanquin. I'd asked Elle to make me a clear path from her room to here and from here to outside where everyone else is. I think she welcomed the distraction from her thoughts.
I lift my power's hold over her passenger and I can see the moment it does because her eyes become ever so slightly out of focus. In the next instant, the walls melt away to form one open floor but not touching our rooms.
I use this clear view to teleport us to the kitchen. I get her some water while she makes me a path to the street below. I give her shoulder a squeeze. Before teleporting to the group. I grab Newter and Faultline first, shutting off Newter's power before teleporting them up to the kitchen.
I can see that this image bothers Elle to some extent. I can see tears forming in the corners of her eyes. I grab a box of tissues from another room and put them down in front of her. I then teleport to Gregor, teleporting him to the kitchen.
Buck's still not back yet, so I grab my phone and return to the kitchen. "Elle." She looks at me. "I need you to try calling Shamrock. I'm gonna try Emily. I sent Buck out to find them but he's not back yet and I'm not leaving you alone. Can you do that for me?" She nods.
She picks up her phone and we each dial our respective teammate. I get no response from Emily, but Shamrock picks up. Elle puts her on speaker. "Is she gone?" I don't need to know the details to know who she's asking about.
"Yeah. Burnscar is gone." "Hey grandpa. I gotta say, your dog is a really good tracker." I smile. "Yes he is. Come back home. Newter, Faultline, and Gregor are all hurt. We need to leave as soon as possible." "Of course. On our way."
They hang up and I look at Elle. She looks back at me. I take off my visor and bandana, putting the visor in the case that I store it in whenever I'm not using it. It serves as a charging station for the internal battery of the visor and as an indestructible case to protect it.
I return to the kitchen with a first-aid kit. Elle has created 'beds' underneath each of our friends. I slide on gloves and hand her a pair as I pass. I am not worried about Newter or Gregor getting infected, because they can't, but Faultline sure can.
I proceed to show Elle how to treat burns while also thanking my dead Special Ops comrade that had taught me. By the time we hear Buck barking, we are already putting bandages on Faultline's injuries.
Emily, thankfully, isn't injured...but Shamrock is. Elle then helps me treat Shamrock's injuries while Spitfire fills in the blanks with what I missed. Before I can say anything, we hear Faultline stir. It's a little tricky to get her to not move but it helps when Newter and Gregor wake up.
Once we're all awake, I look at Faultline "Burnscar won't be back tonight, but we might get visited by other members. They're looking to fill their opening." She nods, knowing damn well what we have to do. She looks at each person individually before speaking.
"Pack your bags, we're moving to another base. I'll arrange for transport to our destination. We'll leave as soon as we can." We nod and do so. Once we're all ready to go, Faultline leads us to another one of her businesses.
Two days later, Faultline tells us to gear up. Hookwolf is calling a meeting to talk about the Slaughterhouse Nine. We'll attend, but only to stay in the loop. After the meeting though, we're leaving.
As much as I want to, I can't risk Shatterbird singing and making my visor explode. Thus, I pack it away in its indestructible travelling case. I put on the rest of my gear and join the others in the main room.
Labyrinth is sitting on the floor with Buck lying in her lap. Faultline and Shamrock are covering themselves head to toe to ensure that no one sees how much damage Burnscar did to them. Even Newter is wearing more clothes than usual.
The meeting is on a roof in the middle of the lake Leviathan made in Downtown. When we arrive, there are already three groups present. Fenrir's Chosen, the Pure, and those vigilantes that helped fight the ABB.
I spot Vigilant talking to someone wearing a black cloak with the hood up, a black belt with a few pouches, a light grey bodysuit, and a light grey mask. There's some kind of circle emblem with arrows on their chest.
The vigilantes are standing to Hookwolf's right, so we stand to his left. There's a bit of silence, but it is soon broken by the new member of the vigilantes, a girl by the sounds of it. "Oh. You guys have those too?" I glance at my team, but they're just as confused as I am.
Then, the girl pulls her mask and shirt apart, revealing a tattoo identical to the ones Newter, Gregor, and Shamrock have on her collarbone. This girl is a Case 53. There is a silence before Newter speaks up. "But you seem so...normal."
Shamrock hits him upside the head before looking at the girl. "Do you remember anything about that place?" She pauses but replies. "Just a lab...some needles...and I didn't like the ghost...also I hated it." Shamrock steps forward "No weird mutations?"
The girl shakes her head no. Newter hits Shamrock upside the head. "The ghost. You remember the Custodian. So you remember more than Newter and Gregor but less than me." I know that Shamrock wants to ask more, but she's interrupted by the arrival of the Undersiders.
The Merchants arrive next and I immediately know from the look about Skidmark that he's gonna make a scene. He starts yelling at Faultline about paying him back for the stuff we stole. I almost laugh at his stupidity...but then he suggests that Faultline suck his dick.
No sooner have the words left his mouth, then I am in front of him, holding him off the ground by the front of his costume. I growl at him as my power takes his powers hostage once more. "You're going to apologize."
Skidmark spits and hisses "No I ain't." He throws his arms out...but nothing happens. I grin as the panic sets in on Skidmark's face. Before I can 'convince' him to apologize, Hookwolf growls "Enough." I shoot him a challenging glare, daring him to come over here and make me.
He looks like he might, but Faultline speaks up "Put him down Anubis. He's not worth breaking the pact." I drop Skidmark to the ground, and teleport back to my family. I'm still between Skidmark and the crew, just as a reminder.
Hookwolf looks at Faultline "Keep your dog in order. He's pretty new, so I'm gonna count this as a warning. He does it again, there'll be trouble." Buck's hackles rise in retaliation to Hookwolf's comment. Not really. But he knows enough to know that Faultline and I are being challenged.
The situation diffuses when the Travelers arrive though, saving myself and Faultline from needing to respond. The Merchants stand by the vigilantes, the Undersiders stand next to us, and the Travelers stand next to the Merchants.
Finally, Coil arrives, taking up the spot next to the Travelers and the Pure fill in the gap between him and the Undersiders. Lastly, we are joined by Miss Militia, Weld, Battery, Triumph, and Clockblocker to represent the heroes.
Apparently, Coil has a precog, named Dinah Alcott, 'training' with him. She answers questions for him, and he helps her learn to use her powers and treat the headaches it gives her. My fists clench just knowing that Coil has a little girl at his mercy.
Still, the news that Jack Slash catalyzes the end of the world is disturbing. But, we don't know how much we can believe. After all, this is Coil we're dealing with. Miss Militia wants to talk to Dinah to confirm she's with him by choice, but he says that'll set back her 'progress'.
The new girl from the vigilantes steps forward. "It's true. I've seen it. Jack Slash needs to die here." Miss Militia asks hesitantly "Aeon?" She nods. "Correct." I glance at my teammates, but none of them can offer an explanation as to who she is.
Thanks to Hookwolf's stupidity and pride, the meeting quickly descends into a territory squabble. Apparently, the Undersiders and Travelers are slowly taking over the city. Miss Militia offers a solution but nobody takes it. It's then that I realized just how screwed we really are.