People were running around, wrapping themselves in blankets, hiding in refrigerators, diving into bathtubs, but it was all useless. The bites of insects, from bedbugs to hornets, from woodlice to huge centipedes, drove people to a state of 'Hell on Earth'. After such a 'lesson', most decided to quit drugs. And those who didn't get the message received a second lesson, a third, and so on until they died.

Naturally, such large-scale justice could not go unnoticed by the PRT and Protectorate. After all, they were supposed to be maintaining order in this city, at least according to their commercials. So, one fine evening, six Protectorate heroes went 'hunting' for the Bee: Armsmaster, Miss Militia, Assalut, Battery, Velocity, and Triumph.

This was not the first attempt to capture the Bee, but this time the heroes decided to use bait. Armsmaster managed to track down one of the drug dealers and set up direct surveillance. The rest of the team hid nearby, also keeping an eye out for suspicious characters to essentially watch each other's backs.

I couldn't miss such an opportunity to once again rub the local heroes' noses in their own mess. My replicators had long since multiplied and installed cameras all over the city, constantly receiving and processing information, so I was aware of the trap in advance. I 'loaded' Taylor into a minivan, brought her to the scene, and tasked her with creating a humanoid swarm 'jumping across rooftops'. Armsmaster immediately spotted the decoy and of course 'took the bait'.

"Stop and surrender!" - he shouted pompously, stepping in front of the 'Bee'.

In response, she buzzed angrily and rushed... towards the drug dealer. Armsmaster used some device built into his halberd, trying to stun the insects with an electric shock, but most of the swarm dodged and continued moving.

"You shall not pass!" - Miss Militia appeared on the scene.

She was armed with a flamethrower, which had proven relatively effective. But the insects weren't stopped, especially since more and more of them were arriving by the second, replacing their fallen 'comrades'.

The angrily buzzing figure 'jumped' from the roof and approached the drug dealer, who was already about to flee, hearing the suspicious sounds. He would have been food for the bugs, but then Triumph stepped in to protect the criminal. He used his sound manipulation ability to paralyze all the insects and completely disperse the swarm.

"That's enough for today" - I ordered Taylor. - "Let's go home."

"But why? Because of the heroes?"

"Those aren't heroes" - I smirked. - "And tonight's news will explain everything."

"What? What do you mean?"

"You'll see."

That evening, another scandal broke out, further tarnishing the Protectorate's already battered reputation. In a new video, the Bee 'convincingly proved' that the Protectorate heroes were protecting drug dealers, shielding them from attacks. Many scenes were shot in close-up with sound, revealing the 'heroes' conversations that exposed them better than I could have. The drug dealer hadn't just stood around; he actively 'sold drugs' to buyers who practically lined up for him. After all, it was becoming increasingly difficult to get a 'drug' in Brockton Bay, and drug prices had skyrocketed.

My covert surveillance network of replicators had already covered the entire city, so I was aware of all significant events. One such event couldn't escape my notice. The 'lawlessness' the Bee had brought to the city's streets greatly displeased the underworld bosses, and they decided to hold a 'meeting' to discuss their response.

I watched this meeting 'in live', as the bar where it took place was literally packed with my cameras. Each camera looked like a dark gray dot about a couple of millimeters in diameter. And most importantly, the device was only one-tenth of a millimeter thick. For data transmission, quantum communication channels were used instead of radio waves. So, detecting such a camera was nearly impossible. And even if someone managed to do it, the camera would immediately self-destruct, leaving behind... just a speck of dirt indistinguishable in chemical composition from fly excrement.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

The meeting was attended by Empire 88, the ABB, the Undersiders, and Faultline's Crew, with Faultline and Coil himself present. The Merchants also settled in a corner, not allowed at the main table.

"So, we've gathered today at Kaiser’s request to discuss the situation in the city" - Coil began. - "Kaiser, you have the floor."

"That damn insect is driving me nuts!" - the leader of the Nazis roared, slamming his fist on the table. - "She's attacking all the drug points in my territory. Drug sales have dropped tenfold!"

"You're not the only one suffering losses" - Lung remarked grimly. - "My men have ended up in the hospital because of her, and a couple dozen have even died."

"We need to do something. We've tried attacking her several times, but this swarm is just indestructible."

As I had hoped, the stupid capes were attacking the 'decoy', while I was constantly monitoring my surroundings and leaving at the first sign of danger. So far, I hadn’t risked pitting Taylor against the capes, as for most of them her insects weren't a threat. And the 'heroine' herself wasn’t eager to destroy the capes just because they were listed as villains. A reason was needed, and lately, the capes hadn't been causing much public trouble, so it was hard to accuse them of anything.

"I have a solution" - came a slurred voice from Skidmark.

"Oh? And what might that solution be?" - Kaiser asked, turning his head.

"We need to give dealers more drugs for personal use. When they're high, they won't care about the bee stings."

"And in a week, they'll all die from overdoses or blood poisoning" - the Nazi leader wasn't satisfied.

"There are plenty of people on the street" - Skidmark excused himself and fell silent.

"I propose we join forces" - Lung unexpectedly suggested. - "I would have dealt with this Bee long ago, but she seems to attack only where I'm not. If you can track her down, I'll handle her, no matter the cost."

"Who supports this proposal?" - Coil asked.

Kaiser silently raised his hand. Grue, the leader of the Undersiders, followed suit. Coil also raised his hand.

"I don't mind" - Faultline said. - "But I work for hire only. If you pay me, I'll take care of the search."

"I'll pay" - Lung replied grimly.

"Great. Unanimous" - Coil concluded with satisfaction. - "I suggest we exchange phone numbers to report any signs of insect activity. Tattletale, I suggest you handle analyzing all this information."

"Fine" - she frowned. - "But my power tells me someone else is behind the Bee. And even now, this someone is watching us."

Oops! Looks like I've been discovered. However, I was on the other side of the city at the time, so the only ones affected by this revelation were the villains themselves.

"What?" - Kaiser got nervous. - "Is someone else here?"

"No, it's remote surveillance. I don't understand how. Something technical."

"A tinker" - Lung grimly guessed.

"This complicates things" - Coil frowned.

"I don't care how many of them there are!" - the ABB leader roared. - "Track down those responsible for the attacks, and I'll punish them all! No one dares to invade my territory."

With that, the meeting's substantial part ended, and I switched to making personal plans. Want to punish me? Well, well. My superpower had already reached a level where it could be used in combat. And not just used, but to destroy any opponents who got within a couple of hundred meters of me. That's the distance I could perceive the surrounding world, and the same distance my 'black mist' could travel.

Well, if Lung thirsts for my blood, it makes sense to punish him first. It wasn't time to destroy the villains yet. Some events needed to be spaced out over time to make it harder to link them together. I was almost ready to start producing technology with the replicators and then have the Dockworkers assemble it. This would serve as an excellent cover for making money and a foundation for my plan to 'revitalize' the city.

But to start production, I needed 'seed capital'. The replicators could do a lot. The docks were full of rusty ships, which served as an excellent 'resource base'. But valuable and rare earth elements were much harder to find. I needed to buy them to start producing technology and improve the replicators' 'lives.'

Given the circumstances, it's time to make Lung my 'sponsor'. After all, he knows all about 'protection rackets'. Now I'll con him out of his money.

The replicators found out that a large sum of money had recently been delivered to Lung's casino. He had planned to spend it on buying drugs, but 'unexpectedly' that business had ceased to be profitable. So now Lung was going to use the money to eliminate the Bee. Therefore, it made sense to lighten his pockets, killing two birds with one stone. And it was time to start training Taylor in combat operations. 'Rob the robbers' is an excellent motto for champions of good and justice, so I think I can convince her of the necessity of this raid.

I didn't want to give Taylor much time to think, so I planned to brief her on the operation's details just before we set out, scheduled for tomorrow. By that time, Lung was supposed to be meeting with his gang's core in the Docks, leaving the casino in the care of regular guards.