Intermission 7.5

Colin Wallis

2002, March 2: Brockton Bay, NH

It wasn't over.

I slouched in my armor and leaned on my halberd for support. The combat module I was running attempted to mirror Hyunmu's martial art, but perhaps because it was tailored for a much younger body, performing the same flowing dance was extremely taxing on me.

I'd downgraded my internal temperature control program in favor of the improved combat module. It had proved itself a worthwhile trade, but I sorely wished I had found a better compromise now. I was completely drenched in sweat and I knew my undersuit would need to be peeled off when I returned. I'd be a mess of bruises and strained muscles for days, most of it caused by the contractions of my own armor as it forced my body to move in ways I hadn't yet perfected.

Still, that was future-Colin's concern. In the present, I forced myself to take steady breaths and stand to face my last opponent, the Iron Prince.

He was Allfather's son, or at least a close relative considering the genealogy of inherited powers. His sister, Iron Rain was her name, had died a handful of years back. Marquis was blamed for it, though I had my doubts. I'd never met the man, but by all accounts, he was a disciplined man who abided by his own code of honor, chief among them to never harm a woman.

Nonetheless, the blame was laid at Marquis' feet publicly. What Allfather and Iron Prince thought of the matter in private was unknown to me. Too much about the Empire's leadership was shrouded in mystery, especially their prince, a fact I was sorely lamenting now.

He stood triumphantly over Brandish's breaker state. They'd reached a sort of stalemate; he could not breach the forcefield and it seemed that she could not emerge to continue the fight. And yet, he could not turn his attention fully to me either, lest she emerge long enough to cut his legs from him.

"Unfortunate," the false prince clicked his tongue. Everything about him screamed condescension, the air of a man who believed all else his inferior. "Was Allfather lesser or are Hero's pupils so mighty?"

"There is nothing a tinker can't do," I replied firmly. I activated a discrete trigger command through my UI and felt the slight prick of a needle pierce my neck. The stimulant cocktail was experimental and had been watered down just in case, but it should give me the strength needed to continue. I had to keep him talking, catch my breath and give my body time to respond to the chemicals.

"With powers that are not yours," he scoffed. "A tinker is no better than a toymaker. What are you without your toys, Armsmaster? Strip them away and you are but a man with delusions of grandeur, forever aping powers you wish you could have, greatness you wish you could reach."

"And what does greatness look like? You? The entitled brat whose only legacy is the pain and suffering of innocents?"

"Innocent? You call those niggers and spics innocent? That same chink whore that paints the street in the viscera of good men?" He was building up a head of steam now and I was happy to let him have his soapbox. I had to give it to him; he had an excellent voice for soliloquies. It rang out over the Trainyard clearly even despite the metal helmet. Or perhaps he'd built his armor to both disguise and project his voice? Whatever the case, it was a pity the talent was wasted on filth like him. "You think the Empire is a menace, but we are all that stands between this city and mayhem! We put down criminals and rabid dogs! We do the work that you heroes are too afraid to do, shoulder burdens you are too cowardly to bear."

"The ravings of a lunatic. You're an eloquent orator, Iron Prince, but that's all you are."

I counted down the seconds on the clock attached to my UI. The time for talk had passed.

With zero warning, I lunged towards him. I had about four minutes' worth of adrenaline coursing through my veins before I'd be forced to retreat. I had to end this now.

Fighting Iron Prince was a much different experience from fighting Allfather. One might think their fighting styles would be similar, but that was only superficially so thanks to their related powers.

Allfather was a brute in the colloquial sense, not the assessment sense. He was direct and swift in his offense but had very little in terms of defense. He could generate and launch blades as swift as a bullet but was a very straightforward fighter. There were only so many strategies he could employ with his power and the man himself was not the type for cunning tactics in the first place.

The Iron Prince was the polar opposite of his father. His power forfeited the offensive pressure of Allfather's, but in exchange provided great defenses and mastery of the battlefield. He was, all told, a far more balanced figure, the gentleman to his father's berserker.

Even with my second wind, I was immediately pushed to the limit. I had to be mindful not just of my footing, but also of attacks that emerged from every angle. He didn't just sprout blades; he wove nets of razor wire to ensnare me, chains to weigh me down, and beams to bludgeon me. He was by far more creative than his father.

Still, it was all regular steel in the end. My plasma blade was more than up to the task of cutting through all obstacles. I danced and weaved between them, cutting my way through to him. On the way, I spared the time to bat Brandish's breaker ball off the dais. If she could not join me, then perhaps she could help break down the palisade from the inside so Cannonade could assist me.

"You cannot reach me," he mocked as he wove yet another barrier of blades. He was learning even as we fought. He quickly found that barbs, briars, and branches were far more effective than singular columns of iron. I cut through then like all the others, but random shifts in angles and material density did more to redirect my blade than a large but consistent mass.

I remained silent. Talking in battle was a sin. No matter what he said, I was gaining and we both knew it.

And then, when I was merely a foot away, every alarm in my helmet blared in warning. I'd completely forgotten about the aerial dogfight in my battle-high, a dogfight Lady Photon was losing. She couldn't hope to keep up with four villainous flyers, especially with Hammerhead's likely death and it had been all she could do to keep them from interfering with the battle on the ground.

She ultimately failed. She dodged a burst of black miasma from Rangda, the newly recruited Ryujin cape, but was therefore unable to prevent Purity from raining blasts down on me.

"Armsmaster!" Brandish cried as she interposed herself in front of me, a hardlight tower shield in hand. The shield crackled as though made from condensed lightning and I remembered hearing she could impart both heat and kinetic force at will.

She did so now, detonating that force outward to directly oppose the blaster-eight, if only for a moment. I caught her as we were thrown back and used my armor to roll on the ground, minimizing the damage. We rolled to our feet and faced down Iron Prince and Purity.

In just an instant, the situation had changed. I took the brief lull in the fighting to take stock of the battlefield. Allfather was still down. The Iron Prince was the only Empire cape on the ground. Sengoku and Shirokumo were nowhere to be seen, though much of the Trainyards were trapped with wires. In the sky, Pale Rider had interposed himself between us and Lady Photon, using his clones to keep her from assisting her sister. Without further orders from Shirokumo, Rangda and Hanya were hovering back, waiting to see how things would go.

Paladin, Cannonade, and Flashbang were through breaking down Iron Prince's palisade, but could not on the Empire capes without potential friendly fire, nor could they relocate easily thanks to the unaccounted for Ryujin capes. They took the best course of action available and turned their attention to the three villainous capes still in the air, coordinating artillery barrages against Pale Rider, Rangda, and Hanya. They would be here soon enough; the Ryujin seemed to be conducting a fighting retreat, their flyers covering for what few of their men remained conscious.

"Iron Prince," Purity said, "they'll be here soon."

"They will," he gave her an imperious nod. "I think it's about time to go, don't you?"

"Allfa-"

"No matter. We can get him back. Enjoy this victory, Armsmaster, fleeting though it shall be."

Purity looked briefly conflicted but picked up her leader and rose into the sky. Contrary to popular belief, plate armor was not particularly heavy, roughly fifty pounds, so she had no trouble lifting him with the assistance of her power.

I fired a tranquilizer dart at Purity, but a clone from Pale Rider took the blow and covered their retreat. Brandish and I had little recourse but to watch them run. I cursed myself. Even now, my ranged options were greatly limited.

X

2002, March 6: Brockton Bay, NH

"The Protectorate and the PRT scored a landmark victory against the criminal elements of this city," I watched from my lab as Director Cooper gave his speech at a press conference in front of city hall. He looked strange and somewhat uncomfortable standing there with the mayor, police chief, and other local dignitaries. His suit fit fine and he had an appropriately stern but celebratory expression as he delivered the news, but I got the impression that the ex-marine wanted to make this as brief as possible.

"Thanks to the hard work of our heroes, we have captured nine villains, including Rebellion, leader of the Black Panthers, and Allfather, leader of the Empire. That last victory was possible only through flawless cooperation between Armsmaster and Brandish of New Wave."

He went on to explain the broad strokes of the battle at the Trainyard before making several comments about the death of Mrs. Simmons that started this war. He also unveiled a new initiative in which the PRT would more closely collaborate with police. Finally, he called for a brief minute of silence for Hammerhead, the fallen changer.

"Rest assured that this is not the end. We struck a blow against crime and racial injustice in this city, but it's not over. Neither the PRT nor the Protectorate will rest until we have rooted out the gangs and restored order."

Overall, a short speech that lasted a scarce four minutes. Director Cooper was not a verbose man. On the other hand, the mayor most certainly was. The director was followed by the mayor and other higher-ups in his administration who all did their best to associate their names with the PRT, even if their jobs had absolutely nothing to do with law enforcement.

I rolled my eyes. Politicians.

Social leeches notwithstanding, I had to admit, it felt good to have my name on everyone's lips. I worked for every accolade, spent sleepless nights building to become the hero I was now. It was validation, plain and simple, proof that my time has not been in vain.

I turned to my armor and got to work. As satisfying as capturing Allfather was, the battle at the Trainyard, highlighted my weakness to ranged opponents. Had I had a shield, perhaps Brandish would not have felt the need to defend me. Had I had better options than a dart launcher, perhaps I could have captured Purity and prevented Iron Prince from fleeing.

Any long-range options I added had to be done in such a way as to not interfere with my current fighting style. More importantly, it would mean upgrading my targeting systems and revamping the way my armor rerouted energy reserves for different modules, a tall order given how little software real estate I had in my armor as things stood.

I decided to consult Zero Day once more. He usually had good advice on the matter.

X

Two hours later, we six remaining heroes were gathered inside a conference room alongside Director Cooper and Deputy Director Corbin. It was but one of several meetings we'd had over the past four days. They were tedious but necessary so no one complained as Director Cooper passed around manila files with meeting notes already contained within.

"Right," he grunted, "let's jump to it. This whole shitfest started when the Ryujin massacred the Dockside Tigers. They then went on a campaign to take over territory in the north. The Empire took it as an opportunity to remove the Black Panthers from the board. It ended four days ago when we captured Allfather. Shirokumo is still at large. We all clear on the general order of events?"

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Uh, yeah, but that's all good, right?" Bonfire asked. I'd learned a bit more about the resident alcoholic in the past few weeks. His position here was not voluntary. He triggered, started a minor gang of anarchists in Hartford, Connecticut, then was brought in for arson. Because he hadn't killed anyone, he was given a plea deal and reassigned to Brockton.

It was Akitsu who answered. The Japanese woman had been saddened by Hammerhead's passing, more than I'd initially expected considering his failed attempt at wooing her. "On paper, yes. In actuality, not necessarily."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Before the new year, there were something like seven or nine different gangs in the city, depending on how you wanted to count them. Now, there are just three: Empire 88, Ryujin 893, and the Plum Blossom Company."

"Hold on," Luminous cut in. "There were the Dockside Tigers… Black Panthers… That's five."

"Glad you can count," Akitsu replied dryly, "but those are the names you know. After taking out the Tigers, Ryujin absorbed a few smaller street gangs. You didn't hear about them because most didn't have any capes worth mentioning, their crimes were relatively light, and the police could deal with them without help. When Ryujin started their takeover, they either killed or recruited all the capes they could find so it's possible that Shirokumo is sitting on a few more than she showed at the Trainyard. Maybe because she couldn't trust them not to backstab her in a fight, or maybe because she's keeping them in reserve for something else. I have it on good authority that Rangda is one of those who got a deal she couldn't refuse."

"Down the list, Akitsu. Give us a brief on the state of things," Director Cooper said.

"Yes, sir. Starting with the Ryujin, they've got four capes we're aware of: Rangda, Hanya, Sengoku, and Shirokumo. Crosscut and Zanbato were slain in the gang war. They now have the largest stretch of uncontested territory, though it's the north side so it's not exactly economically productive. Still, with both the Trainyard and Boat Graveyard, it's fair to assume they'll start to dabble more in smuggling. Shirokumo is a heartless bitch so I don't just mean drugs or guns either. People. Organs. Doesn't matter. If it pays, she'll do it.

"Then there's the Plum Blossom Company. They're as they always were since they didn't participate in the gang wars at all, but that makes them stronger relative to the others who lost capes here and there. I received some new intel. They have two capes that I know of: Yama and someone who goes by The Sage."

"Yama? What's with these weird-ass names?" Bonfire rolled his eyes.

"Yama is the king and judge of the underworld in Taoist mythology. Are you done?" Akitsu ground out. She had a short fuse belied by her normally clinical detachment.

"Yeah, sorry, sorry, go on."

"The leader of the Plum Blossoms is The Sage, not Yama. They deal in blackmail, sabotage, and other subtler crimes and are most prevalent among the Chinese community, though most Chinese people aren't loyal to them or anything like that. It's more appropriate to say that they operate like the triad and use the Chinese community as a smokescreen to hide their membership. Other than that, not much is known about them. Before you ask, no, I don't know what their powers are. They're by far the most mysterious of the gangs.

"Now, onto the Empire. They lost the largest number of capes in this mess. Stormfront and Aryan died in combat. We captured Asatru, Brunhild, Krieg, Huntsman, and Garm a few weeks back. They've since been moved out of the city. Allfather and Jarl Jotun are still in our custody. That's seven capes, leaving their roster smaller than it's ever been. Iron Prince, Purity and Pale Rider make up the core of their group, but I've heard that they're already on a recruitment drive."

Paladin leaned forward, his normally amiable face twisted into a concerned frown. "Recruiting? From where? And what do you think Prince is going to do after?"

Our intelligence specialist shrugged helplessly. "I tried tracing rumors and contacts. As far as I can tell, they have connections with white supremacist groups down south. The Herren clan is the most notable of them, but there are also other families that have deep roots with the KKK. I also suspect they have contacts in Gesellschaft, a German neo-Nazi crime syndicate, though I can't prove it. As for what he'll do, that's easy: Allfather is Iron Prince's actual father, about ninety-five percent sure, so a prison break sounds likely. The son is far more cunning than the father though, so he might wait on that for a bit, make us lower our guard."

"Then we move him as soon as possible."

"That's up to you and the director, Paladin. I just feed you rumors. Anyway, that's all the factions worth mentioning. The numbers have dropped, but each gang now holds more territory and so has more power and influence. It's like a jar of poisonous insects that were forced to cannibalize each other. The poison just sits and concentrates, making the ones that survive even more dangerous."

Director Cooper grunted and leaned back into his chair. "It is, but this was a necessary step to getting rid of the Empire for good. We need to strike while the iron is hot. Akitsu, your priority will be on ferreting out Empire bases. We're going to pull them out by the root before they can replenish their numbers."

"Yes, sir."

"U-Umm… Sorry," Luminous raised her hand. As the youngest, she'd been spared the vast majority of the gang war. Most of the time, she was stationed at or near base to guard Akitsu and the prisoners we arrested. I personally believed the director coddled her a little too much. Perhaps she would not suffer the Dunning-Kruger effect as a hero and compensate by being the team mom then. "W-What happened to the Black Panthers?"

"Doubletime went belly up," Bonfire joked, "like a fish."

"Bonfire!" Paladin barked. "Too far. You don't joke about the dead."

"Alright, geez. She's dead. Rebellion was transferred out. Who else is there?"

"No, Luminous is right," Akitsu said. "You are missing one: Witch Doctor. He used to animate taxidermied animals but revealed he could animate corpses. He made a bunch of Empire soldiers kill each other so he's likely to be at the top of their shit list. Or, he would be if they ever find him. No one's heard from him since the day Rebellion got captured."

"What do you think happened to him?" the director asked.

"If I had to guess? He's left the city. If there's a less PR-friendly power than corpse control, I can't think of any. Sure, villains don't care about image like heroes do, but that's only to a point. Desecrating the dead crosses the line for a lot of people regardless of legal alignment. He'll probably lay low and then crop up again as a new cape with a tweaked aesthetic. Look for any animal masters popping up in New England over the next month or two."

"Noted. So the Panthers are gone then… Can't say I'm sad about it, but…"

"Maybe, maybe not," Paladin said. "The Black Panthers started as an offshoot of the civil rights movement. Yeah, they committed crimes, but they did it with an honest belief that they were doing the right thing. I'm not saying they're right, but they truly thought they were necessary to protecting their community. I don't think that sentiment is going to go away until the Empire does."

"You're right. We'll have to keep an eye out for a resurgence of the group. Now, what's ne-"

Before the director could continue down the agenda, his secretary burst down the door. In seconds, she was staring down my halberd, Bonfire's blazing torch, Cannonade's pistol, and Luminous' glowing fist. "Director! You've got to-EEP!"

"Hold!" he barked. "Maybe don't barge into a room of jumpy capes right after a gang war, eh, Savannah?"

"Ehehe… Yes, sir…"

"Sorry, Savannah," Paladin apologized on our behalf, his everyday charm now a little forced. "We're a little on edge lately. What were you going to say? Has to be important to see you here."

"Right," she gulped nervously. "I got word from the cells, sir. Allfather and Jarl Jotun are dead."

"What?"

X

The base was a hive of activity as we tried to discover the intruder in our midst. The director had all exits shut, but I suspected it wouldn't help. We'd examined the security footage of course, but found nothing. Someone hand managed to delete the footage and the guard who was supposed to be on duty was nowhere to be found.

Allfather and Jarl Jotun were poisoned by someone and their bodies were discovered only hours after they'd already expired. Initial blood samples were flush with batrachotoxin, several times the dosage needed to kill most men. It told us that the poisoner wasn't concerned with trying to cover up the murders in any way; there was no attempt to make it look like an accident.

Were they so confident that they were above repercussion? Was it one of the scattered elements of the Black Panthers seizing an opportunity? It could even have been something tacitly approved by Paladin and Director Cooper, not that I'd ever broach the subject, they certainly were no friends of Allfather. Or was it a rogue element of the Empire acting independently of Iron Prince to remove what they saw as disastrous leadership?

Finally, after hours of fruitless investigation, we were permitted out of PRT HQ.

X

2002, March 9: Brockton Bay, NH

The last three days were hectic. As Paladin's second-in-command, now that the gang war was over, I was responsible for keeping the Wards program running smoothly while he and forensics analysts from the PRT analyzed what evidence they could glean from the two villains' bodies.

I wasn't hopeful.

I had arrived back in my lab from a meeting with the Wards Leader, a young man named Stalwart, who told me all he could about their regular duties. The meeting was an unnecessary reminder that I was awful with children. There was only one child I spent any extended time with and I suspected he was not a good example of average psychological development. Confronted with the task of managing the Wards program, I was put on the back foot from the start.

Not to say the task was difficult, assign patrol routes, enforce curfews, schedule training to develop powered and unpowered skills, and otherwise offer good, actionable advice, all relatively simple, reasonable tasks. Even so, I found those duties emotionally draining.

I intended to get some therapeutic tinkering in now that I had some time to myself, but a series of alerts went off on my computer. They were alerts I'd placed over several websites and news channels to monitor gang activity. Sighing, I turned it on. I was still so new to Brockton Bay; any source of information could only help.

The video in question was posted on numerous websites. The mods at PHO took it down, but there were plenty of sites with fewer restrictions or targeted sympathies. It gained enough traction that the evening news did a quick story on it, setting off my alert.

The Iron Prince stared back at me through the screen. He was seated at an ornate, mahogany desk, the sort that cost thousands and became heirlooms. Even through his full plate armor, the man radiated an undeniable sense of smug, villainous charisma.

To his right were two of his usual lackeys, Purity and Pale Rider. Purity glowed softly so as not to outshine her leader. I could see her brunette locks through the glow, a rarity with the woman. Pale Rider was dressed like a crusader. He'd overlayed one of his phantasmal clones atop himself to make it seem as though wisps of ghostly flame were coming from him.

To his left was the real surprise: Krieg and Brunhild, free and hale. They, along with Asatru, Huntsman, and Garm, had been moved out of the city and I had thought that they were no longer my concern. Their appearance sent my mind whirling through the possibilities. Did Iron Prince have contacts inside the PRT? No, of course he did, that wasn't the right question. As much as I wanted to trust my colleagues, I wasn't blind to the possibility of infiltration.

The better question was, were those contacts high up enough for him to intercept prison transports? Perhaps even to assassinate his own father? There was no question that he had a very different leadership style to his father and Jarl Jotun was Allfather's most loyal lieutenant… In fact, I did not see Asatru, Huntsman, and Garm, which implied that they had not been freed despite his unexpectedly long reach.

They were all men who ascribed to Allfather's style of unrestrained brutality. Could that have been intentional on his part? Had we inadvertently assisted him in getting rid of the old guard? Paladin had initially discounted Iron Prince as a suspect due to their familial relationship, but it seemed he'd been too hasty.

I glowered at the screen impotently. There wasn't a thing I could do about it now. He had overturned what should have been a crippling defeat for his organization and had done so in a way that cemented his rule.

To the far end of either side, there were two girls dressed in much the same manner as Brunhild. Blonde, blue-eyed, but young. Wards age. They stood submissively on the flanks, hands clasped and head bowed in deference to the five senior capes. I made a note of two new capes but paid little heed to them, so focused was I on Iron Prince.

"Greetings, Brockton Bay. You have cause to mourn this night for I have received word that Allfather, my father, is dead. He and Jarl Jotun were not granted the death of the valiant. They were slain in their beds with foul poison while under the care of so-called heroes!" he spat. He moved very little in his armor but such was his skill as an orator that it was impossible to mistake the underlying fury in his voice. If he was indeed the murderer, did he wait to announce their deaths so as to allow rumors to trickle down naturally and protect his spies?

"Yes. Allfather is dead. The man who began this grand cause is dead. The man who sparked in our hearts a sacred passion for the prosperity of our people is dead. The city has lost a true hero this night, and I, I lost my father. He is dead and there is nothing I can do to bring him back. So mourn, mourn the man who fought for you. Mourn the man who died for you.

"But rise. Rise because this is not the end. I refuse to let this be the end," he declared, slamming his hands on the desk. He stood and began to walk towards the camera. "I feared for the loyal so delivered Krieg and Brunhild from wicked hands. Know that in the same way, the righteous will be justly rewarded as I take up my father's cause."

He swung his hand to the side and from it sprouted an ornate sword. At the same time, a crown of wrought iron twisted itself from his helmet. Taking his sword, he aimed it at the camera and said, "I am his heir. I am the inheritor of his will and I will carry on his thankless task. I will purge this city of subhuman gangs and lawless lessers that prey on good men and women. I promise you a golden age of health and prosperity, an age in which the innocent need not fear cowardly spiders or inept heroes. This is my promise, one I make with the brave and loyal at my back:

"No longer am I the Iron Prince, for the time for princedom has passed. From this night forth, I claim my father's crown, the crown of the Empire. I. Am. Kaiser."

Author's Note

Obligatory disclaimer: Kaiser's opinions are not my own. Dear, anon, I'm Korean. It's kind of hard to be a white supremacist.

A more valid criticism of the past five chapters is that it feels rushed, because it is. This whole gang war could have taken two or three arcs but I condensed it because this story is not ultimately about the rise of Kaiser or the restructuring of Brockton Bay's geopolitics. This story is about Andy and this arc is about the ripples his actions caused, some familiar and others not.

I know most of you expected this so it's not much of a twist, but I still felt that it was a necessary one. Kaiser is described by Wildbow as being an exceptionally charismatic man and a phenomenal orator. Unfortunately, we don't actually see much of him because he got Levi'd. Pity, because I think charismatic villains are awesome. It's one of the things I think Nuclear Fire (a tinker of fiction story) did really well.

Now, obligatory random fact: There is a statue of Jesus Christ in Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea. The statue depicts Christ as being incredibly buff, with a huge grin fit for All Might. My friend showed me this in bible study with the running joke that he will literally carry all my sins.

*Note: I'm Christian. This isn't offensive, it's hilarious. Don't start a religious debate in my thread, just enjoy buff-Jesus.

Thank you for reading. To reach a wider audience, and because I enjoy a more forum-like setup to facilitate discussion, I like to crosspost to a wide variety of websites. You can find them all on my Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/fabled.webs.