Got the Grimoire, Chapter 62

Chapter 62

Saturday, April 2, 2011

I let myself back into my apartment with a small yawn. I’d woken up a little earlier than usual to make Taylor breakfast, all part of my master plan to convince her to go talk to her dad. She’d folded once I’d laid out my arguments and made it clear that I wasn’t trying to force her to talk to him, thank God. I didn’t want to have another girl who wasn’t my girlfriend living under my roof, even if Crystal probably would have been alright with it.

I need more dude friends, I groused internally. Specifically ones who aren’t hitched and can only hang out once in a blue moon. Looking at you, Ethan and Shawn. I’d have tried to befriend Robin, but the speedster was… odd. I chalked it up to his powers and mindset. He was good in group settings, but one on one he tended to be a little quiet. I’d tried inviting him out for drinks once and it had been just a little awkward. Rory… the guy and I just didn’t mesh for some reason.

There is always Armsmaster, Raziel chimed in.

Colin isn’t the social sort, I’m lucky he showed up to the housewarming. He’s far too much of a workaholic. Not to mention he’s my boss, so there has to be a degree of professionalism there.

What of your paramour’s brother?

Hm, there’s an idea. Eric is a pretty chill dude.

The front door opened again with a click and Mimi practically danced inside, a grin stretched across her face. “Mak!”

“I’m right here, you don’t have to yell. Went well I take it?”

“I’m going to have a provisional week of training,” she said proudly. “If I pick up the basics quickly and perform well, then I’ll be officially hired.”

“Congrats on that. One more step to being an actual functioning adult.”

“Thanks! Where’s Taylor, I want to tell her the good news.”

“Back home. She and her dad talked things out.

Mimi’s face fell. “You jerk. I was looking forward to having another girl around the place and now you’ve gone and ruined things.”

“I ruined things by pushing Taylor to reconcile with her father and make sure he didn’t immediately try and force her into the Wards or even quitting caping all together?”

“…It’s no fun when you’re all logical about things. I just want to hang out with other girls sometimes.”

“You want me to start inviting Crystal over more often?” I teased.

She frowned. “I don’t think she really likes me all that much,” she confessed. “She’s not like, a bitch to me or anything, but she’s always watching me and looking a little suspicious.” She thought about it for a minute. “I guess I would be too if the guy I was dating lived with another chick.”

“Yeah, I’m sure that’s it.” Not because she knows you’re Burnscar and is probably more than little leery of a relapse. Totally not because of that. “I’ve got a Protectorate meeting to get to and then I think I’m going to try and grab a drink with a couple of coworkers. You good for food tonight?”

She waved me away as she stripped off her jacket and threw it over a chair before falling onto the sofa. “I’ve got leftovers, go do your thing.”

I watched her for a moment as she turned on the T.V, trying to judge what kind of mood she was really in before I shrugged and pushed it to the back of my mind. Mimi knew she could talk to me if something was bothering her. I did feel a little bad about her lack of social life, but it hadn’t been long since her ‘rehabilitation’, I’m sure she’d find other friends eventually.

I strode from the room, changed clothes with a snap of my fingers, and then stepped through the shadow of one wall and out of the shadow of a totally separate wall at PRT HQ. I walked through several hallways, giving passing nods to PRT agents and troopers that I’d worked with in the past, and reached the meeting room with time to spare. Naturally, Colin and Hannah were the first two present.

“Armsmaster, Miss Militia. Good to see you both,” I greeted them.

Hannah did her little eye-smile thing and Colin gave me a nod.

“Good to see you as well, Magus,” Hannah replied. “Did you hear the news yet?”

I wracked my brain for a moment before settling on a shrug. “Nothing as far as I know.”

“Kid Win unlocked his specialty,” Colin said, satisfaction lacing his voice. “He showed me his latest project and even accounting for improvements since you balanced his brain chemistry, it’s a remarkable piece of work. Judging on what he has built so far and the schematics he showed me, I’m more confident than ever in him.”

“That’s excellent to hear,” I said. “You must be proud.”

Colin gave a small shrug. “There is nothing for me to be proud of,” he said. “I have to admit that for a while I wrote Kid off due to the poorer quality of his work, only assisting when I happened to have the rare free moment. His current improvements are thanks to you and his own hard work.”

Hannah glanced at him, then back to me. “Regardless, we should still celebrate. It’s a momentous thing for a young Tinker.”

“Pizza party for the Wards?” I only half joked.

“As much as I’m sure they’d like that, there are other types of food and other things we can do to show our appreciation and pride in them,” Hannah said. “Especially when we have a Mover of your abilities present.”

“I’ll look into it,” I promised.

We sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes before the other members of the Protectorate as well as the Wards began to filter in. Piggot arrived midway through and sat in stony silence as the room filled with chatter. Once the last cape had arrived, she stood and cleared her throat to gather all of our attention.

“Thank you all for being here. I know Saturdays are an important day, but I finally received permission from Chief Director Costa-Brown to share some rather important information with you all.” Piggot glanced at me. “Magus, while we are already in our most secure meeting room, would you do me the favor of putting up one of your sound-proofing fields?”

A thought and a whisper of power and it was done. I gave Piggot a shallow nod.

“Thank you. Now, as many of you are aware, we are due an Endbringer attack. As you might also be aware, Magus once gained a precognitive vision of the future or at least a future. The important thing about all the information he shared with us though, is that so far it has been incredibly accurate. That being said, his latest prediction is one that will affect us all.” Piggot hit a button on a small remote and a screen flickered to life. It showed a calendar along with a circled date. “Magus predicts that Leviathan will be attacking the city on this day, just over a month from now.”

The room erupted with noise.

“And you’re just telling us now?!”

“How do we know this information is accurate?”

“Thinkers can’t predict Endbringers!”

“What are we doing to do?”

Piggot glared with such ferocity backed by sheer stubborn will that eventually those who had begun freaking out, settled back down. “As I was about to explain, this information was passed through a number of Thinkers as well as a prototype predictive software that Armsmaster has been developing with the aid of Dragon. All of them concur that Magus’ prediction is very likely. Brockton represents the ideal Leviathan target and we’ve had a large amount of conflict recently. We’re still trying to stamp out the remnants of the Empire and ABB, plus there are the Merchants to consider. All of these factors mean that we are more than likely going to be seeing Leviathan on our shores.”

She glanced around the room, eyes full of resolve. “That being said, this is the longest amount of time we’ve ever had to prepare for an Endbringer battle. So we’re going to be discussing strategies to consider as well as how we are going to ensure that you are all more powerful than ever when Leviathan arrives.”

Piggot began displaying diagrams of the city, only for Assault to raise a curious hand. She sighed and gestured to him. “Go ahead.”

“Ma’am, what do you mean by ‘more powerful than ever’?” he asked curiously.

“Magus?” Piggot nodded to me.

“You all know how I can imbue objects with power? Like the necklaces I made for you all? Yeah, I can basically do that to either your bodies or your powers now. We tested it out on normal people first, watched for any side effects, had Watchdog take a look, all that fun stuff. Now we have several agents with minor Brute and Mover ratings. More recently I empowered Laserdream and the independent heroes known as Arachne and Firestorm can now attest that her shields are far more effective as is her top flight speed. Haven’t had occasion to test the lasers yet, but I’m sure they’ve also improved dramatically.”

“I also asked Magus to test his new ability on me,” Colin added. “I can make full reports available to everyone on my new physical capabilities.”

Assault looked uncomfortable, but nodded. It was Battery who raised her hand next. “Is it just me or does that sound uncomfortably like Teacher?”

“Teacher took something from those that he gifted. My power works as an equivalent exchange. I’m given something as a ‘sacrifice’ and my power converts it into energy that I can then use to empower others.” I grinned wryly. “I also recently empowered Eidolon. The extent of that upgrade is classified, but I’m sure you’ll see an improved performance for him in this next battle against Leviathan.”

“Due to the nature of this power, Magus will not empower anyone who feels uncomfortable with the similarities to Teacher,” Piggot said. “Only those willing to take the edge. Any other questions before we move on to strategies?”

Silence.

“Good. Based upon Magus’ own foresight, we have developed a stratagem that the Chief Director believes will result in Leviathan’s permanent end. The good news is that we have all the resources to pull it off within this city. The bad news is that it will require offering amnesty to Kaiser.”

Dauntless grunted. “So that’s why we haven’t shipped them all off yet.”

“Quite.” Piggot smiled without mirth. “Most of the Empire 88 that we still have in custody have powers that lend themselves rather well to an Endbringer fight. The Chief Director decided that they are a resource we cannot afford to throw away on the eve of such a pivotal battle.”

“To hell with that!” Triumph snapped. “We just got rid of those bastards and now you’re saying they’re going to go back out onto the streets?!”

“Certain members with more minor crimes to their name will be allowed to go free with the caveat that they are not to remain in Brockton Bay,” Piggot said coolly. “Others will receive reduced sentences if they cooperate. Some will be offered the Protectorate reformation program.”

Most of the team didn’t look happy about it, but I felt ambivalent. I myself had advocated for recruiting the less violent and more powerful members after all.

“Now, are you all ready to hear the plan or not?” Piggot asked. She glared until everyone had settled down and then nodded. “Good. The plan is to hopefully stop Leviathan before he even arrives in the city. We’ll have as many forcefield and barrier specialists as we can get set up fields to slow him down on the approach, but the beach itself will have the main trap. Our plan is to have Kaiser create a cage of pillars and spikes made from his power and then have Clockblocker freeze those, trapping Leviathan in an unbreakable cage. Once he’s locked in, we will have Eidolon, Magus, or another outside specialist hit Leviathan with everything they have. Part of the reason we want to do this on the beach is because the potential for collateral damage is high. If we can pull this off, we’ll have mounted the successful Endbringer defense in history, even if we only drive the thing off instead of killing it.”

“I’ve prepared briefing packets here,” Colin spoke up. “They are not to leave this room, but they go into more detail with the plan, as well as back-ups and alternatives should Kaiser not cooperate.” He glanced at Clock. “Or should you not wish to participate. Endbringer fights are voluntary after all and you’re still a Ward.”

“Fuck that,” Dennis said rather quickly. “I’ve seen the footage. If I can play a part in sending one of those bastards packing, I’m all for it.”

Piggot nodded with approval and I saw faces setting with resolve around the table.

Leviathan wouldn’t know what hit him.

***

Ethan slammed his glass down onto the table and let out a satisfied belch. I glanced at the shuddering glass and his smirk, realizing that he’d used his powers to prevent the cup from breaking.

“Showoff. So how you feeling?” I asked.

Ethan scowled at his beer before taking a more measured sip. “Conflicted. You know that I was Madcap, but working as a hero gives you a bit more perspective, you know? I still don’t like the Birdcage, but I can’t deny anymore that some assholes just belong there, there’s no rehabilitation in the cards for them. It’s either the Cage or someone needs to put them down for good. Still, using their cooperation as a get out of jail card… It rankles me.”

“We could use the extra firepower,” Shawn pointed out. “We all know the risks of an Endbringer battle, better a few villains get in the firing line than more Wards in my opinion.”

Brutal. But I understood the sentiment.

“We have all the firepower we need with Mak around,” Ethan boasted, throwing an arm around my shoulders. “I bet Costa-Brown is just offering them a second chance out of habit.”

“It could be just pure pragmatism,” Robin said thoughtfully. “No cape is invincible, what if Mak gets taken down?”

“Then we’re all fucked,” Sam said bluntly. She took a sip of her cocktail before continuing. “Magus is our heaviest hitter by far and has enough Mover abilities to dodge whatever comes his way. Plus we know you’ve got some kind of barriers up your sleeve, don’t even try and deny it,” she said to me. “If he goes down, then there isn’t much else to do.”

“There are specific counters to my powers,” I argued. “Or angles that I haven’t thought how to defend against. Stormtiger almost killed me because I let my guard down and didn’t consider how he’d attack me when he wasn’t holding back. Even if I do go down though, the contingencies should be good enough to drive Leviathan off.”

“Or just pray that Scion passes by,” Ethan said with a chuckle.

The whole table laughed, though mine was a little forced. They all still considered Scion the first and most powerful parahuman. It made me ill to consider the impact to morale fighting him would cause.

All the more reason to attack him first with a hand-picked team. Just me, the Triumvirate, maybe a few others with the right powers. I didn’t need an army, an army would just get in the way and-

I felt a light shove on my shoulder and I glanced over at Ethan. “What was that?”

“You spaced out. We were just asking if you think you could take on Scion.”

“Pft, are you kidding? The first parahuman, the most powerful one as far as we know? The one who makes even Eidolon look weak? That Scion?” I laughed, though it was unconvincing to even my own ears.

“You’re pretty powerful yourself. A lot of folks think you’re already beyond the Triumvirate these days,” Shawn said thoughtfully.

“I’ve got more tricks up my sleeve, but they’re still masters in their field. I can’t make myself stronger or tougher than Alexandria or faster than Legend. And Eidolon’s powers are just hacks, that’s all there is to it,” I declared.

“You’re too modest,” Robin said. “You and Shawn both.”

I glanced over at the object empowerer. “You’re still on track to be Triumvirate-tier?”

“So they say,” the man said with an affable shrug. “So long as I survive a few more years,” he said morbidly.

“Man, don’t say that,” Ethan complained. “Too grim, even for you.”

“It’s true though,” Shawn said. “Rising stars don’t last long in this world. Between the Endbringers, other S-class threats, and foreign powers, we don’t tend to last long.” He glanced over at me. “You got lucky man, your powers got a significant boost early on, but me? I’m slow and steady, but slow and steady will get me killed eventually.”

I thought about it for a moment. “Then we’ll just have to see how our powers synergize, now won’t we?”

He raised and eyebrow and took a sip of his beer, nodding thoughtfully.

“Enough with the work talk, too depressing,” Sam declared. She smiled at me. “How are things with Crystal?”

Ethan let out a wolf whistle while I started stuttering out of sheer embarrassment.

My coworkers- my friends -were awesome, but they could be damn annoying sometimes.

***

A/N: Just like in real life, it's hard to balance all the different characters that Mak knows. I don't know how some fics do it, they just masterfully pull off the right amount of screen time with all the important characters. Anyway, the clock moves onward and the Bay prepares for Leviathan's arrival. All according to plan, right?