11th April 2011
00:47
The ring shows me the approaching motorcycle in my mind's eye, the general construction reminding me more of an
Astartes bike than the more usual design. Scans show that it's riddled with exotic mechanical and electronic equipment, and…
That's a halberd.
So this is a 'superhero'.
I feel a moment of sympathy for my alter egos who had to put up with that sort of lunacy on a regular basis. Thundera has no such tradition, and never
will if I have anything to say about it.
The armour is passable, as light power armour goes. The colour is a little off-putting, but in an urban environment it probably serves adequately as camouflage. The exposed chin-. Is there a retractable chin guard? No, there isn't. Ordinarily I'd have said that such a small weak spot wouldn't matter significantly in urban combat, but if he routinely closes to
halberd range -and
stays there- then that clearly isn't the case. It also implies a vulnerability to gas weapons and contact toxins.
My own armour is a masterwork of technology and magic wrought for me by Mumm-Rana's hands.
My only influence is in the yellow lantern built into the cuirass, freeing me from the need to recharge the ring. It has served me well on a dozen battlefields, and a simple analysis shows that it will outperform… Armsmaster's? Armour in every regard.
The young woman with the insects is still watching from a nearby rooftop. I imagine that she's curious as to whether I
am a deluded serial killer or not, but I'm not sure that it's actually worth my while remaining here. While I doubt that the Undersiders are going to pass what I said on to anyone, my work will be easier if I can attack the local superhumans before they can gather hostages. Naturally, I would simply shoot through them, but I would prefer to minimise civilian casualties.
On the other hand, it would be useful to gain first hand information on the capacities of the local law enforcers. I do intend to pass the pacified city back to them after all.
Ring, scan for neurological oddities such as those so far seen in local superhumans.
Working.
Armsmaster turns onto this street, sees me and leaps from his bike, which slows, turns away and parks itself automatically. He watches me from a defensive crouch, polearm in the guard position.
Located.
The ring shows me an albino in a warehouse. The people around him have an unusual number of swastika tattoos, and the quantity of firearms rather implies that they're not Buddhists.
"Unknown parahuman-."
"Excuse me for a moment.
"
I fly upwards about a hundred metres, giving myself a clear line of sight to the warehouse. The albino operates under the name 'Alabaster', and has some sort of regenerative ability which resets his body when he's injured. The obvious counter is entombment, but logically speaking destroying the part of his brain which controls his ability should do the job.
The quantity of ammunition present does give me
some concerns, but I still have Orange Prime's cold gun designs on file so I should be able to prevent it cooking-
Located.
-off. I create a positron ray construct and a cold gun construct, target Alabaster's brain with the former and fire. There's a small blast as the positrons briefly interact with the outer wall of the warehouse and explosively neutralise a few of its electrons, and then another slightly larger one as the beam carries on and puts the positrons in a position to briefly interact with Alabaster's cranium.
His accomplices don't require such careful treatment. I target brains and hearts, moving from one target to the next in a matter of seconds. Few have time to
understand what's happening before they expire and… Ah, good show. The heat increase is palpable but nowhere near cook-off temperature.
I put my constructs into an 'at ease' position and return to ground level.
Located.
Armsmaster has come a little closer, but he was clearly monitoring me and the only change in his stance as I come to a halt on the road is to tilt his head to continue to track me.
"I apologise. You were saying?
"
"Did you kill these people?"
"Yes.
" I generate a data stick which should be compatible with local technology and float it towards him.
"A full recording of the incident. Death was near-instantaneous in all cases.
"
He lets the data stick float in front of him for a moment, and I notice some sort of broad spectrum probe deploy from his axe. Most likely trying to determine whether it's an explosive or not. After a moment he takes it with his left hand and places it inside an armoured compartment in his cuirass.
"If you surrender and accompany me now, it is possible that you will be offered a favorable plea bargain regarding these murders."
"Your statement is probably true. However, I am not interested in your offer.
"
"The alternative is that I defeat you and bring you there by force."
"I believe that you overestimate your chances. But I am curious as to your motives. What is it about what I've done here that bothers you?
"
"Aside from the cold-blooded murder of sixteen men, including-"
"Thirty-four men and three women.
"
"-both of the ABB's parahumans?"
Two-? Oh, yes, that corpse has a mask and a super tumour. I hadn't noticed at the time.
"And one belonging to Empire Eighty Eight.
"
"That will trigger a gang war. Dozens of innocent people will die in the crossfire when Empire Eighty Eight move in on former ABB territory."
"And what do you propose to do about it?
"
"I'm not here to discuss
policy with a
criminal."
"The correct thing to do is bring in the army, as you clearly lack the resources to deal with such a major upsurge in violence. That said, if local law enforcement had adequate resources to deal with the level of opposition you face then
this situation would not have arisen. You need not worry about collateral damage. I will simply kill all participants.
"
Located.
Oh, that's interesting.
"I had been under the impression that superhumans were prohibited from holding positions of authority in the Parahuman Response Team. Does that just apply to directors?
"
"Why are you asking?"
"Thomas Calvert is a superhuman. He has the signature growths in his brain. I don't yet have the data to tell you what his particular ability is, but there doesn't appear to be any record of it in your files. That seems like a substantial oversight, given his current role.
"
…
"How did you come by that information?"
"I scanned him just now. Determining whether someone is a supervillain or not requires a manual review, but those growths in your brain are quite distinctive.
"
"You can locate-?"
He cuts himself off, but I nod anyway.
"Yes. I'm going to get back to work, now. I suggest-
"
He gestures, and a bolas of some kind attempts to wrap itself around me. I catch it with a construct and drop it on the ground.
"-that you make preparations for your job suddenly becoming
possible. Farewell.
"
I rise into the air, target Purity and then fire.
