- Location
- England
Please tell me this is a prelude to How to divide the ABB, it would explain the rather different (
) approach Taylor took to Lung. Not sure how you'd explain the modified/created insects though.
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My Random Fiction Bits and Pieces
- Thread starter mp3.1415player
- Start date
) approach Taylor took to Lung. Not sure how you'd explain the modified/created insects though. 
Ace Dreamer
Verified Reality User
- Location
- Between The Unknown & The Known
OK, I wanted to think about this a bit before replying...
So. QA is now a top-level node. In other words, an Entity in her own right. And this is all down to Taylor, who escalated across Time. After being dead. Right. Good start!
So, does this mean QA will, if needed, 'acquire' shards for Taylor? Or, at least run interference for her? I wouldn't see this as quite what Broadcast Administrator does in Mauling Snarks as I'd suspect Taylor wouldn't (directly) get to know about the interactions, but it could be quite interesting... More network conflict... And QA has either been through Golden Morning or a failed jailbreak by Amy(Shaper)...
If future QA can still talk to future shards, are these an available resource? Could these be used to upgrade local hosts, in some way? If this is a time-line fork, effectively a created parallel universe (multiverse, actually...)... Or, has QA jumped to another existing (canon) Worm multiverse?
If future Doormaker is a shard that QA can navigate the network to, and find a power source for (should be manageable), maybe with a bit of spare shard shuffling, that could be a really useful resource... Any future Thinker Entity shards that're lying around unused might also be a nice resource... Particularly if there's one as good as Dragon was using, that could be re-purposed to do a bit of careful back-end shard network organisation and management...
Or get some spare Taylor bodies cloned-up, loaded with a useful version of her mind, and hooked to some shards to put them to good use... A good administrator makes effective use of resources... And, backups are good... (Imagine an immense ops centre in future Earth, completely staffed by Taylors... Maybe with a few Dannys, Lisas and Amys, running the infrastructure. )
You could argue that Taylor might use QA to partially split herself into two - she's got all the trauma of her future self to handle. And, she'd be advised to be able to keep her two sets of memories straight, so she can effectively 'be' local Taylor to all those 'time-bound' without the future experiences. Maybe the Taylor not currently running the body could be a back-seat driver to the other? Or, run a Skitter bug-clone body?
There does seem to be a great deal of potential to this, but, I'm really not sure I should encourage you.
So. QA is now a top-level node. In other words, an Entity in her own right. And this is all down to Taylor, who escalated across Time. After being dead. Right. Good start!
So, does this mean QA will, if needed, 'acquire' shards for Taylor? Or, at least run interference for her? I wouldn't see this as quite what Broadcast Administrator does in Mauling Snarks as I'd suspect Taylor wouldn't (directly) get to know about the interactions, but it could be quite interesting... More network conflict... And QA has either been through Golden Morning or a failed jailbreak by Amy(Shaper)...
If future QA can still talk to future shards, are these an available resource? Could these be used to upgrade local hosts, in some way? If this is a time-line fork, effectively a created parallel universe (multiverse, actually...)... Or, has QA jumped to another existing (canon) Worm multiverse?
If future Doormaker is a shard that QA can navigate the network to, and find a power source for (should be manageable), maybe with a bit of spare shard shuffling, that could be a really useful resource... Any future Thinker Entity shards that're lying around unused might also be a nice resource... Particularly if there's one as good as Dragon was using, that could be re-purposed to do a bit of careful back-end shard network organisation and management...
Or get some spare Taylor bodies cloned-up, loaded with a useful version of her mind, and hooked to some shards to put them to good use... A good administrator makes effective use of resources... And, backups are good... (Imagine an immense ops centre in future Earth, completely staffed by Taylors... Maybe with a few Dannys, Lisas and Amys, running the infrastructure.
)You could argue that Taylor might use QA to partially split herself into two - she's got all the trauma of her future self to handle. And, she'd be advised to be able to keep her two sets of memories straight, so she can effectively 'be' local Taylor to all those 'time-bound' without the future experiences. Maybe the Taylor not currently running the body could be a back-seat driver to the other? Or, run a Skitter bug-clone body?
There does seem to be a great deal of potential to this, but, I'm really not sure I should encourage you.
- Location
- Lake superior, Minoc
- Location
- Russia
Let´s be honest, QA doesn´t really need to do much persuasion. Because Taylor is best [Host].
It already has something to differentiate it: Shard-chan is talking to her. That's at least as big a change as the Peggy Sue itself.
Fanon! Her aging processed continued after taking her vial, eventually slowing down and stopping with her looking like she was in her mid-20s.
Preparations
- Location
- The general area. Possibly behind you.
This is another one I started writing for amusement then put to one side, only to run across again when I was tidying up. I've got a fair idea of the next part, since this was basically the setup for it, but I'm not sure if it would become a particularly long story if I finished it. I may still complete this part at some point just so I can say I did...
"I'm telling you this because the union was good to me for a long time, Mr Hebert." The speaker looked around in a somewhat paranoid manner as the person he was talking to watched him carefully, then returned his attention to his companion. No one else in the bar seemed to be paying attention, which appeared to make him a little less nervous. "I may not be part of that any more, but..." He sighed a little with a small shrug. "I can't just ignore everyone I worked with for so many years."
The other person at the small table tucked away in a corner of the tavern raised his glass of beer, taking a sip, while he studied the face opposite him. Putting the glass down again, he said, "I remember I warned you that the people you were hanging around with were bad news, Tim. No good can come from anyone who's even slightly connected with Neo-Nazis."
"I know that now," Tim mumbled, clenching his fists momentarily. "It's too late. The things I've done… I can't..." His voice dropped into a low groan and he pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes. "Once you're in the E88, you can't leave."
"You could go to the cops," the man watching him suggested, provoking a low hollow laugh.
"Yeah, like that would do anything other than get me and my family killed," Tim moaned, lowering his hands, then grabbing his own drink with trembling fingers. "Kaiser has people in the BBPD, I'm pretty sure he's got some in the PRT too… They have a lot of money, they can buy anyone they want around these parts."
There was silence for a while, during which time Tim finished his drink. Danny Hebert motioned to the man at the bar, lifting his own glass, then holding up two fingers. The bartender nodded, coming over a couple of minutes later with two more beers, which he put in front of each man. "Thanks, Pat," Danny said.
"No problem, Danny," the man said, a faint Irish accent tinting his voice, before leaving them too it.
Tim took a long swallow of his new drink, then plopped the glass down hard enough to make some slop over the edge. "Christ. I wish I could go back six months and just walk away," he muttered, leaning back in his chair. "I'm an idiot."
"Everyone is an idiot at least once in their life," Danny noted with wry amusement. "The trick is to try not to keep doing it."
Tim chuckled in a dead sort of way. "Yeah. Too late for that."
Leaning forward a little, Danny asked, "You're sure Kaiser is going to come?"
"Unfortunately, pretty much, yes," Tim nodded.
"Why? What's the Dock Worker's Association ever done to him?" Danny looked curious.
"Fuck, I don't really know," Tim shrugged. "Lots of different reasons. He's an asshole. He wants to expand his territory, take it from the fucking Merchants or ABB. The union keeps screwing up his smuggling plans. You remember that last time back in August last year, the E88 lost nearly two million dollars worth of crap and they blame the DWA."
"Hey, it was the coast guard who came to us about that one," Danny said with slight asperity.
Tim shrugged again. "He doesn't care. It was on DWA property, he blames you. You personally as the guy at the top..."
"I'm not actually at the top," Danny interjected.
"Maybe not on paper, but everyone at the Union knows who practically runs the place," Tim pointed out. "If it came to a vote, you'd be in before you knew what happened."
Danny sighed faintly, shaking his head, but he nodded a little at the same time. "I still don't know how that came about," he said quietly.
"You come through for people, and you always do everything you can to get the guys jobs," Tim replied. "It's the only reason that the fucking union is still going, really. Even with all the other problems, you try your best. That's why I'm warning you, like I said." He looked around again, very nervously, before taking another deep drink of the beer, half-emptying the glass. "I can't stay here any longer, you never know who might talk."
"I doubt there are any E88 informers around here." Danny smiled a bit. Tim shook his head.
"Can't be too careful. He's got people everywhere."
"But you still came to warn me."
"I had to."
Tim finished his beer, then carefully placed the glass back into the ring it had left on the table, his eyes dark and worried. "Best I can work out, he's going to make a show of force sometime in about four days or so. He'll probably bring six or seven of the capes… Hookwolf and Victor for sure, Kreig is likely, might be Alabaster… Not sure about the twins or Cricket. I don't think Othala will be there, but I can't guarantee it."
"What about Purity?" Danny asked.
"Word is she'd left the E88 and is trying to rebrand herself. Took Night and Fog with her. I've heard she might have got Crusader too, but I'm not sure. It's not like I meet all the capes on a regular basis, I'm only cannon fodder as far as they're concerned. Dead cannon fodder if any of them hear about this too." The very short haired blonde man looked over his shoulder, then the other one, checking for anyone too close or paying too much attention. He missed Danny's evaluating gaze, and the motion he made to the bartender again.
Returning his attention to Danny, he made a gesture with one hand. "I don't know what you can do except clear out. They'll have at least fifty mooks with them as well, armed to the teeth. You wouldn't believe some of the shit they have in their armory. Must have knocked over a National Guard base or something. Fuck of a lot of machine guns is just the start of it."
Danny nodded thoughtfully, his gaze intense. "OK. Thanks for the warning." He paused, then added, "What are you going to do?"
"What can I do?" Tim asked hopelessly. "I can't take the family and run, they'll find out and kill all of us. Make me watch as they kill my family first, knowing Kaiser. Hookwolf would be worse. Can't go to the cops… I wouldn't make it to prison, and my family would get it again. Same with the PRT… I'm fucked, basically." His voice and demeanor were despondent. "Hell, Danny, I wish I'd never left the Union. I'm sorry. I was an idiot."
"You were trying to do your best for your wife and son," Danny assured him. "I understand. I'd do anything for my daughter, believe me. And the DWA sticks together." He looked up as Pat put another glass on the table. "Here, have one for the road on me."
"Thanks, man," Tim said in a quiet and tired voice, picking up the glass and taking a deep drink. "This is the best beer around, you know?" he added, after swallowing. "Tried almost every bar in the city at one point or another, nothing beats Pat's best." He drank some more, looked puzzled for a moment, then gently tipped forward. Danny neatly caught the glass before his opening hand could drop it, half-standing in the process, and slowed his companion's descent to the table with his other hand on the man's shoulder. Moments later Tim was lying face down on the table, making a muffled snoring sound.
Danny shook his head, put the glass down, then stood up properly. Pat came over to stand next to him, inspecting the comatose ex-Dockworker. "That stuff works fucking quick," he said admiringly. "Gotta hand it to that crazy girl your lass knows. Best mickey finn I've ever seen."
"Amy does good work," Danny nodded. He turned his head and motioned to two very large men on the other side of the room who were watching them now, both getting up and coming over. "Jake, get him down to the boat. Mick, go get his family, tell them they have one hour to pack everything they want, take them to the dock too when they're done. Make sure you take some of the boys with you, just in case."
"What do we do if the E88 fuckers come sniffing around?" Mick, a six foot seven behemoth of a man in his mid thirties, asked in a deep voice.
"Persuade them to lie down and go to sleep for a while," Danny replied. "Best not to kill them if you can avoid it, but a few broken legs won't hurt."
"Bet they will," Jake sniggered, making everyone else grin.
"Only them, and they're Nazis, so it doesn't count," Pat chuckled.
"Fair enough," Mick nodded, looking quite amused in a way. He helped his colleague pick up the unconscious man and sling him over one shoulder, which they made look easy. Both of them headed for the rear exit. Danny turned to Pat.
"Thanks, Pat," he said, holding out his hand.
"Not a problem, Danny," Pat smiled, shaking it. "Fucking E88. What are you going to do about the bastards?"
Danny looked thoughtfully after the now-departed men. "Teach them once and for all that if they want to play dirty, we can play a lot dirtier than they can," he said after a few seconds. With a nod to his friend, he turned and left.
"Good," Pat muttered as he headed back behind the bar. "About time someone did something about the goddam Nazis." He glanced at the door as it swung closed, then smirked in a rather bloodthirsty manner. "Kaiser, you've really fucked up this time, pissing off the DWA," he added under his breath, quite cheerfully, before he turned to serve one of his other patrons, none of whom seemed even slightly interested in or surprised by the low-key drama they'd witnessed a while earlier.
But that was pretty much par for the course around the docks. Most people had seen everything, and they kept to themselves, unless someone from outside tried to cause problems.
There was a reason that the Marche, the Teeth, the E88 under Allfather, the ABB, the PRT, and the BBPD had always tended to stay away from this part of the city, after all.
Kaiser was about to find out what that reason was, Pat thought with dark amusement.
Couldn't happen to a more deserving man in his opinion. Even Lung was less of a bastard and that was saying something...
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"… so that's the current situation." Danny looked around the enormous workshop at the two hundred or so faces watching him, most of them looking like they were thinking hard. People were crowded in among the dormant machine tools, leaning on milling machines and sitting on workbenches. All work had stopped while he talked. "Anyone who doesn't want to get involved is under no obligation to stay, obviously. Kaiser and his crew are bad news, they're out for blood from what I was told, and I don't doubt they intend to wreck the place and us too. You all know what they're like."
"A bunch of fucking cunts!" someone bellowed from near the back. Quite a few of the workers laughed.
"Yeah, that's about right," Danny smiled. "Bloodthirsty ones. Remember what happened to New Wave. They were all capes, powerful ones, but two them died when Kaiser went after them three years ago. Sure, they got Stormtiger in return, but..." He spread his hands. "Not good. I can't guarantee anyone who stays will be safe."
"Fuck the E88! We'll teach them not to fuck with dock workers!" the same voice shouted, provoking a cheer and more laughter.
"Yes, thanks, Michelle," Danny called, snickering. "Very loyal of you."
The very large and muscular woman waved at him with a broad grin. "No problem, Danny. I hate the Nazi buggers. My old granpa didn't lose an arm in France chasing the fuckers out just so I could watch them take over my own fucking city!"
Another, louder cheer rang out, making him smile. "Well put. OK, show of hands, who thinks we should play it safe and abandon the place?"
He looked around in the silence that followed. Not one hand went up. "All right. Who thinks we stand and fight?"
Every person present raised their hands. Michelle put both hers up. "Looks like we stay. Great. We've got a lot of work to do, and not a lot of time to do it in. Jason, you take as many people as you need and let everyone else know, give them the same choice. No one is expected to help, we won't hold it against them if they stay out of it, but anyone who's up for it is welcome."
The wiry crane operator he was looking at nodded, turning to talk to a couple of nearby colleagues. Moments later about nine people left the building. "OK. Hector, go get the documents on the capes the E88 has, we need to make sure we know what we're up against." Another man waved acknowledgment, before hurrying out. "Sayeed, you go get your guys ready. We'll need their… special skills."
"You got it, Danny," the squat bald middle eastern man so addressed called, tapping a nearby man on the shoulder and motioning to the nearest door.
Danny turned his head. "Mary, we're going to need an inventory of store-room 87."
"Call it the armory, Danny," the tall woman with gray-flecked auburn hair grinned.
"The DWA does not have, and has never has had, an armory," he replied with a small smile.
"No, we just have a heavily secured cellar room full of party favors, right?" she chuckled. "Amazing how many of those we find around the place."
"People lose things all the time," Danny agreed mildly. "Make sure there are enough 'party favors' to go around."
"Oh, there's lots of fun down there," she assured him. "Even some of the Tinker ray-guns Coil's guys used. They seemed to misplace them quite a lot."
Danny smirked slightly. "Coil was a dick, but he paid for some nice toys," he commented. The woman gave him an upraised thumb, then dashed off.
Hector came back at a run, a filing box in his hands. "E88 background data, everything we have," he said as he stopped next to one of the larger worktables, which several other people quickly cleared off. Shortly they were spreading folders out all over the surface, a dozen people collating the data and making notes, while others started brainstorming. A couple of large whiteboards on wheels were brought in and pressed into service, rapidly filling with all manner of plans.
Some hours later, Danny nodded. "That looks like it will do the job. Can you make it?"
"Oh, no sweat," the man he was talking to smiled, studying the large sheet of paper in front of him. "Got everything in stock." He looked around at one of the other workers. "Hey, Andy, we're going to need your favorite toy."
The man he was talking to grinned in a slightly deranged way. "Excellent," he hissed, rubbing his hands together. "Finally, I get a legitimate reason to play with it."
"Just try to remember to look at what the backstop is this time, will you?" Danny requested, making the man look embarrassed.
"Ah… good point," he replied, slightly abashed.
Shaking his head, Danny turned to look over at another table, where several other workers were arguing over a different set of plans that had hastily been drawn on a roll of paper. He went over to observe. "Problem?"
"No, not really," one of the arguers said when he looked up. "Just trying to work out how deep we'll need."
"Deep enough," Danny suggested helpfully.
"Oh, real useful, Danny," the man sighed, making the others laugh. "Like we didn't already know that."
"Eight feet should be fine," one of the other people said.
"I'd be happier with ten," the first one replied. They all looked at Danny expectantly. He glanced around, then shook his head.
"You guys know more about this sort of thing than I do," he chuckled. "Jack, if you want ten feet, do ten feet. You're the expert."
Jack nodded firmly. "OK, we're going ten feet."
That group looked satisfied, all of them packing up and heading away to one corner of the main workshop, a couple of hundred feet away. Shortly there were a lot of people busy with all manner of machine tools.
Danny looked around, feeling simultaneously pleased and sad. Pleased that all his friends and coworkers were ready to do what they had to, and sad that it was necessary in the first place.
Satisfied that things were under control for now, he turned and left the room which was now very loud with the sound of a lot of people working very hard on many different industrial machines. Walking back to his office, he glanced over at the work being done outside, a number of construction machines moving hither and yon, hoping that things would work to plan.
As he walked, he pulled his phone out of his pocket, looked at it a little sadly for a moment, then dialed a number before putting it to his ear. "Hi, Taylor. Sorry I'm late, things just got complicated here." He listened for a moment, smiling slightly. "No, I'll be staying here tonight. You and Amy should go stay with your friends, just in case."
Reaching the door to the office building, he opened it with his free hand and went inside. "Yes. No, I don't want you getting involved, kid. This is our problem. You girls have done enough, you don't need to get deeper into it." He sighed faintly. "Yes, fair enough, but… No, I mean… Yes… Taylor! Listen to me, please." Pausing as his daughter abruptly stopped peppering him with questions, he massaged his forehead with a finger. "I'm sorry, but I have to insist. You all need to stay out of this. At least for now. We have a plan, and we're pretty sure it will work, but if you girls get involved, it could go very bad very fast. Yes, I know you'd be careful, but considering what nearly happened..."
He listened, then smiled. "And one day I'll stop mentioning it. Probably. For now, though, you stay away from the Union. Yes, it's the E88." He laughed at the response. "OK. I promise, if Kaiser hurts me, you can do whatever you like to him and all his little minions. It would almost be worth it to see Piggot's face."
The response made him snicker. "Oh, yeah, definitely. I'm not going to forget that, kid. OK, look, I'm going to have to go now, but I love you both, and I want you to stay safe. Give my best to your friends and tell them to stop stealing things, before someone gets hurt."
He grinned at the reply. "She would say that. Fine. All right, I'll talk again soon, but I need to get to work. Stay safe."
A pause, and he nodded. "I will. Bye, Taylor." Prodding the disconnect button he dropped the phone into his pocket, opened the door to his office which he'd reached a moment ago, went inside, and began his own preparations.
Four days wasn't a lot of time, and there was no guarantee that the Nazi leader wouldn't get impatient and move up the schedule. They had to make every minute count. Hopefully, they'd have enough time to prepare.
He wondered for a moment what the PRT would say when it was all over. It wasn't something he particularly cared about, but he still wondered, if only out of curiosity.
Shaking his head, he dismissed the thought and picked up the phone. He had important things to do and no time to waste in idle thought.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"They're here."
Danny sighed a little, turning to look out one of the floor to ceiling windows in the office he used, a corner one in the old brick-built main building. From up here on the third floor he could see most of the site, which incorporated a large clear area near the water along with dozens of lower buildings and sheds that housed workshops, storage rooms, industrial facilities of all kinds, and quite a few smaller boats. Once there had been nearly two thousand men working just in the buildings he could see, operating the massive cranes along the waterfront, maintaining ships in the two dry docks, and all the other things that went on in such a place. Now, there were a grand total of four hundred and sixty three people counting him.
There was barely enough work to keep everything going, but even so they took pride in what they had and kept it maintained.
Unfortunately, he couldn't see the main gate from here since his office was on the rear corner of the admin building, so he couldn't directly confirm the words of the person who'd called him, but on the security camera feed he brought up on his computer, there were several large vehicles approaching the gate, including two buses covered in E88 symbols. Leading the group was a stretched Humvee, black and gleaming, with little Nazi flags flying from the front corners.
"Yeah, I see them. Very ostentatious. Man likes to make an entrance."
"What do you want us to do?"
"Let them through. Don't risk yourselves, be polite. You never know, they might just want to talk and will go away after that."
He got a burst of laughter in response, making him smile grimly. "Yeah, I don't believe it either."
"Doesn't seem like his style," the caller said.
"No, not really. Right, don't get in the way, just let them in. Close the gates when they're through."
"Got it."
Tapping the disconnect button, Danny dialed a two digit code when the call dropped. "Kaiser and his goons are here. Get everything ready and everyone in place, then wait for the signal."
"We're all set, Danny. Andy's in position, Sayeed and his gang are ready on your word, everyone else is setting up."
"Good." He paused, then added, "Thank everyone for me."
The other man chuckled. "We know, Danny. You take care, now. I for one do not want to explain to your girls what happened if that Nazi fucker guts you."
Danny snickered. "I want to go home as much as anyone, so I'll do what I can to survive. Make sure everyone else does too, got me?"
"You got it, man. We'll be waiting." He hung up, as did Danny. After another glance at the security feed, which showed the fleet of vehicles parking in the main lot out the front of the complex and armed men pouring out, he made another call, spoke briefly, then put the handset down. Prodding a couple of buttons on the console he leaned back and folded his hands on the desk, waiting patiently.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Victor got out of the Humvee, looking around with pride at the showing they were making. Sixty four normals in addition to himself, Kaiser, Krieg, Hookwolf, Cricket, and Alabaster should be enough to cow a bunch of ill-organized manual laborers into seeing the right way forward. If they resisted… He snickered. That wouldn't end well for them. And they could always call in Fenja and Menja if they really wanted to make an impression. But for now better to leave them to guard home, just in case that subhuman scum Lung got wind of this and took the opportunity to try something. It was just his style, after all.
He shook his head. All that power and he didn't press the attack whenever he could, preferring to only retaliate if someone entered his territory. In his place, Victor wouldn't have held back…
Kaiser got out next to him as he held the door open, Krieg opening the rear door and exiting at the same time on the other side. Alabaster did the same on Victor's side, looking around at the buildings surrounding them with an expression of mild curiosity. "Doesn't look like much," the stark white figure said dismissively. "Just a bunch of decaying buildings that should have been razed a decade ago."
"It was once the powerhouse of the city," Kaiser commented, glancing at his subordinate, the sun glinting off his armored head as it moved. "Something we could have made use of. Now… It's in the way. Especially with certain people in charge. I want it either under my control or gone."
Behind them, Hookwolf and Cricket got out of the two buses full of soldiers, the former barking orders and the latter merely making motions that were followed with alacrity as the armed men poured out after them.
"Hookwolf, take twenty men and go around to the back, make sure no one tries anything," Kaiser ordered. "Alabaster, go with him. Cricket, another twenty, guard the front." He turned to Kreig. "No one in or out until this is done. Get the gate guards and put them in one of the vehicles, make sure they don't have phones. Don't hurt anyone yet. It's possible the Hebert man will see sense."
"You think he will?" Kreig asked in a rather bored tone.
"No. I rather doubt it," Kaiser laughed. "Which is fine by me. An example must be made after all."
"Yes." Kreig nodded his understanding, sounding pleased. "Perhaps we can rid this union of some of the undesirables. Such as him." He motioned to one of the three men who had been guarding the gate, who was black. All three of them were being held by a pair each of the E88 normals, with guns pressed to their backs. The man in question looked defiantly at Kreig, sneered, and spat to the side.
Kaiser made a motion and the E88 man on the right of the black guy whacked him across the back of the head with the barrel of his machine gun, knocking him to his knees. "Know your place," Kaiser said in an even tone. He turned away dismissively and looked up at the old and battered brick building. "Well. Let's go and have a nice polite discussion with Mr Hebert about why the DWA is now ours. And what we do to people who defy us. Victor, you're with me."
He waved a hand, all the various orders immediately being followed. Hookwolf and Alabaster headed for the road that ran down between the main building and a long row of sheds of some sort, out of which various metallic sounds were coming suggesting that work was ongoing. There was a smell of smoke and hot metal drifting through the place, and in the distance heavy machinery was rumbling back and forth. Victor could see over the roof of the workshops one of the big loading cranes was slowly pivoting around, a huge load of steel beams dangling from the cable a hundred feet in the air.
He pondered for a moment that for a moribund facility run by a dying irrelevant union there seemed to be a lot of activity, but didn't think more about it as it wasn't important. Following his superior as the older man headed deliberately for the double doors of the entrance, he issued orders to several men to stand guard outside, and to keep watch for any interfering heroes.
The PRT was unlikely to turn up, since they hardly ever bothered visiting the docks, none of the usual heroes patrolled the area either, and as for the cops… If the BBPD did come past, if they knew what was good for them they'd just keep going.
About the only people he was worried about were New Wave, who as a result of events a couple of years ago hated the E88 with a burning passion, which was reciprocated vigorously. The group had cost them Stormtiger, a man sorely missed, and it was small recompense that in return they'd dealt the group a blow by taking out Brandish and Flashbang.
He smiled a little at the memory. The expression on the former's face when Kaiser had gutted her like a deer was delicious. She'd been dead long before Panacea could get to her.
He idly wondered where the girl was now, since she'd dropped out of sight shortly afterwards, but it didn't really matter. She was only a healer anyway. A good one, but not a threat.
If what was left of New Wave happened to hear about their presence here it was entirely possible that they'd jump in, but they might decide to take the cautious approach. In any case, with any luck their business would be concluded long before the heroes learned anything, and it would be far too late. There were men guarding most of the roads into the docks with orders to turn back anyone who evaded them here, they'd cut the main phone lines, and the cell jammer in the Humvee would ensure that no one called out that way either.
At least for now, this would be a nice private meeting with people who desperately required reeducation.
Slamming the doors open as he reached them, Kaiser strolled into the union building as if he owned it, which was going to be a fact shortly. Inside, they found a man waiting for them. "Take me to Hebert," Kaiser ordered without ceremony.
"Of course, he's waiting for you in his office," the man replied with surprising equanimity, motioning to the flight of stairs at the end of the hallway in front of them. "If you'll come this way, please?" Victor watched with a level of amusement as the man turned and led them deeper into the building.
Clearly a guy who knew how to adapt, he thought, as he followed his leader and the two guards that had been hand picked to accompany them.
"I'm telling you this because the union was good to me for a long time, Mr Hebert." The speaker looked around in a somewhat paranoid manner as the person he was talking to watched him carefully, then returned his attention to his companion. No one else in the bar seemed to be paying attention, which appeared to make him a little less nervous. "I may not be part of that any more, but..." He sighed a little with a small shrug. "I can't just ignore everyone I worked with for so many years."
The other person at the small table tucked away in a corner of the tavern raised his glass of beer, taking a sip, while he studied the face opposite him. Putting the glass down again, he said, "I remember I warned you that the people you were hanging around with were bad news, Tim. No good can come from anyone who's even slightly connected with Neo-Nazis."
"I know that now," Tim mumbled, clenching his fists momentarily. "It's too late. The things I've done… I can't..." His voice dropped into a low groan and he pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes. "Once you're in the E88, you can't leave."
"You could go to the cops," the man watching him suggested, provoking a low hollow laugh.
"Yeah, like that would do anything other than get me and my family killed," Tim moaned, lowering his hands, then grabbing his own drink with trembling fingers. "Kaiser has people in the BBPD, I'm pretty sure he's got some in the PRT too… They have a lot of money, they can buy anyone they want around these parts."
There was silence for a while, during which time Tim finished his drink. Danny Hebert motioned to the man at the bar, lifting his own glass, then holding up two fingers. The bartender nodded, coming over a couple of minutes later with two more beers, which he put in front of each man. "Thanks, Pat," Danny said.
"No problem, Danny," the man said, a faint Irish accent tinting his voice, before leaving them too it.
Tim took a long swallow of his new drink, then plopped the glass down hard enough to make some slop over the edge. "Christ. I wish I could go back six months and just walk away," he muttered, leaning back in his chair. "I'm an idiot."
"Everyone is an idiot at least once in their life," Danny noted with wry amusement. "The trick is to try not to keep doing it."
Tim chuckled in a dead sort of way. "Yeah. Too late for that."
Leaning forward a little, Danny asked, "You're sure Kaiser is going to come?"
"Unfortunately, pretty much, yes," Tim nodded.
"Why? What's the Dock Worker's Association ever done to him?" Danny looked curious.
"Fuck, I don't really know," Tim shrugged. "Lots of different reasons. He's an asshole. He wants to expand his territory, take it from the fucking Merchants or ABB. The union keeps screwing up his smuggling plans. You remember that last time back in August last year, the E88 lost nearly two million dollars worth of crap and they blame the DWA."
"Hey, it was the coast guard who came to us about that one," Danny said with slight asperity.
Tim shrugged again. "He doesn't care. It was on DWA property, he blames you. You personally as the guy at the top..."
"I'm not actually at the top," Danny interjected.
"Maybe not on paper, but everyone at the Union knows who practically runs the place," Tim pointed out. "If it came to a vote, you'd be in before you knew what happened."
Danny sighed faintly, shaking his head, but he nodded a little at the same time. "I still don't know how that came about," he said quietly.
"You come through for people, and you always do everything you can to get the guys jobs," Tim replied. "It's the only reason that the fucking union is still going, really. Even with all the other problems, you try your best. That's why I'm warning you, like I said." He looked around again, very nervously, before taking another deep drink of the beer, half-emptying the glass. "I can't stay here any longer, you never know who might talk."
"I doubt there are any E88 informers around here." Danny smiled a bit. Tim shook his head.
"Can't be too careful. He's got people everywhere."
"But you still came to warn me."
"I had to."
Tim finished his beer, then carefully placed the glass back into the ring it had left on the table, his eyes dark and worried. "Best I can work out, he's going to make a show of force sometime in about four days or so. He'll probably bring six or seven of the capes… Hookwolf and Victor for sure, Kreig is likely, might be Alabaster… Not sure about the twins or Cricket. I don't think Othala will be there, but I can't guarantee it."
"What about Purity?" Danny asked.
"Word is she'd left the E88 and is trying to rebrand herself. Took Night and Fog with her. I've heard she might have got Crusader too, but I'm not sure. It's not like I meet all the capes on a regular basis, I'm only cannon fodder as far as they're concerned. Dead cannon fodder if any of them hear about this too." The very short haired blonde man looked over his shoulder, then the other one, checking for anyone too close or paying too much attention. He missed Danny's evaluating gaze, and the motion he made to the bartender again.
Returning his attention to Danny, he made a gesture with one hand. "I don't know what you can do except clear out. They'll have at least fifty mooks with them as well, armed to the teeth. You wouldn't believe some of the shit they have in their armory. Must have knocked over a National Guard base or something. Fuck of a lot of machine guns is just the start of it."
Danny nodded thoughtfully, his gaze intense. "OK. Thanks for the warning." He paused, then added, "What are you going to do?"
"What can I do?" Tim asked hopelessly. "I can't take the family and run, they'll find out and kill all of us. Make me watch as they kill my family first, knowing Kaiser. Hookwolf would be worse. Can't go to the cops… I wouldn't make it to prison, and my family would get it again. Same with the PRT… I'm fucked, basically." His voice and demeanor were despondent. "Hell, Danny, I wish I'd never left the Union. I'm sorry. I was an idiot."
"You were trying to do your best for your wife and son," Danny assured him. "I understand. I'd do anything for my daughter, believe me. And the DWA sticks together." He looked up as Pat put another glass on the table. "Here, have one for the road on me."
"Thanks, man," Tim said in a quiet and tired voice, picking up the glass and taking a deep drink. "This is the best beer around, you know?" he added, after swallowing. "Tried almost every bar in the city at one point or another, nothing beats Pat's best." He drank some more, looked puzzled for a moment, then gently tipped forward. Danny neatly caught the glass before his opening hand could drop it, half-standing in the process, and slowed his companion's descent to the table with his other hand on the man's shoulder. Moments later Tim was lying face down on the table, making a muffled snoring sound.
Danny shook his head, put the glass down, then stood up properly. Pat came over to stand next to him, inspecting the comatose ex-Dockworker. "That stuff works fucking quick," he said admiringly. "Gotta hand it to that crazy girl your lass knows. Best mickey finn I've ever seen."
"Amy does good work," Danny nodded. He turned his head and motioned to two very large men on the other side of the room who were watching them now, both getting up and coming over. "Jake, get him down to the boat. Mick, go get his family, tell them they have one hour to pack everything they want, take them to the dock too when they're done. Make sure you take some of the boys with you, just in case."
"What do we do if the E88 fuckers come sniffing around?" Mick, a six foot seven behemoth of a man in his mid thirties, asked in a deep voice.
"Persuade them to lie down and go to sleep for a while," Danny replied. "Best not to kill them if you can avoid it, but a few broken legs won't hurt."
"Bet they will," Jake sniggered, making everyone else grin.
"Only them, and they're Nazis, so it doesn't count," Pat chuckled.
"Fair enough," Mick nodded, looking quite amused in a way. He helped his colleague pick up the unconscious man and sling him over one shoulder, which they made look easy. Both of them headed for the rear exit. Danny turned to Pat.
"Thanks, Pat," he said, holding out his hand.
"Not a problem, Danny," Pat smiled, shaking it. "Fucking E88. What are you going to do about the bastards?"
Danny looked thoughtfully after the now-departed men. "Teach them once and for all that if they want to play dirty, we can play a lot dirtier than they can," he said after a few seconds. With a nod to his friend, he turned and left.
"Good," Pat muttered as he headed back behind the bar. "About time someone did something about the goddam Nazis." He glanced at the door as it swung closed, then smirked in a rather bloodthirsty manner. "Kaiser, you've really fucked up this time, pissing off the DWA," he added under his breath, quite cheerfully, before he turned to serve one of his other patrons, none of whom seemed even slightly interested in or surprised by the low-key drama they'd witnessed a while earlier.
But that was pretty much par for the course around the docks. Most people had seen everything, and they kept to themselves, unless someone from outside tried to cause problems.
There was a reason that the Marche, the Teeth, the E88 under Allfather, the ABB, the PRT, and the BBPD had always tended to stay away from this part of the city, after all.
Kaiser was about to find out what that reason was, Pat thought with dark amusement.
Couldn't happen to a more deserving man in his opinion. Even Lung was less of a bastard and that was saying something...
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"… so that's the current situation." Danny looked around the enormous workshop at the two hundred or so faces watching him, most of them looking like they were thinking hard. People were crowded in among the dormant machine tools, leaning on milling machines and sitting on workbenches. All work had stopped while he talked. "Anyone who doesn't want to get involved is under no obligation to stay, obviously. Kaiser and his crew are bad news, they're out for blood from what I was told, and I don't doubt they intend to wreck the place and us too. You all know what they're like."
"A bunch of fucking cunts!" someone bellowed from near the back. Quite a few of the workers laughed.
"Yeah, that's about right," Danny smiled. "Bloodthirsty ones. Remember what happened to New Wave. They were all capes, powerful ones, but two them died when Kaiser went after them three years ago. Sure, they got Stormtiger in return, but..." He spread his hands. "Not good. I can't guarantee anyone who stays will be safe."
"Fuck the E88! We'll teach them not to fuck with dock workers!" the same voice shouted, provoking a cheer and more laughter.
"Yes, thanks, Michelle," Danny called, snickering. "Very loyal of you."
The very large and muscular woman waved at him with a broad grin. "No problem, Danny. I hate the Nazi buggers. My old granpa didn't lose an arm in France chasing the fuckers out just so I could watch them take over my own fucking city!"
Another, louder cheer rang out, making him smile. "Well put. OK, show of hands, who thinks we should play it safe and abandon the place?"
He looked around in the silence that followed. Not one hand went up. "All right. Who thinks we stand and fight?"
Every person present raised their hands. Michelle put both hers up. "Looks like we stay. Great. We've got a lot of work to do, and not a lot of time to do it in. Jason, you take as many people as you need and let everyone else know, give them the same choice. No one is expected to help, we won't hold it against them if they stay out of it, but anyone who's up for it is welcome."
The wiry crane operator he was looking at nodded, turning to talk to a couple of nearby colleagues. Moments later about nine people left the building. "OK. Hector, go get the documents on the capes the E88 has, we need to make sure we know what we're up against." Another man waved acknowledgment, before hurrying out. "Sayeed, you go get your guys ready. We'll need their… special skills."
"You got it, Danny," the squat bald middle eastern man so addressed called, tapping a nearby man on the shoulder and motioning to the nearest door.
Danny turned his head. "Mary, we're going to need an inventory of store-room 87."
"Call it the armory, Danny," the tall woman with gray-flecked auburn hair grinned.
"The DWA does not have, and has never has had, an armory," he replied with a small smile.
"No, we just have a heavily secured cellar room full of party favors, right?" she chuckled. "Amazing how many of those we find around the place."
"People lose things all the time," Danny agreed mildly. "Make sure there are enough 'party favors' to go around."
"Oh, there's lots of fun down there," she assured him. "Even some of the Tinker ray-guns Coil's guys used. They seemed to misplace them quite a lot."
Danny smirked slightly. "Coil was a dick, but he paid for some nice toys," he commented. The woman gave him an upraised thumb, then dashed off.
Hector came back at a run, a filing box in his hands. "E88 background data, everything we have," he said as he stopped next to one of the larger worktables, which several other people quickly cleared off. Shortly they were spreading folders out all over the surface, a dozen people collating the data and making notes, while others started brainstorming. A couple of large whiteboards on wheels were brought in and pressed into service, rapidly filling with all manner of plans.
Some hours later, Danny nodded. "That looks like it will do the job. Can you make it?"
"Oh, no sweat," the man he was talking to smiled, studying the large sheet of paper in front of him. "Got everything in stock." He looked around at one of the other workers. "Hey, Andy, we're going to need your favorite toy."
The man he was talking to grinned in a slightly deranged way. "Excellent," he hissed, rubbing his hands together. "Finally, I get a legitimate reason to play with it."
"Just try to remember to look at what the backstop is this time, will you?" Danny requested, making the man look embarrassed.
"Ah… good point," he replied, slightly abashed.
Shaking his head, Danny turned to look over at another table, where several other workers were arguing over a different set of plans that had hastily been drawn on a roll of paper. He went over to observe. "Problem?"
"No, not really," one of the arguers said when he looked up. "Just trying to work out how deep we'll need."
"Deep enough," Danny suggested helpfully.
"Oh, real useful, Danny," the man sighed, making the others laugh. "Like we didn't already know that."
"Eight feet should be fine," one of the other people said.
"I'd be happier with ten," the first one replied. They all looked at Danny expectantly. He glanced around, then shook his head.
"You guys know more about this sort of thing than I do," he chuckled. "Jack, if you want ten feet, do ten feet. You're the expert."
Jack nodded firmly. "OK, we're going ten feet."
That group looked satisfied, all of them packing up and heading away to one corner of the main workshop, a couple of hundred feet away. Shortly there were a lot of people busy with all manner of machine tools.
Danny looked around, feeling simultaneously pleased and sad. Pleased that all his friends and coworkers were ready to do what they had to, and sad that it was necessary in the first place.
Satisfied that things were under control for now, he turned and left the room which was now very loud with the sound of a lot of people working very hard on many different industrial machines. Walking back to his office, he glanced over at the work being done outside, a number of construction machines moving hither and yon, hoping that things would work to plan.
As he walked, he pulled his phone out of his pocket, looked at it a little sadly for a moment, then dialed a number before putting it to his ear. "Hi, Taylor. Sorry I'm late, things just got complicated here." He listened for a moment, smiling slightly. "No, I'll be staying here tonight. You and Amy should go stay with your friends, just in case."
Reaching the door to the office building, he opened it with his free hand and went inside. "Yes. No, I don't want you getting involved, kid. This is our problem. You girls have done enough, you don't need to get deeper into it." He sighed faintly. "Yes, fair enough, but… No, I mean… Yes… Taylor! Listen to me, please." Pausing as his daughter abruptly stopped peppering him with questions, he massaged his forehead with a finger. "I'm sorry, but I have to insist. You all need to stay out of this. At least for now. We have a plan, and we're pretty sure it will work, but if you girls get involved, it could go very bad very fast. Yes, I know you'd be careful, but considering what nearly happened..."
He listened, then smiled. "And one day I'll stop mentioning it. Probably. For now, though, you stay away from the Union. Yes, it's the E88." He laughed at the response. "OK. I promise, if Kaiser hurts me, you can do whatever you like to him and all his little minions. It would almost be worth it to see Piggot's face."
The response made him snicker. "Oh, yeah, definitely. I'm not going to forget that, kid. OK, look, I'm going to have to go now, but I love you both, and I want you to stay safe. Give my best to your friends and tell them to stop stealing things, before someone gets hurt."
He grinned at the reply. "She would say that. Fine. All right, I'll talk again soon, but I need to get to work. Stay safe."
A pause, and he nodded. "I will. Bye, Taylor." Prodding the disconnect button he dropped the phone into his pocket, opened the door to his office which he'd reached a moment ago, went inside, and began his own preparations.
Four days wasn't a lot of time, and there was no guarantee that the Nazi leader wouldn't get impatient and move up the schedule. They had to make every minute count. Hopefully, they'd have enough time to prepare.
He wondered for a moment what the PRT would say when it was all over. It wasn't something he particularly cared about, but he still wondered, if only out of curiosity.
Shaking his head, he dismissed the thought and picked up the phone. He had important things to do and no time to waste in idle thought.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"They're here."
Danny sighed a little, turning to look out one of the floor to ceiling windows in the office he used, a corner one in the old brick-built main building. From up here on the third floor he could see most of the site, which incorporated a large clear area near the water along with dozens of lower buildings and sheds that housed workshops, storage rooms, industrial facilities of all kinds, and quite a few smaller boats. Once there had been nearly two thousand men working just in the buildings he could see, operating the massive cranes along the waterfront, maintaining ships in the two dry docks, and all the other things that went on in such a place. Now, there were a grand total of four hundred and sixty three people counting him.
There was barely enough work to keep everything going, but even so they took pride in what they had and kept it maintained.
Unfortunately, he couldn't see the main gate from here since his office was on the rear corner of the admin building, so he couldn't directly confirm the words of the person who'd called him, but on the security camera feed he brought up on his computer, there were several large vehicles approaching the gate, including two buses covered in E88 symbols. Leading the group was a stretched Humvee, black and gleaming, with little Nazi flags flying from the front corners.
"Yeah, I see them. Very ostentatious. Man likes to make an entrance."
"What do you want us to do?"
"Let them through. Don't risk yourselves, be polite. You never know, they might just want to talk and will go away after that."
He got a burst of laughter in response, making him smile grimly. "Yeah, I don't believe it either."
"Doesn't seem like his style," the caller said.
"No, not really. Right, don't get in the way, just let them in. Close the gates when they're through."
"Got it."
Tapping the disconnect button, Danny dialed a two digit code when the call dropped. "Kaiser and his goons are here. Get everything ready and everyone in place, then wait for the signal."
"We're all set, Danny. Andy's in position, Sayeed and his gang are ready on your word, everyone else is setting up."
"Good." He paused, then added, "Thank everyone for me."
The other man chuckled. "We know, Danny. You take care, now. I for one do not want to explain to your girls what happened if that Nazi fucker guts you."
Danny snickered. "I want to go home as much as anyone, so I'll do what I can to survive. Make sure everyone else does too, got me?"
"You got it, man. We'll be waiting." He hung up, as did Danny. After another glance at the security feed, which showed the fleet of vehicles parking in the main lot out the front of the complex and armed men pouring out, he made another call, spoke briefly, then put the handset down. Prodding a couple of buttons on the console he leaned back and folded his hands on the desk, waiting patiently.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Victor got out of the Humvee, looking around with pride at the showing they were making. Sixty four normals in addition to himself, Kaiser, Krieg, Hookwolf, Cricket, and Alabaster should be enough to cow a bunch of ill-organized manual laborers into seeing the right way forward. If they resisted… He snickered. That wouldn't end well for them. And they could always call in Fenja and Menja if they really wanted to make an impression. But for now better to leave them to guard home, just in case that subhuman scum Lung got wind of this and took the opportunity to try something. It was just his style, after all.
He shook his head. All that power and he didn't press the attack whenever he could, preferring to only retaliate if someone entered his territory. In his place, Victor wouldn't have held back…
Kaiser got out next to him as he held the door open, Krieg opening the rear door and exiting at the same time on the other side. Alabaster did the same on Victor's side, looking around at the buildings surrounding them with an expression of mild curiosity. "Doesn't look like much," the stark white figure said dismissively. "Just a bunch of decaying buildings that should have been razed a decade ago."
"It was once the powerhouse of the city," Kaiser commented, glancing at his subordinate, the sun glinting off his armored head as it moved. "Something we could have made use of. Now… It's in the way. Especially with certain people in charge. I want it either under my control or gone."
Behind them, Hookwolf and Cricket got out of the two buses full of soldiers, the former barking orders and the latter merely making motions that were followed with alacrity as the armed men poured out after them.
"Hookwolf, take twenty men and go around to the back, make sure no one tries anything," Kaiser ordered. "Alabaster, go with him. Cricket, another twenty, guard the front." He turned to Kreig. "No one in or out until this is done. Get the gate guards and put them in one of the vehicles, make sure they don't have phones. Don't hurt anyone yet. It's possible the Hebert man will see sense."
"You think he will?" Kreig asked in a rather bored tone.
"No. I rather doubt it," Kaiser laughed. "Which is fine by me. An example must be made after all."
"Yes." Kreig nodded his understanding, sounding pleased. "Perhaps we can rid this union of some of the undesirables. Such as him." He motioned to one of the three men who had been guarding the gate, who was black. All three of them were being held by a pair each of the E88 normals, with guns pressed to their backs. The man in question looked defiantly at Kreig, sneered, and spat to the side.
Kaiser made a motion and the E88 man on the right of the black guy whacked him across the back of the head with the barrel of his machine gun, knocking him to his knees. "Know your place," Kaiser said in an even tone. He turned away dismissively and looked up at the old and battered brick building. "Well. Let's go and have a nice polite discussion with Mr Hebert about why the DWA is now ours. And what we do to people who defy us. Victor, you're with me."
He waved a hand, all the various orders immediately being followed. Hookwolf and Alabaster headed for the road that ran down between the main building and a long row of sheds of some sort, out of which various metallic sounds were coming suggesting that work was ongoing. There was a smell of smoke and hot metal drifting through the place, and in the distance heavy machinery was rumbling back and forth. Victor could see over the roof of the workshops one of the big loading cranes was slowly pivoting around, a huge load of steel beams dangling from the cable a hundred feet in the air.
He pondered for a moment that for a moribund facility run by a dying irrelevant union there seemed to be a lot of activity, but didn't think more about it as it wasn't important. Following his superior as the older man headed deliberately for the double doors of the entrance, he issued orders to several men to stand guard outside, and to keep watch for any interfering heroes.
The PRT was unlikely to turn up, since they hardly ever bothered visiting the docks, none of the usual heroes patrolled the area either, and as for the cops… If the BBPD did come past, if they knew what was good for them they'd just keep going.
About the only people he was worried about were New Wave, who as a result of events a couple of years ago hated the E88 with a burning passion, which was reciprocated vigorously. The group had cost them Stormtiger, a man sorely missed, and it was small recompense that in return they'd dealt the group a blow by taking out Brandish and Flashbang.
He smiled a little at the memory. The expression on the former's face when Kaiser had gutted her like a deer was delicious. She'd been dead long before Panacea could get to her.
He idly wondered where the girl was now, since she'd dropped out of sight shortly afterwards, but it didn't really matter. She was only a healer anyway. A good one, but not a threat.
If what was left of New Wave happened to hear about their presence here it was entirely possible that they'd jump in, but they might decide to take the cautious approach. In any case, with any luck their business would be concluded long before the heroes learned anything, and it would be far too late. There were men guarding most of the roads into the docks with orders to turn back anyone who evaded them here, they'd cut the main phone lines, and the cell jammer in the Humvee would ensure that no one called out that way either.
At least for now, this would be a nice private meeting with people who desperately required reeducation.
Slamming the doors open as he reached them, Kaiser strolled into the union building as if he owned it, which was going to be a fact shortly. Inside, they found a man waiting for them. "Take me to Hebert," Kaiser ordered without ceremony.
"Of course, he's waiting for you in his office," the man replied with surprising equanimity, motioning to the flight of stairs at the end of the hallway in front of them. "If you'll come this way, please?" Victor watched with a level of amusement as the man turned and led them deeper into the building.
Clearly a guy who knew how to adapt, he thought, as he followed his leader and the two guards that had been hand picked to accompany them.
- Location
- Over the hill and far away
....I enjoy watching Regular People Fuck Yeah scenarios in Worm.
Do go on sir, pray do.
Do go on sir, pray do.
Oh please please please please please more....
Kaiser done it now; can't wait to see what all plans the DWA made for taking out this bunch.
Kaiser done it now; can't wait to see what all plans the DWA made for taking out this bunch.
- Location
- Australia
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Ooooooooooooooh...... MD like. Nazis have bad times ahead.
Lycanthromancer
The Arcane Fuzz
- Location
- USA
Err...
How is that possible? Those are two entirely different head-motions. Was he doing figure-8s?
- Location
- Australia
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Not sure about Vicky, but I suspect Amy somehow ended up with Danny and Taylor, which either ended up butterflying away Annette's death or made him work harder to stay connected.
- Location
- In the air vent
It is sad how easy it is to take out someone coming to you when you have enough time to prepare ahead of time. An impressive chair in Danny's office will insure if any of the capes sit that Kaiser will sit there not thinking a 3 inch shape charge under the seat can put a jet of copper into him as it barely notices the armor he wears.
That said this is a place that has survived a number of riots in the past so you can guess would already have sheet steel filling the walls or added in layers to the outside of the walls with the windows being the weak point but would likely be mesh glass to reduce the chance of people breaking in.
That said this is a place that has survived a number of riots in the past so you can guess would already have sheet steel filling the walls or added in layers to the outside of the walls with the windows being the weak point but would likely be mesh glass to reduce the chance of people breaking in.
- Location
- Lost in the Aether
Presumably, Alabaster is going to end up in a 10 foot hole filled with concrete. Hooky and Kaiser are going to end up on the wrong end of a demo charge, or learn that no, steel does not, in fact stop armor piercing rounds. Can't think of any more of their capes that arn't gonna go down to industrial equipment and a lot of grumpy, heavily armed dockworkers. Fun times ^^
Lycanthromancer
The Arcane Fuzz
- Location
- USA
Also note that Coil is referred to in past tense.
Very past tense.
Methinks Danny got the Undersiders out from under him. Probably quite lethally. And nobody said that Taylor and Amy are part of the group, just that they were friends with them. Of course, if they only steal from villains and crooks...
Lycanthromancer
The Arcane Fuzz
- Location
- USA
Also, I'd be really surprised if the Docks don't have a giant crane-magnet available.
Have fun being a desk ornament, Hooky!
Have fun being a desk ornament, Hooky!
- Location
- Dodging chaos dragons in Limbo
Like everyone else, I want to see the next bit... it looks very juicy.
- Location
- Oxnard, CA, USA
Imagine a bemused bobblehead.
Guardsman_Sparky
The Clueless Wonder
- Location
- Virginia
I personally imagined he nodded slightly, then started shaking his head in exasperation.
Lycanthromancer
The Arcane Fuzz
- Location
- USA
That's not 'at the same time,' though. Simultaneity precludes subsequence.
Obviously Danny has Vista's power and want to subtly brag about that to everyone.
ScottotheUnwise
Verified Crack (fic) Dealer
- Location
- Mulberry, Fl
Can I offer you gentlemen a beer while we talk? Pat's BEST of course...
ConfusedPotato
Unverified Verifier
- Location
- Australia
After reading that my only thought right now is "I see dead people, they just haven't realised their dead yet"
