Blackbird 2.1
I hated being woken up from my sleep.
I hated it even more when the reason was an Endbringer.
I sat at my computer in my new lab, going through any information I could parse through on the web. An alarm had been triggered by a script I had set up to alert me whenever an Endbringer attack was reported online.
The Simurgh had descended on Canberra, Australia. Late afternoon over there, but middle of the night on my side of the world.
There was no point in me trying to attend, I had no way to get there on my own. More importantly I knew I wasn't ready for a fight like that. Which left me here, scanning the news and internet for what was going on a world away. If out of nothing but morbid curiosity.
It had been two weeks since I broke ground on what I was amusingly calling Bunker Hill. My underground complex has progressed nicely. I officially felt like I had a real home with my new living quarters. The wonders a bed, shower and hot food that doesn't taste like cardboard can do for one's mental health.
On top of that I had added a lab and a room for storing power generators which I was slowly filling with a larger version of the one in my power armor.
The mass extractors were in place, or at least my current smaller version of one was. About ten feet tall. Upgrades would come in time, whether that be a better, bigger redesign or in the fashion more typical for the extractors I didn't know yet.
The mass points tend to be on or near the surface, but the zone does tend to go underground a little bit regardless. So I was keeping them underground to avoid the risk of detection. Narrow tunnels sprawling out from my current hub for the off chance I needed to physically access them. Eventually I'd be forced to move them to the surface, the zone not extending deep enough to fully cover up a full scale extractor underground and still keep the essential drill bit inside the required area. But it would do for now.
Closing out the various news sites I had opened I looked at my construction queues. The MACU design wasn't finished. I was getting faster in making new blueprints thanks to both experience and better hardware to work on. Despite this, the need to create designs for all my other needs did take away time and prevent me from solely working on the MACU.
Not much I could change about it.
But I had made enough progress on the two key components to do something similar to what I did with my power armor. I took the progress I had made to install a functioning quantum controller and C&C module wired into my new computer in the lab. The bandwidth was, to be frank, shit. I wouldn't be capable of managing anywhere near the levels I had planned for the MACU. But it let me get everything I had so far off the ground without constant manual input or waiting on the final MACU design.
I had already gotten some blueprints done for my first units. The first few builds were making my life much easier. Two drones based off the Rover drones from the tier two engineering kennel assisted around the base with maintenance and building projects. Alongside the two mini Rovers, standing at around three feet tall my first true engineer was also complete.
Together they headed new construction efforts in my young but growing compound.
A warehouse space for constructing and storing units was being dug out. After that an adjoining room to house a quantum gate sometime in the future.
Sending out units directly from the reservation seemed like a bad idea, they would eventually be noticed and people would be led right to me.
Something I didn't feel like repeating again after my first incident with the E88.
Instead I planned to set up a proxy base somewhere in the city. Somewhere obvious and conscious to act as a front for my operations. Quantum gates eventually connecting the two sites.
After looking over the other projects in the queue I minimized the window and frowned as I looked at my personal notes I had on my… current public status.
I had looked into whether or not anything had been said or came out of the man who recorded the tail end of my fight with Hookwolf or with the death of Cricket. Speculation on PHO on the Brockton Bay section had gone wild over the footage and her death once it was posted and eventually the PRT ENE put out a statement about it.
The PRT ENE had labeled me as a villain. Which pissed me the fuck off. Granted I won't say I can't see why they did. I did kill another villain while hitting a gang location, alongside a person who I now knew was yet another villain. Not exactly a good look. But regardless I wasn't happy about it. For multiple reasons.
On one hand, I didn't want to be a villain. On the other, I knew eventually I'd reach the point of having my ACU. Ignoring the rest of the things I'd be capable of… the ACU would probably scare people shit-less if for no other reason than its size. Let alone the things I could do with it.
I had to admit that a giant 40-meter mech appearing out of nowhere controlled by an unknown entity would be a bad look and likely bring a very negative, likely violent response my way.
A giant 40-meter mech appearing out of nowhere controlled by a villain whose only known activity was blowing someone's head apart before disappearing into the shadows? Yeah, I could see that going over well.
There was so much good I could do once I reached that stage of production with my tech. Mass produce food, medical supplies, rebuild cities after Endbringer attacks, go after S-Class threats. Hell, maybe I could bring an end to the warlords in Africa. But unless I wanted the same world I wanted to help to immediately come after me in a panic, I've realized it would probably be for the best if I was a known and active entity.
More importantly a known entity with a better reputation. I could only hope the saying about first impressions would make an exception here.
As a result I didn't see simply sitting in my bunker and hiding away until I had the pinnacle of my capabilities in my hands as the correct course of action. I need to be seen. To be known and have a reputation that I could use to hopefully at least get a neutral response to my eventual…
Well I'd say rise but that sounds a little evil but it's the best I can think of at the moment.
Getting up from my chair with a stretch, I left the lab and headed back for bed. Tomorrow I'd begin doing more research on the local cape scene and begin making plans for my debut in Boston. I wanted to hit the ground running. I'd been putting off in-depth research on the area while getting my base to the point it was at now.
For now though.
Sleep.
Boston was a very different city from Brockton Bay. Back in my hometown I had grown accustomed to the constant struggle between the main parahuman gangs as they vied over territory in the city.
Boston was a very different city.
I had mainly looked at the Boston threads on PHO and information put out by the local PRT about parahuman groups and crime in the city. The kind of stuff they put out so citizens could stay informed about who they could encounter and where. After all, a block makes a difference and all that.
From what I found the main power bloc in the city was actually an alliance of several parahuman gangs working at some level of cooperation.
Following the end of a power vacuum called the Boston Games, an effort headed by a villain named Accord, convinced several other criminal elements in the city to come to some sort of agreement. From the sources I had online I didn't really have a good idea of what the exact terms of said agreement were, but I did know as a result there weren't really any territorial struggles on the streets in any major way. Crime was a lot more lowkey, at least by those involved in the power bloc.
As far as who was involved in said bloc, best I could find the agreement was held primarily between five groups each separated into two sub-blocs. One in the northern part of the city including Accord and his Ambassadors in Charlestown, a branch of Dark Society in East Boston and Eagle Hill and finally The Unmasked operating somewhere out of Cambridge. The second power block existed in the southern half of the city made up of Mourning Glory in South Boston and Mystics Mass in South End.
These groups based from what I could find online seemed to mostly work together and settle disputes outside of straight up conflict. But more importantly they were known to band together to push out new powers coming into the city that messed with their status quo.
These were not the only groups however. Some of the city's criminal elements were at odds with the main power bloc and didn't hold themselves to whatever agreement was in place.
Blastergem in East Allston. Most notable due to the presence of a wet tinker by the name of Blasto.
Digger's Bikers. A mostly transient biker group. However, according to people on PHO and some PRT information resources. They apparently were known to have a dedicated presence in the Brookline.
Both groups were friendly with one another and somewhat antagonistic against the main power bloc. They would butt heads occasionally. Maybe have a skirmish here and there but typically neither side wanted it to escalate into full blown war. The main bloc likely not wanting a war on the streets to hurt their bottom line and the other side not wanting to bring the full force of the alliance down on their heads.
Orchard was another notable presence. If for no other reason than the fact everyone hated their guts and was out for their heads. A duo, specializing in kidnapping and altering people into tailor made slaves. The moment I had learned about their presence I quickly moved them to the top of my shit list on principle.
Of course there were plenty of other independent villains or smaller groups that didn't hold territory. The Four, Mullen Brothers, the duo Fog and Night, as well as a few groups or individuals that lost out in the Games but stuck around even if only in part.
However, the group that was my main concern in my new home were the Teeth.
The one group outside Orchard that was basically open season. Except they had both the firepower and the desire to try and return the favor to all involved.
Much like Digger's Bikers, they were mainly transient. Yet they had permanent cells in not only Boston but New York. The Boston cell apparently was somewhere around Malden. A little too close to my personal Bunker Hill for my liking.
Currently it seemed from what I could find, that the main body of the Teeth were out of town. Doing something down near New York. There was no telling when they would come back up to Boston. As they were known for moving in between the two and anywhere in between based on the whims of the Butcher. Visiting both cells with a level of regularity.
The Butcher. The real reason I was afraid of the Teeth. Not because they were so powerful I didn't think I couldn't put them down if it came to it. But because of what would happen if I did.
I did not want fourteen other voices in my head driving me insane.
I was already writing scripts for all my future units to swap away from and completely disallow the use of any form of lethal weaponry the moment they made an appearance on the battlefield. Even if it meant shutting down on the spot and ceasing all action. I didn't want to take any chances if they came back to town and I didn't expect it. Not until I had some form of containment plan in place, if it was even possible.
A problem to plan for, but not one currently on my plate.
My current problem was finding a spot for my proxy to go. A more sophisticated version of my scouting drone was already deployed through a hidden elevator to the surface I had in the reservation. Flying through the city searching for a suitable location while I viewed its cameras and sensors from my bunker.
Eventually I found my spot when I investigated the closet mass point in the city.
Southwest of the reservation and Northeast of East Arlington there was an abandoned Elementary school that was no longer used and had been labeled for demolition due to being structurally unsound. A good option that the city probably wouldn't get too mad over considering they were going to just tear it down anyway. Better yet, the mass point was right in the center of the building.
Now I just needed prepare to send in my first units to set up shop inside.
Another week had gone by and it was now the beginning of March. I watched as my new and taller Mark Two Power Armor with a bag over its shoulder, a new engineer and two of my new Enforcer units deployed up to the surface through one of my hidden elevators in the forest.
The MKII, while still designed for me to personally pilot it if needed, was intended for me to remotely control it. While some backups would be required in case of it being destroyed I planned for only one to ever be present on the field. I wanted something unique to represent myself even though I wasn't going to be physically present. I felt it would do good for optics for people to feel there was truly a person out there to talk to rather than a girl talking through a bunch of identical remote controlled robots.
My MKII led the way as the Enforcers held the rear. The three foot tall engineer fell into the center of the column. The Enforcers, designed after and mimicking the look of a Mech Marine but sleeker and more nimble with actual hands, stood at five foot ten. I had designed them to act as my foot soldiers for my burgeoning line of street level units. Tier 0 if you will.
They moved under the cover of darkness. I wasn't too worried if they were spotted since I didn't plan on them returning from where they came. Still, I did my best to ensure they avoided attention until they reached their destination. Inevitably, they were most definitely spotted by civilians, especially when they had to cross the Mystic River. But otherwise they got to their destination unaccosted.
Setting up inside I set the engineer to sure up the structural integrity in the classroom my beautiful mass point laid inside. Before queuing up the current extractor design and initial base infrastructure. Radar, cameras, interior defenses, a standalone constructor for future unit production.
Setting one of the Enforcers to guard the engineer I sent out the MKII with the other Enforcer for my first real patrol. I wanted to hit the ground running tonight while my engineer got things going at the school.
I didn't plan to get into any major fights like my first outing in Brockton Bay. Instead I hoped to do some outreach to begin to change my public image. I had prepared some aid packages in the bag the MKII was carrying to hand out to the homeless.
I don't consider myself homeless anymore now. But from the time I did I had a new level of sympathy for people in that situation. Especially since not everyone had powers like mine to fix their situation or chose to be there like I did. Now being in a better place I wanted to help others out.
Going southeast from the school it took me a few blocks before I found my first hunkered in an alley in a bundle of blankets. A middle aged Caucasian man with balding hair.
Walking up to him, Enforcer in tow, I immediately felt bad as I watched the man almost jump out of his skin when he noticed the MKII coming towards him. He immediately scurried backwards until he backed into the side of the dumpster in the alley.
"I-I don't want any trouble! Please!"
Poor guy. I can't really blame him. My Enforcer isn't exactly designed to look calming. The towering six foot eight height of the new MKII probably doesn't help either. I could see myself freaking out too if I suddenly saw it stomping towards me.
"It's okay! I'm not here to hurt you." I try to reassure him through my suits speaker. "I just wanted to see if you'd like an aid package. I put them together to hand out to people living on the street. Would you like one?" I had the suit slowly drop to a knee as I spoke.
The man blinked. Scared, he seemed to calm mostly out of confusion. "A… an aid package?"
"Yeah!" I said trying to inject as much cheer into my voice as possible. "Some food, toiletries, water and other stuff you might need."
"Um… s-sure?"
Handing him one, he gingerly takes it from the MKII's hand.
"Thanks… um… wow this is fucking weird. Are you… new?" He asked, bewildered.
"New around here. You can call me Novax." I raised my suit's hand, offering a handshake.
Reluctantly he reached up and shook it. "Novax… I'll remember it. I'm Markus. Are you… is this going to be a regular thing you do? Just walk around and hand stuff out to the homeless?"
"Yep! Well it might not always be me, I might have my drones do it sometimes but I'd like to make this a regular thing. So make sure to spread the word. I'd rather not give everyone a heart attack when I approach them."
He chuckled. "Uh, yeah sure. I'll mention it to any in the same boat I come across… um… why are you doing this?" Skepticism in his voice.
I paused. "What do you mean? Do I need a reason to help people?" I asked, confused.
"It's just… you capes, even the heroic ones, tend to focus on… well… not stuff like this? Typically when a cape comes up to people like me with offers of support it's them looking for a henchmen or something, you know?"
"That's… fair to be honest. But no, just trying to help. I was homeless myself for a short while. I know how much it can suck so I just want to help others in that situation."
Markus smiled. "Well… thank you. That's very kind."
I have the MKII nod before beginning to turn and move on. "Take care, and remember to let others know!"
Markus waved goodbye as I left.
I continued the patrol for a couple more hours. Getting a few more care packages handed out.
I was constantly scanning for the PRT or Protectorate. I knew eventually I'd run into them or more likely I'd be approached by them. I just didn't know how that eventual meeting would go. I was hoping well. Yet, it looked like my first night out would be uneventful in that department.
Same for actual crime as well.
I eventually began to turn both units back to base when I heard a woman screaming in an alley. Immediately I sent both in that direction, the faster Enforcer breaking into a run.
Rounding the corner, two men had the woman pinned to the wall, hand covering her mouth to muffle her screams.
"It's just a purse and a phone bitch stop screaming." One man said, holding a knife. "Just hand it and any other valuables ov-" He stopped and turned, finally realizing the new figure in the mouth of the alley.
The men and the women all froze. Staring at the Enforcer as blue light emitted from its cyclops eye, scanning the alley in front of it.
A mugging… the perfect low level crime to respond to as the Enforcer's trial run.
I ordered the Enforcer to engage. These muggers have become my unknowing guinea pigs.
The Enforcer's cyclops eye glowed brightly, scanning the alley once more, tagging both men as enemies requiring less lethal force and the woman as an innocent bystander. Both arms bent at the elbow as its thick forearms faced forward at hip level.
It's robotic voice filled the alley as it began to shout commands. "CEASE AND DESIST!"
The Enforcers had two barrels built into their forearms. A smaller one on the top and a bigger one on the bottom.
Loud bangs let out as the Enforcer opened fire with the lower barrels. Cartridges expelled from the lower forearm as bean bag rounds fired into the two men.
"HALT ALL CRIMINAL ACTIVITY! RESISTANCE IS FUTILE! SURRENDER IMMEDIATELY!"
Both men stumbled backwards under the initial barrage. The one holding the woman loses his grip on her. The woman,taking advantage, pulled away and hit the ground, crawling away from the two of them.
Detecting that the woman was no longer in close proximity to her two assailants, the beanbag rounds ceased. Immediately followed by the smaller barrel opening fire as a stream of pepper balls fired out.
"FUCK!"
"MY EYES!"
Both scream as pepper balls turn into dust on impact. Getting in their eyes. They both begin to stumble around unable to see as pepper balls continue to hit them before both fall to the ground.
"SURRENDER IMMEDIATELY! RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!"
"We surrender!"
"We surrender just fucking stop!"
Halting it's fire the Enforcer moved forward, a compartment opening in its leg as it grabbed zip ties from within and began restraining them both.
"YOU ARE BEING RESTRAINED! DO NOT RESIST!"
I have the MKII finally walk into the alley and approach the woman, who is completely still as she stares at the Enforcer.
"Are you alright?" I ask through the MKII's speaker.
Her head darts in the MKII's direction. She tenses briefly before relaxing. "I am now, holy shit this is the last time I stay out this late and walk home. I take it that… Whatever that thing is, is yours? "
"The Enforcer is mine, yes. It has my emblem on it after all." I say pointing to the one on my, or I should say the MKII's chest.
She looks back examining the Enforcer once more. "So it does. Well thank you. Thank you so much. I was worried they might not have stopped at my purse…" She shivered. "I don't want to think about that though."
"It's my pleasure to help. I was heading back home for the night but I'll leave the Enforcer here with you while you call and wait for the police. I can monitor it remotely, directly control it if needed. Will you be fine if I do that?" Hopefully it would only be the police that come and I can have the Enforcer run out of here before there's a chance of the PRT being called due to parahuman involvement.
If it was earlier in the night I would have stayed. Bit the bullet and had my first encounter with the heroes. But now this late I was simply too tired to want to deal with it.
"Oh yeah, that would be great. Thank you again. Who are you by the way? I forgot to ask."
"Novax."
"Well thank you very much Novax, I hope you have a good night!" She gave me a bright smile.
With a nod the MKII turned and left headed back to base.
I turned my attention to the Enforcer as I watched and waited as the woman called the police. Two police cars eventually pulled up. Seeing the need for my Enforcer having passed I sent the order for it to return to base.
Running out of the alley I heard the cops swear and pull their guns in a panic as my Enforcer ran out of the alley and down the road. Guess they weren't ready to have a five foot ten hunk of metal running at them at full speed.
I set it to twist through some alleys in hopes of avoiding any tails. While the point of the proxy base was to be conspicuous that didn't mean I wanted visitors on night one. Even if I haven't been full stealth about it so far.
The MKII and Enforcer eventually returned to base and I set the MKII to stand inside while the Enforcers were set to patrol inside the school. The Engineer in the meantime had been hard at work. It looked like all the initial tasks I had given it would be done before lunch tomorrow.
Hopefully by tomorrow I'd have a couple more Enforcers and another Engineer built on site.
Meanwhile I'd continue work in Bunker Hill. Mainly in the build power and energy department. I really needed to design a more powerful nano I could use for unit construction. Or better yet graduate to a full on protocrafter. I hadn't yet simply due to bottlenecks. One of the biggest things keeping me from getting better infrastructure for unit production was the simple fact of the power draw it would need. I rubbed my hands through my hair. It was always something slowing my progress.
I don't have a blueprint for this so I have to take time away from the MACU to make it and do the programming.
There isn't enough mass in storage or the mass points aren't generating enough to sustain all projects at full build speed.
Not enough engineers or powerful enough constructors to build it as fast as I wanted.
The power grid can't sustain the new engineers building at once and now I'm power stalling.
A constant game of whack-a-mole between my four bottlenecks.
It was exhausting at times. But ultimately it was just the nature of my tech. It wasn't the worst thing in the world. Due to that same nature I was able to progress and do things at a pace other tinkers could only dream of, I'm sure. But that didn't mean I couldn't still vent about my own frustrations with it.
Especially the power problems. My current power generator solution simply wasn't cutting it. I needed something new. A new generator or reactor… which I didn't have a blueprint for and would need to take more time away from designing the MACU's critical systems.
I groaned.
Whatever, it would be fine. Even an avalanche starts small. I'd get there in the end.
I opened and named a new project at my workstation for a new reactor and then got up to go to bed. I'd begin it properly in the morning. At the very least I could consider today a success.
After today the PRT would definitely know I'm here in Boston after stopping the muggers and scaring the hell out of the cops. Albeit unintentionally on the latter. Now it would just be a matter of time before my first run in with the local heroes. Hopefully I can get some more crimes stopped and outreach done before then. Give me a better chance of talking them into not trying to arrest an empty suit on site
As funny as that would be.