Topic : The Empire Falls
Bagrat (Original Poster) (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)
Posted On Jan 26th 2011 :
Gather around, friends, for do I have a story to tell you !
Yesterday, the Empire executed a plan to take out Lasombra. And boy, let's just say it didn't go as that bunch of Neo-Nazis had planned.
You might be wondering, given that every known sighting of Lasombra so far has had him pop out of nowhere to smack some fool, how did the Empire manage to arrange a confrontation ? Well, friends, they did in the most stereotypically evil way possible : by kidnapping a bunch of innocents and holding them hostage. If you are thinking that's something straight out of a comic book, you would be right. But wait ! It gets worse ! The police reports are a bit coy on the issue, but it's pretty clear that every single person involved was part of one minority group the E88 loves to hate or another. So all those people were probably not going to survive the night if things had gone as the Empire hoped.
Good news for the Empire : they definitely got Lasombra's attention. We still don't know how Lasombra seems to know when a violent crime happens in Brockton Bay, but he found the warehouse the Empire was using to hold their captives long before the police and the PRT.
Bad news for the Empire : Lasombra was really pissed off, and proceeded to beat them senseless. By the time Armsmaster arrived to respond to the reports of a superpowered brawl, every single cape left in the Empire's roster was unconscious, including Purity (which I guess puts an end to these rumors she'd left the organization), and their unpowered mooks had either surrendered or were running away, terrified out of their mind. Most of them ended up caught by the police soon after, by the way.
According to my sources, the Protectorate was alerted as to the location of the fight when Purity unleashed a full-power blast on Lasombra while Kaiser distracted him. Armsmaster, who was searching for the missing persons (even in Brockton Bay, you don't take thirty people off the streets in broad daylight without someone calling the cops) was the first hero on the scene.
But even with how fast that bike of his is, by the time he arrived, the fighting was over. Now, I know this looks kinda bad for the Protectorate, since it's not the first time this happens to them, but in this case I think we can all agree it's because Lasombra's so strong he finishes every fight he's involved in too fast, not because the Protectorate are too slow.
The hostages were rescued and brought to the hospital to be checked over. None of them were badly injured, but the E88 thugs were exactly as gentle with them as you would expect.
Here is the official PRT public announcement on the subject. With that, the Empire had lost all of its capes, at least the ones we knew about, including its leader Kaiser. Now, the Empire is more organized than the ABB ever was, and it wasn't created by forcing a bunch of ethnic gangs that all hated each other to cooperate, so its collapse isn't going to be as total and violent as what happened to their main rival, but I wouldn't bet on the E88 surviving as a consolidated organization for long.
UPDATE ON 01/27/2011 : Kaiser's identity has been revealed, and holy shit it's Max Anders, the CEO and owner of Medhall, one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the US and one of the key employers of Brockton Bay. I can't even begin to imagine the full scope of the repercussions from this.
Rightsector
Replied On Jan 26th 2011 :
… Holy shit. Even for the Empire, that was low. And stupid. I mean, I know I shouldn't be surprised cause, y'know, Nazis, but still. Good riddance to bad garbage, I say.
Brocktonite03 (Veteran Member)
Replied On Jan 26th 2011 :
With the Merchants taken down by the PRT earlier this week, who does that leave ? The Undersiders ? I don't think there's been any sighting of them since Hookwolf got caught.
… Fuck me, is the Bay going to actually be gang-free ? That hasn't happened since … well, I want to say since parahumans appeared, but it's not like the city didn't have organized crime before. Kind of ironic that the Docks were the only area of town without a gang presence, to be honest.
Sapphire_Prophet
Replied On Jan 26th 2011 :
Brocktonite03 Unlikely. With every major parahuman gang taken off the board, every criminal group on the East Coast is going to want to take their place : even if the Bay is a shithole, it's still a shithole that made a lot of money for the gangs.
Letes
Replied On Jan 26th 2011 :
Sure, but if they do come, they're going to find Lasombra waiting for them. And the PRT too, I guess.
Shadow_Seeker (Verified not a cape)
Replied On Jan 26th 2011 :
Letes Come on, man. The gangs of the Bay were among the worst of the country. We'd a frikking rage dragon and Nazis. Do you know what other cities have ? Costumed thieves and organized crime. The PRT and the heroes of Brockton Bay were faced with some of the most dangerous villains in the States. Even if Lasombra decides to take a vacation, they're going to eat whoever try to set up shop in the city for breakfast.
Not that I think Lasombra should take a vacation, even if he certainly deserves it.
Geronimo
Replied On Jan 26th 2011 :
My brother was among the people the Empire took hostage. They just attacked him in the street, roughed him up and dragged him into their van. I didn't even know what had happened until I got the phone call from the hospital telling me he was there.
Thank you, Lasombra.
Miss_Blue
Replied On Jan 26th 2011 :
I heard from a friend in the EMT that when they came to get the hostages, he saw Night and Fog hugging each other and sobbing and laughing at the same time. He compared it to people he saw being rescued from a fire at the last minute. Also, unlike the rest of the Empire capes, they weren't restrained, though Armsmaster was standing close to them. What do you think that was about ?
XxVoid_CowboyxX
Replied On Jan 26th 2011 :
Maybe witnessing Lasombra taking on the entire Empire at once and winning made them see the error of their ways ?
SunlightLurker
Replied On Jan 26th 2011 :
… Lasombra doesn't have Master powers, right ? I mean, apart from what his wolf can do to people that makes them terrified without actually hurting them.
XxVoid_CowboyxX
Replied On Jan 26th 2011 :
Not that we know of, but after everything he's already done, would you really be surprised ?
SunlightLurker
Replied On Jan 26th 2011 :
Shit, that's a good point. Lasombra already breaks so many of the expected limits of grab-bag capes, what's one more ?
Reave (Verified PRT Agent)
Replied On Jan 26th 2011 :
I have been authorized to reveal that the individuals formerly known as the villains Night and Fog were under the effect of some very effective, very vicious brainwashing, including Master powers, for their entire career. Lasombra used some previously-unknown aspect of his abilities to remove the brainwashing and free them. They are currently in PRT custody and are receiving the help they need after such an ordeal, as well as M/S screening to make sure they won't relapse.
The PRT wishes to speak with Lasombra about this, as well as the entire fight against the Empire as a whole. While Lasombra handled the situation extremely well and prevented the hostages from coming to harm, things could easily have gone very wrong.
Lasombra, if you are reading this, please contact me. There's also the matter of the compensation you are owed, as not only Lung, Oni Lee and Hookwolf, but several other members of the Empire had outstanding bounties. For now, the funds are being held in reserve.
Geronimo
Replied On Jan 26th 2011 :
… shit. These two terrified the Asian parts of town for years, but to hear that they weren't doing it willingly … Poor bastards. Fucking Nazis, man.
Brocktonite03 (Veteran Member)
Replied On Jan 27th 2011 :
FUCKING MAX ANDERS ?!
… I mean, looking back, I guess I can see it, but FUCK ! That's really not good.
Sundered_Road
Replied On Jan 27th 2011 :
No. No it's not.
"Holy fuck," said Alec as the news report finished and the anchor, who was looking more than a little overwhelmed, passed the baton to the weatherman with barely concealed relief. "Lisa, I don't think I've said it before, but thank you for making sure we aren't on Lasombra's shit list."
"You're welcome," she replied absent-mindedly, still reeling at the revelation of Kaiser's identity. That particular titbit hadn't been among the secrets tied to Coil's deadman switch, and she wondered if it was because he hadn't figured it out by the time of his death or for some other reason.
It didn't really matter, she decided, now that Coil was dead and Kaiser was in jail.
"Lisa, what do you think the rest of the Empire's rank-and-file is going to do now ?" asked Brian.
Wants to believe this is a good thing in the long run, but is worried about the short term. Is worried about them acting out. Worried about his sister getting caught in the violence.
"The PRT will be digging into the homes of the capes they captured," she thought out loud. "And not just them : with the Medhall and Gesellschaft connections revealed, a lot of agencies both national and international are going to get involved. The people affiliated with the Empire, if they are smart and can afford it, will be going on the run to escape the law. Others will try to make deals to stay out of jail, maybe using the economic stability of the Bay as a bargaining chip."
It was an open secret that the E88 had sympathizers in the upper crust of Brockton Bay. Not the kind of people who went out at night to beat up minorities, but those who enjoyed looking down at anyone with a different skin tone, or religion, or sexual preference, for no other reason that because it made them feel big. They had helped finance the E88, and pulled strings to keep its so-called soldiers from going to jail when they were arrested.
Lisa wondered how many of them would find out what the inside of a prison cell looked like now. Probably not as many as there should in a just and fair universe, but if they lived in such a universe, nobody would ever Trigger.
"But the typical E88 goon isn't smart," Brian said. "And that's the ones who're more likely to act up."
"Hmm." Lisa nodded. "You're right. I think they are all going to stay indoors at night : they are stupid, but not stupid enough to think they can take down Lasombra where the leaders of the Empire failed. And those who are that stupid will get themselves caught by the police and the PRT as soon as they try to enact whatever stupid plan they come up with."
There might a few incidents in the days to come as a result of what Lasombra had done. But while these would be spectacular, they wouldn't come close to the number of assaults and murders which had become commonplace in the Bay as a result of the Empire's presence.
"No more Nazis means no more Hookwolf," said Rachel, who was brushing one of her dogs, not interested in the TV. "Means no more dogfighting rings. All good."
"I don't think Hookwolf's people really cared that much about the Empire's ideology, Rachel," Lisa said cautiously. "Most of them just enjoy violence and used the E88 for protection."
"Stop trying to sound smart," Rachel grunted. "Talk normally."
"Very well," Lisa sighed. "Just because the Empire is gone doesn't mean that there won't be idiots trying to start the dogfighting rings again."
"Then I'll go after them and make them pay," replied Rachel matter-of-factly.
"If you do, please call us for help, alright ?" said Brian. "Even with Hookwolf gone, all it takes is one punk with a gun getting lucky, and you'll be dead. And then who'll take care of your dogs ? None of us are as good with them as you are."
"You will come if I ask ?" Rachel frowned, staring at Brian as if trying to see if he was making fun of her.
"Yes, Rachel, we will," the leader of the Undersiders replied. "Lisa and me because we care, Alec because I will drag him along."
"Hey, as long as we don't risk running into Hookwolf, I'm up for fucking up a bunch of not-zis," Alec called out from the couch.
Is aware of own sadistic tendencies. Is uncomfortable with them : they remind him of his Father. Thinks only indulging them on acceptable targets will make him less likely to follow down his Father's path.
Heartbreaker had really fucked up Alec's mind, and not just with his power. There was a small, vindictive part of her that wished the Canadian supervillain would come to Brockton Bay. She had a feeling Heartbreaker's infamous emotion control wouldn't do shit against Lasombra.
But the rest of her was all too aware of the collateral damage Heartbreaker was likely to leave in his wake even if he met his end in Brockton Bay, and while Taylor's projection was probably immune to the infamous Master, her human form might not be, and the thought of what Heartbreaker could do with someone like her under his control was utterly terrifying.
Taylor Hebert is Lasombra. Taylor Hebert isn't Lasombra. Taylor Hebert isn't a parahuman. Lasombra isn't a parahuman. Taylor Hebert –
Aaaand there it was. She winced and shut her power down. Meeting Taylor and more or less pledging allegiance to her hadn't done anything to stop the anti-Thinker aspect of her Stranger power.
"I will talk to Lasombra about it next time we meet," she said out loud. She hadn't shared the other cape's civilian identity with her teammates, and none of them had asked, because even Regent wasn't that stupid. "Since we basically work for him now, maybe he'll want to participate."
"Nobody else knows about the deal you made with him," said Brian. "What will the PRT think if they see us actually work with Lasombra ?"
"Well, after he took down the Empire, they won't think he's gone villain and joined our team, that's for sure," Lisa snarked. "Far more likely, they'll think we have gone legit, or are trying to. Which isn't that far from the truth when you think about it."
"Still, maybe I should tell Aisha to stay home for the next few days," Brian mused. "Just in case."
"She does have a tendency to speak her mind," Lisa agreed. "A bunch of Nazis looking for an easy win might take umbrage to that. But I don't think leaving her with your mother is going to go over well."
Which was an understatement if Lisa had ever said one, but given Brian's grimace, he got her point.
"But you know," she added, "since we aren't doing crimes anymore, if you need a place for your sister to crash while things are settling down and she isn't in too much danger for being a black girl in Brockton Bay, she can stay here. I know you've tried to keep her away from your life as a criminal, but the situation has changed."
The elder member of the Undersiders blinked. Clearly, the thought hadn't occurred to him.
"Maybe I will," he whispered. "Maybe I will."
"… three days after the capture of the supervillain Kaiser and the rest of the Empire Eighty-Eight's capes, the investigation into his subversion of Medhall is still ongoing …"
Theo sighed and turned off the TV. At first, he'd followed the news of the Empire's collapse almost religiously, taking a strange pleasure in it. But after three days, he was growing numb to it.
Despite not being involved in the Empire's activities, Theo had known that something was going to happen. He hadn't missed the conversations between Max and Kayden, even though the details of their … negotiations, he supposed was the correct term for it, until after the dust had settled and a bunch of policemen and PRT troopers had shown up to (very politely, but also very firmly) ask him some questions.
He'd been told that his father had signed off custody of Aster to Kayden, as part of a deal to get her to return to the Empire to assist in taking down Lasombra. Once the independent cape was dead, Max would have signed the rest of the divorce papers, with a very generous share of his wealth in cash so that she could leave the Bay and set up elsewhere.
She would have left with his half-sister, and left him behind for Kaiser to keep trying to shape into what he thought of as a 'worthy' successor. The revelation hadn't surprised Theo : Kayden had tried, he would give her that, but it had always been clear to him she didn't, couldn't love him. He reminded her too much of his father, even if she hadn't realized it herself.
That had hurt, but it was an old wound, and he'd gotten used to it.
And now Kayden was in prison. He didn't know what her sentence would be : he was pretty sure that, unlike his father, she wouldn't be sent to the Birdcage. But it'd been made clear to him that she wasn't going to keep custody of Aster, on the very reasonable premise that being raised by someone willing to participate in a scheme to kidnap thirty random people and hold them hostage to draw out and murder a hero wasn't someone who should raise a child.
It was hard to argue against that, especially since, even though the agents explaining things to him hadn't said it, it was obvious Kaiser would have had all the witnesses killed to keep the truth of what had happened under wraps. And Kayden had to have known that would happen too, even if she'd convinced herself otherwise. A good lawyer might be able to argue that she hadn't known it for certain, but he doubted it, especially since it was unlikely his stepmother would be able to hire the kind of lawyers his father would undoubtedly have – not that they would make much of a difference.
It was almost certain that Max Anders would be sent to the Birdcage once his trial was complete. The reason was simple : aside from the many hate crimes he was tied to, someone with Kaiser's powers couldn't be contained by an ordinary prison, and as the leader of a Nazi-themed gang that had victimized the Bay for literal decades, he was well past the three strikes rule. Sure, if Kaiser had been arrested while the rest of the Empire stood, the rest of the organization (or other white supremacist groups across the country : Theo wasn't stupid enough to think the E88 were alone in their beliefs) might have pulled strings with friendly politicians in order to get a less severe verdict.
But with the entire top leadership of the E88 removed at once, every law enforcement agency in the country was out for blood. The FBI had shown up once the Empire's ties to other groups had been revealed, along with other agencies whose names Theo didn't recognize. He did know that the IRS was very interested in getting a long, hard look at Medhall's finances, which he found funny for some weird reason.
On the whole, there was no denying the fact that this whole mess was a good thing for Brockton Bay. Whether it was good for Theo and Aster, he wasn't so certain about.
But, now that he didn't have to worry about his father or one of his associates killing him for refusing to follow in his footsteps as a racist supervillain, he had time to figure it out.
"Geoff and Dorothy display all the signs of trauma bonding. They don't appear to be attracted to each other or romantically involved, but draw comfort from each other's presence. They are aware that this isn't healthy in the long run, but neither of them are concerned with it at the moment, as they're still enjoying the feeling of being free from the confines of their own minds for the first time in years.
Both of them are aware of the crimes they committed while under the effects of Gesellschaft's brainwashing. Per PRT guidelines when Master effects of such a level are involved, I've done all I can to reassure them that they bear no guilt for these actions. I've mentioned the prospect of going into protective custody, and they both agree in principle. They know that Gesellschaft won't take their perceived betrayal lightly. The idea of being captured again by them nearly caused the two to have a mental breakdown, until one of the orderlies mentioned that Lasombra wouldn't let Gesellschaft step foot in Brockton Bay, which calmed them down.
Medical exams and M/S scans conducted now that they have recovered enough have shown no sign of lingering Master effects : whatever Lasombra did to break the brainwashing, it was cleaner and more complete than anything I've heard about.
In short, I expect it will be years before the patients are in a state to be given a clean bill of mental health, and the trauma of what happened to them will remain with them forever."
Extract from the psychological report on Geoff and Dorothy Doe (formerly known as the villains Fog and Night; due to the process of restoring their civilian identities still being ongoing, this pseudonym was used in all internal documentation), logged on February 6th, 2011.
"We encountered the group of parahumans calling themselves the Terrible Three right where Omen told us that a disturbance was likely to occur. Clockblocker intervened to freeze the gang's combat robot in place, leaving them bereft of most of their firepower. We were then able to capture all members of the gang without incident. By the time Clockblocker's power ran out, Kid Win had figured out how to use the remote control he'd taken off the group's Tinker to shut it down.
The Terrible Three are currently in custody at PRT HQ, while their robot is being taken apart by Kid Win and Armsmaster."
Extract from the after-action report of Aegis, logged onto the PRT servers on February 9th, 2011.
"… in addition to the intel Night and Fog volunteered, the PRT also got some information from the rest of the E88 in exchange for plea bargains. Some of that intel was outdated by the time we got it, but a lot of it was useful. Over the last three weeks, we've been able to dismantle three drug trafficking rings stretching across Europe. More importantly, we've found and raided one of the organization's 'training centers', leading to the recovery of six parahumans who were in the process of being brainwashed into Gesellschaft assets, including two former heroes.
More intel was obtained during these raids, and we are now in the process of investigating Gesellschaft's political connections …"
Extract from an Interpol report on the Gesellschaft investigation, logged into the organization's servers on February 15th, 2011.
"We need to strike back, right now ! This is unacceptable."
"We don't have the resources to spare at the moment. All of us need to go to ground, hide, and wait for the storm to pass."
"Hide ?! We have already lost so much because of this !"
"And we will lose more, of that I have no doubt. Be patient. Lasombra will pay for his actions, just like the two turncoats will pay for their treachery."
Exchange between two Gesellschaft leaders, February 20th, 2011. Recorded by a hidden device planted into the meeting room by the German hero Lautlose Schritte, with the record used as evidence to perform an arrest of their civilian identities three days later.
"Emily,
I've been getting reports that the Teeth may be preparing to move again. They've intensified their robberies of convenience stores and supermarkets in the outskirts of Boston, and my analysts tell me that's likely because they're preparing to leave and are stockpiling supplies. I don't need to tell you what their most likely destination is.
I'll keep you informed the moment I get anything more on the situation, but you should be prepared, just in case.
Regards,
Kamil."
Email sent from PRT Director Armstrong to PRT Director Piggot, February 23rd, 2011.
It felt strange to smile as I did one final read of the maths lessons which would be on tomorrow's test (part of me felt relieved to learn that Arcadia's teachers could be just as evil as Winslow's and put a test on the first class of a Monday), but I couldn't help it, even if it was a betrayal of all teenage principles. Things had been going great over the last month. I'd started making … I hesitated to call them friends, after Winslow, but definitely acquaintances in Arcadia.
Talking with Dad and looking at the news, it was clear that my work as Lasombra was helping. Now that the villain capes were gone, the police was actually able to go after criminals without being worried about falling down the stairs due to being pushed by one of Crusader's ghosts, or being burned alive by Lung or blown up by Oni Lee.
It seemed that those criminals who were left in the Bay (and I wasn't naive enough not to think there were still plenty of them, even with the major parahuman-led gangs removed) had learned to fear the sunset. Rumors that Lasombra could show up anywhere someone was committing a crime at night were spread all over PHO. The truth was a little different : not only could I only be in one place at a time, which in a city of the size of Brockton Bay meant that there would always be crimes I couldn't get to in time, my shadowscape reflected only emotions. So if someone broke into an empty store at night to rob it, I wouldn't pick it up unless the robber felt really bad about it or was terrified that I might show up. That exact scenario had actually happened last night, and I hadn't needed to do anything but stare at the masked men before they had gotten on their knees and called the police on themselves.
With most criminals too afraid to go out at night, the heroes had picked up the slack during the day : a number of minor parahuman gangs had been arrested in the last few weeks, both from out of town and locally grown. From what I'd seen online, after spending years dealing with the likes of Lung and Kaiser, even the Wards were finding dealing with the newcomers easy. Void_Cowboy had made a joke about the Bay locals being over-levelled for that kind of encounter, and it was hard to argue with that – I knocked on my bed-frame at the thought, just in case.
Thinking of the Protectorate brought my mind back to Reave's post on PHO. The PRT had wanted to talk to Lasombra since I'd first appeared on the scene, and every success I'd won against the gangs had made them more interested.
I would be lying to say that I wasn't tempted by the thought of the bounties he had mentioned. Thanks to the PRT's settlement for what had happened to Winslow, we weren't exactly hurting for money anymore, but I knew enough about finances to realize this was only a reprieve, not a long-term solution. And sure, I hadn't decided to be a hero for the money, but I wouldn't have blamed anyone else for accepting the reward for taking down Lung and the Empire.
The problem was that I still didn't want the PRT to know my identity, and I couldn't think of any way to get in touch with them that didn't lead to that. Unless … Maybe I could ask Lisa to serve as some kind of intermediary between me and the PRT ?
I'd met with Tattletale a few more times after school. After confirming that she was doing what we'd agreed on and helping struggling businesses with Coil's blood money, she'd told me about Bitch's desire to crush any animal fighting rings which might pop up in the wake of the Empire's collapse, and I'd agreed to have Lasombra assist with that. Which was why I now owned a burner cellphone, with only Lisa's number in it. I had to keep it hidden from Dad (although even if he found it, explaining it wouldn't be that much of a problem, since I was a teenage girl who was starting to socialize with other people her age).
It would take some work to make the heroes accept that I was using a villain as a proxy, and more still to ensure this didn't damage my relationship with them, but it should be possible. I made a mental note of asking Lisa about it next time we met.
With that decision made, I turned off the lights, laid down on my bed, closed my eyes, and let the darkness swallow me.
"PRIORITY ALERT
THE SIMURGH IS DESCENDING
PROJECTED DESTINATION : CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA"
Automated alert of the Endbringer Watch System, sent on February 24th, 2011.
AN : Thirteen chapters, and at last, we've arrived at the part that convinced me to write this story, with what would be the first book if this were a series complete (well, if this was a book, I wouldn't put the teaser at the end, unless I was feeling particularly vindictive).
The next chapter is something that I've been working on almost since I started writing this fic, and should be coming out very soon - I've already got 6k words of it written, it just needs some bits finished up and polishing.
Oh, yeah : in case it wasn't obvious, Taylor isn't going to sleep through the Simurgh's attack on Canberra. She got more or less one month of "peace" with the Empire falling apart and the PRT, Protectorate and BBPD doing their best to clean up the city (because no matter how powerful Lasombra is, single-handedly solving crime in a city the size of BB isn't plausible, at least not without making the kind of examples Konrad Curze would make), which I'm pretty sure is a better deal than she got in most fanfics I've read.
As always, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter, and look forward to your thoughts and comments.