Disclaimer: English is not my first language. I'm using Grammarly to check the Grammar and using Word to write it.
//////////////
"So, how's school been going?" I asked while eating an apple.
"Boring," Daisy was doing her homework.
We were both sitting at the dining table. Mom was on the other side of the table reading a novel and Dad was taking a nap.
It was Saturday and it was feeling like one of those days that made everything seem so peaceful.
Well, if you forget the whole gang war thing.
I was feeling a lot better after getting some sleep.
The wonders a full night's sleep will do to you.
I raised an amused eyebrow, "And?"
"And nothing, it's just the same as always," Daisy shrugs her shoulders.
"Okay, what about the presentation?" I asked. "And what's it about?"
"It's about the impact parahumans have on society. And it's going," Daisy said with a pout.
"Problems with your partner?" I asked.
Is she partnered with a slacker? I know how irritating that is.
"Kinda but not in the way you're thinking. Missy can be a little too serious sometimes but nothing bad. The problem is that she won't stop complaining," Daisy erased a wrong answer in the homework.
"About what?" I asked.
"She's in this program about helping the community with the fallouts of cape fights. While she seems to enjoy it, Missy wouldn't stop complaining about how everyone there treats her like a kid," Daisy said.
"You two are the same age, right?" Daisy nodded. "Then she's a kid," I finish eating the apple.
"I said the same thing! She didn't like it," Daisy with a huff.
"Why doesn't she just leave then?" I asked.
"I don't know, she never gave me a straight answer," Daisy. "Stupid homework," she muttered.
Nora perked up at the mention of homework.
"Oh, that reminds me," Nora went to her room.
She came back with a stack of papers and put them in front of me, it was about three centimeters in height.
"What's this?" I looked closer at the first page and blinked at what was written.
It was a math test.
"All the homework that you missed," Nora said.
"Son of a bitch," I cursed.
"Language," Nora scolded me lightly.
Daisy was cackling at my misery.
Like any responsible older brother who was being laughed at by their younger sibling, I responded the only way possible.
By giving her a wet willie.
"Mom!" Daisy whined while covering her ear.
"Henry, don't pick on your sister," Nora said amused at our antics.
Daisy went to the bathroom grumbling.
"So, how much time do I have?" I asked flipping through the pages.
"Two weeks to finish them but they expect you to go back to school by the beginning of October," Nora said. "I got you a little more time before going back," she whispered to me.
"Thanks, mom," I said gratefully.
Is it weird that I rather fight a Beast than go back to school?
"Oi master, when are we going to attack the gangs?" Cú Chulainn said boredly in my head.
"Hassan, how many caches have you found?" I asked mentally while continuing to flip through the pages.
"Seventy-two so far," Hassan said in my head.
Damm, that's a lot.
No point in waiting until nightfall to make a move. Gotta make the most of the time before I'm only able to go out at night cause of school.
"I'm heading out," I said mentally to them.
"I'm going to go out for a bit," I said to Mom.
"Where're you going?" Nora asked.
"Thinking about going to the bakery a few blocks from here and then going for a stroll," I said getting up.
"...all right but don't be late this time mister," Nora said. "It's dangerous right now," she said concerned.
When is it not dangerous around here?
"Do you need some money?" Nora asked.
"I wouldn't say no to it," I said.
Nora went to her room to grab some money.
I felt someone approaching from behind and quickly turned around.
Daisy had one of her hands extended forward and the index finger was wet.
"Whoa!" Daisy exclaimed in surprise.
"Did you just try to give me a wet willie?" I looked at her hand.
"...no," Daisy said.
"I'm too good to fall for something like that," I was grinning from ear to ear.
Daisy gave me an unimpressed look and kicked me in the shin.
"You brat!" I grabbed her and started to mercilessly tickle her.
Daisy was laughing uncontrollably.
The sound of a picture being taken made me pause the tickling.
I turned to see Dad with a camera in his hands. Mom was beside him with a smile on her face.
Daisy used this distraction to escape my clutches.
"Hey, Dad. Had a good nap?" I asked.
"Yes," Isaac showed the picture to Nora.
"That's a good one," Nora said happily.
"Dad. Henry is being mean," Daisy whined with a pout.
"There, there," Isaac pats Daisy's head. "How about we eat some ice cream?" Isaac suggested.
"Yay!" Daisy cheered.
"Do you want some, Henry?" Isaac asked.
"No thanks, I'm going out," I said.
"Don't be late this time," Isaac said seriously.
"I already said that," Nora giggled. "Here's the money," she hands to me.
I watched Dad grab a tub of ice cream from the fridge and put it on the table. Daisy was eagerly waiting and Mom went back to the novel.
The scene in front of me only reinforced my conviction.
I'm going to fight tooth and nail to protect this.
/////////
"Where're you both staying?" I asked mentally while walking down the street.
"Five blocks down and take a right. The first motel on the right," Hassan responded
While it would be faster if she was carrying me, I wasn't wearing my cape clothes.
Following her instructions, I came to face with a cheap motel.
"Room 209," Hassan said.
I entered the motel, walked towards the room, and knocked on the door.
"Sup," Cú Chulainn opened the door.
He was wearing a yellow Hawaiian shirt and black pants.
After I entered the room Cú Chulainn inscribed a rune on the door, so that we wouldn't have to worry about anyone hearing us.
It was a small room, with a bed, small TV, and a bathroom. The TV was showing a channel about fishing, there was a backpack and a pack of six cans of beer on the ground next to the bed.
"Nice room. Let me guess, some gang members decided to bother you," it isn't hard to guess where he got the money.
He scoffs, "Some punks thought I was easy prey," he grabs a can of beer. "Want one?" Cú Chulainn asked.
"I'm good, thanks. Hassan show us what you got," I said.
Hassan appeared next to me, she walked to the bed and put a map of Brockton Bay over it.
Looking over I saw a lot of 'X' and 'O' that were marked in diverse places.
"The 'X' marks the places where the gangs keep primarily guns and drugs. The 'O' marks places of dog fighting rings and brothels," Hassan said.
Most of the 'O' were located at the Docks. That's ABB territory.
"Who're we attacking first?" Cú Chulainn was looking at the map.
"I got some people in mind," I grabbed my phone and navigated the internet.
"Have you seen this man?" Showing a picture of Oni Lee to Hassan.
"Yes but he never stays in one place for long," Hassan said.
It's going to be annoying to deal with him.
"Keep a look out for him," I said. "What about her?" showing a picture of Othala.
Hassan shakes her head.
"Who's she?" Cú Chulainn looks over my shoulder.
"The Empire healer," I said.
I took a moment to think of a plan to draw her out.
"Take us to the nearest safehouse of the Empire," I said to Hassan.
"Finally some action," Cú Chulainn grabs another beer. "Oh right. Master here's your stuff," he points to the backpack.
Opening I saw my uniform and mask, but most importantly my revolver.
A while ago I asked for a mystic code that is easy to use and would be very effective against magical beast and the likes of it. After a lot of testing to see what would suit me better, a revolver was the winner in the end.
What can I say? Guns are easier to use than swords, bows, or spears.
It was a caliber 38 revolver.
"Oh man, this completely slipped my mind," I checked the revolver.
"Da Vinci remembered and asked Medea to make another," Hassan said.
I grabbed the two boxes of ammo next to it, one was blue and the other was red.
"Blue is non-lethal and red is lethal," Cú Chulainn explained.
I nodded and put all back inside the backpack.
"Before I forget. Hassan, please warm me up when it's about an hour before nightfall. I don't want to worry my parents again," I said with a frown.
Hassan nodded.
"All right, let's go," I said grabbing the backpack.
Hassan disappeared, and Cú Chulainn and I left the motel.
We followed her directions to the nearest Empire safehouse.
///////
"We need to establish a base quickly. I don't want to keep changing clothes behind a dumpster," I complained.
We were hiding in an alley, two blocks from our target.
"It could be worse," Cú Chulainn changed to his regular clothes.
"How?" I asked.
"You could have been attacked while bathing in a river and be forced to fight naked," Cú Chulainn said casually.
"Summer or winter?" I asked curiously.
"It was more annoying in the winter," Cú Chulainn grunted.
Yeah, I can definitely see that happening.
Celtic's are something else.
I took a peak at the end of the street to see a warehouse, some Empire members were chatting in front of it.
"That's the place?" I asked mentally.
"Yes," Hassan said in my head.
She was inside the warehouse.
"Capes?" I asked.
"None," Hassan said.
That's a shame.
"How many?" I did one last check on my revolver. Feeling satisfied I put it back on the holster.
"Fourty seven," Hassan said.
Let's get this show started.
"All yours," I said to Cú Chulainn.
Cú Chulainn broke into a sprint towards the warehouse. He didn't slow down a bit when reaching it and simply went through the wall.
The Empire grunts that were in front of the warehouse screamed in fright at the sudden noise. After a moment they quickly ran inside.
It wasn't long before the sounds of gunshots and explosions started to come from the warehouse.
Well, the idea is to be as loud as possible.
It took a few minutes for all the sounds that were coming from the warehouse to stop.
"Is it safe?" I asked mentally.
"Yes," Cú Chulainn said.
I ran to the hole in the warehouse and entered through it.
The first thing I saw was a person on the floor groaning in pain. The same could be said about all the other occupants except Cú Chulainn. He was standing in the middle of the place looking around boredly.
Yeah, normal humans could never defeat a servant.
Looking around I saw bullet holes everywhere, blood splatter in some places, and a lot of wooden crates. Some of them were open, showing the weapons that they had inside.
"That's a lot of weapons," I look at the crates around the place.
And this is just one of their safehouses.
"Should we destroy them?" Cú Chulainn grabbed a rifle from one of the crates.
I shook my head, "Let the police handle that."
"Who's in charge?" I asked mentally to Hassan.
"Four meters to your left, he has an E88 tattoo on the left side of his neck," Hassan said.
I saw the man she was talking about and walked to him.
He was on the ground holding his right arm in pain.
"So, you're the guy in charge," I kneeled in front of him.
"Fuck you," He glared hatefully at me.
"I'm going to need your cellphone," I said unbothered.
His answer was to spit at me.
I reinforced my fist and punched his face, breaking his nose.
"Why the hell I'm even trying to be nice?" I muttered to myself.
I found his cell phone in one of his pockets. Looking through his contacts I found Othala's number.
At least I think it is, there's only one number in the 'O' section.
"Let's tie them up," I put the cell phone in my pocket.
For the next half an hour, Cú Chulainn and I were busy tying the grunts with rope and covering their mouths with tape. Cú Chulainn also wrote runes on the ropes of each tied grunt, to make sure they couldn't break them.
After making sure that all the members of the Empire were restrained, I grabbed the cell phone and dialed the number.
Let's see if my acting skills are good enough.
"Yes?" A man answered the call.
Please be someone who works with Othala.
"We need help!" I screamed in panic.
"Who's this?" The man asked.
"Dave but that doesn't matter, we have been hit!" I said.
"Calm down an-" I interrupted the man.
"All my friends are on the ground bleeding! I called Othala, who the hell are you!?" I said.
"Victor." The man said.
I raised an eyebrow at that. Rumors are circling on the internet that they are dating.
"Oh shit, I-I'm so sorry-" Victor interrupted me.
"Start from the beginning," he said impatiently.
"We were arranging the guns when some lunatic busted through the wall and attacked everyone," I said.
"Who was it?" Victor asked.
"I have no idea who he was. Please, I need to talk to Othala," I said desperately.
"She's with me," Victor said.
That's convenient, Victor is another one that I want to deal with as fast as possible. His power makes him a very dangerous opponent to me.
"Which safehouse do you work?" Victor asked.
Oh crap.
"Hassan, the location of this warehouse," I asked mentally.
"3822 Winfield Ferry," Hassan said.
"3822 Winfield Ferry," I repeated the address.
"...I'm on my way," Victor ends the call.
I looked at the cell phone with a frown.
"Problem?" Cú Chulainn asked.
"I don't know, he hesitated at the end of the call. Maybe there's some codename for each safehouse or something," I dropped the cell phone. "I don't think he's coming."
This is such a shame, capturing Othala would have been a devastating blow to the Empire.
"He's going to send reinforcement to this place to see what happens," Cú Chulainn guessed.
"Most definitely. Even if he doesn't come here, Victor can't ignore the possibility that one of their safehouses was attacked," I said.
"Well, we will just have to keep beating them until she comes out of hiding," Cú Chulain shrugged.
"I like the way you think," I chuckled at that.
Even if that doesn't work, it will only be a matter of time until Hassan finds her.
"Someone is coming," Hassan said mentally to me.
"Empire?" it can't be them, this is way too fast.
"No, it's a man wearing some kind of blue armor and he's driving a motorcycle," Hassan said.
Blue armor? There's only one person who wears that in Brockton Bay.
"We got company," I calmly walked towards the hole.
"Friendly?" Cú Chulainn walked next to me.
"Should be, as far I'm aware the heroes got a good opinion of me. Just got to explain what's going on," I said.
Walking outside we came to face with the lead of the Protectorate exiting his motorcycle.
"Nice armor," Cú Chulainn complimented.
"Identify yourself," Armsmaster was holding his halberd.
"Hi, I'm Magus and this is Lancer," I introduced us.
"Hey," Cú Chulainn said relaxed but his were tracking Armsmaster's every move.
Armsmaster gave us a critical look and frowned when he saw my revolver.
"You and Berserker helped New Wave in dealing with Fenja and Stormtiger," Armsmaster stated. He looked at the hole behind us, "What happened here?"
"This is one of the safehouses of the Empire. We attacked it with the intent to draw out Othala and capture her," I explained.
Armsmaster frowned, "While I do see the benefits, it's too reckless of a plan. The Empire will interpret this as a declaration of war."
"I'm quite aware of that, but according to Dauntless, they're already targeting us," Sometimes the best defense is a good offense.
Armsmaster hummed, "That may be true but you still shouldn't attack them so openly. It would be better to keep your head down and let us deal with them."
Cú Chulainn laughed, "Sorry but that's not our style. We don't run away from danger."
It's also safer to take down the Empire now than let them become a thorn in our side at a later date. Chaldea has a lot to work on and doesn't need this kind of distraction.
"Also haven't you guys been struggling to deal with them for years now?" Cú Chulainn asked.
Armsmaster frowned heavily at the reminder that the Protectorate hasn't been able to take down the Empire yet.
"So, as you can see our hands are kind of tied," I said.
"The two of you could join the Protectorate for protection. Berserker too. All of you have the potential to be great heroes," Armsmaster said.
I tilted my head sideways confused, "I'm seventeen."
Armsmaster looked surprised, "Truly? You seem older."
"Thanks, I guess. And before you say anything, I will also have to decline to join the wards," I said politely.
"Wards?" Cú Chulainn asked.
"It's the kid version of the Protectorate," I explained.
"What about you?" Armsmaster asked Cú Chulainn.
"Sorry but I'm already part of an organization," Cú Chulainn said.
Armsmaster hummed in interest at the mention of an unknown organization.
"Are the both of you and Berserker part of the same organization?" Armsmaster asked.
"Yes, we are," I said.
"Could I have the name?" Armsmaster asked.
I don't think there's any problem answering that. Since Chaldea doesn't exist here, they're only going to waste resources trying to gather information.
"Chaldea," I said.
Armsmaster frowned, "I never heard of this organization."
I gave him a wide smile, "We're new."
Which is technically true.
"Okay then, call us if you ever need help," Armsmaster said."How certain are you that Othala is coming?" he asked.
I winced, "Here's the thing, I tried to call her but for some reason, Victor answered instead."
"They're in a relationship," Armsmaster explained.
"Huh, so they're dating," I said. "Anyway, I tried to trick him into bringing Othala here but I think he caught on something and is not going to come. On the other hand, there's a high chance that he's going to send reinforcement to this place," I rubbed my neck a little embarrassed.
Even with his face covered by a helmet, I could easily tell that Armsmaster was looking at me with a deadpan face.
Armsmaster sighed, "Any idea who's coming?"
"It will either be one of their capes or more unpowered members," I said.
"I should have asked this before, but are any of these capes strong?" Cú Chulainn asked interested.
I rubbed my chin in thought, "In the Empire maybe there's two or three members that have powers that could hurt you. The ABB has Lung and he can turn into a dragon."
"There's a dragon here," Cú Chulainn perked up at the mention of a dragon.
"I wouldn't call him a full-blooded dragon. Maybe a pseudo-dragon, since it's a human turning into a dragon," I said.
"So, the same as Fafnir?" Cú Chulainn asked.
"I don't think so. When Fafnir transformed, he stayed as a dragon. Lung on the other hand, only turns into a dragon during fights," I said.
"Fafnir?" Armsmaster asked.
Wow, I actually forgot he was there for a moment.
"Oh, it's nothing. We like to talk about mythologies," I chuckled nervously.
"Still sounds like a good fight. Let's go after him next master," Cú Chulainn said with an excited smile.
"Master?" Armsmaster said dangerously. "You mastered him," he tightened his hold on the halberd.
My eyes widened when I realized what he was talking about. There's a stigma that surrounds all 'Masters', especially those that have human-like minions.
"Hold on a minute! It's not like that!" I said hurriedly.
Cú Chulainn got in front of me in a fighting stance.
"Think twice before you do anything you will regret later," Cú Chulainn warned.
"Was Berserker also mastered?" Arsmaster accused.
"It's not like that!" I shouted.
"Then explain," Armsmaster growled.
This is a problem, I can't tell the truth and even if I did he would never believe it. Could I say it's some sort of codename? A joke between us?
"What's he talking about?" Cú Chullain asked.
"He thinks I brainwashed you," I responded mentally.
"The hell," Cú Chullain said.
"Masters can control others," I elaborated.
"...is that only limited to people?" Cú Chulainn asked.
Where's he going with that?
"No, it can also be projection-" My explanation was cut short.
"I'm his familiar," Cú Chulainn declared.
I looked at Cú Chulainn in shock.
"Familiar?" Armsmaster asked.
"I'm not a real person," Cú Chulainn elaborated.
Armsmaster was quiet for a moment.
"True," he said. Armsmaster turns his gaze to me, "Is Berserker also one of your familiars?"
I clenched my fists in anger and was about to tear him a new one.
"It's okay," Cú Chulainn said mentally.
"No, it isn't, you're so much more than that. All of you are," I growled mentally.
I heard Cú Chulainn's joyful laugh inside my head.
"Master, it's okay," Hassan reassured me.
"...yes," I relented in the end.
This feels so wrong.
Armsmaster kept looking intently at me, "You're telling the truth," he stated. "So that's why she wasn't wearing a mask and neither are you," he said looking at Cú Chulainn.
I blinked at what he said. I didn't even think of that angle, it must have confused everyone that Morgan wasn't wearing a mask while I was.
Also, how the hell does he know that Cú Chulainn and I are telling the truth?
I let out a frustrated sigh. "Are we good now? In case you forgot, reinforcements are coming here and we do-" I was interrupted by Hassan.
"A car is approaching," Hassan warns me.
I turned to my left to see a car moving quickly towards our location. Cú Chulainn and Armsmaster also notice the approaching vehicle.
It stops two blocks away from us and a man exits. He was wearing a trench coat and a gas mask.
Armsmaster tenses at seeing the man. "Krieg," he said through gritted teeth.
Well, looks like I was right about the reinforcements. And they ended up sending one of their heavy hitters.
Cú Chulainn decides to make the first move by reeling back his arm and throwing Gáe Bolg at Krieg.
As it was about to hit him square in the chest, Krieg was able to deflect Gáe Bolg away from his body by sending it upwards. But by doing so he was launched several meters backward, bouncing a few times off the ground before stopping.
Cú Chulainn hummed in interest, "Ohh, he deflected it. Not bad."
As much I as hate to admit, that's impressive. Krieg was one of the capes I was thinking of earlier that had a power that could potentially hurt a servant.
"Warn me if anyone else arrives. And stay hidden," I said mentally to Hassan.
I want to keep her a secret as long as possible.
Cú Chulainn holds out his hand and like a red streak, Gáe Bolg returned to his hands. He charges forward to continue his attack.
Armsmaster and I quickly followed him.
Krieg got up from the ground just in time to use his power to slow down a spear thrust from Cú Chulainn.
Reaching them, I could see how Krieg's power was affecting Cú Chulainn. And it was kind of weird seeing from the side.
It was like seeing Cú Chulainn attacking in slow motion. Little by little his spear was moving forwards, getting closer to Krieg.
I gave it a minute before it pierced his chest.
And Krieg was trembling violently. Desperately trying to change the trajectory of Gáe Bolg but not having any success as Cú Chulainn refused to budge.
Armsmaster didn't let this chance go to waste and fired some projectiles from his halberd.
I grabbed my revolver and fired all the bullets at Krieg.
Fortnually since it was taking all of Krieg's strength to slow down Cú Chulainn, our projectiles were able to hit him. Breaking his concentration.
And in that moment his chest was pierced by Gáe Bolg.
Before Krieg could scream in pain, Cú Chulainn rips out his spear and gives a brutal front kick that launches Krieg directly into a car. He lies in the car immobile.
Please tell me that he only passed out.
Armsmaster quickly throws something to the downed Krieg. When it hits him, some kind of foam covers all of his body except his head.
"What's that?" I asked.
"Containment foam," Armsmaster slowly approached Kreig.
Cú Chulainn walked back to my side.
"Did you kill him?" I whispered to Cú Chulainn.
"I didn't hit any vital organs but it would be a good idea to stop the bleeding," Cú Chulainn whispered back.
"Will the containment foam stop the bleeding?" I asked Armsmaster.
"A little bit," Armsmaster frowned.
Cú Chulainn walked to Krieg and wrote a rune over his head. It made him glow for a second.
"What did you do?" Armsmaster asked tensely.
"Something to slow down the bleeding," Cú Chulainn said.
Armsmaster presses a button on his helmet and looks intently at Krieg. He stays still for a few seconds then turns to Cú Chulainn.
"His bleeding has considerably lessened but the wound hasn't changed," Armsmaster commented.
Cú Chulainn grunted, "That's the idea. It will stop him from moving too much unless he wants to die from blood loss."
Armsmaster turns to me, "That revolver-" he began.
"The bullets are all non-lethal. It feels like you're being hit by a sledgehammer," I quickly explained before any accusations were made.
"Have you tested them before?" Armsmaster asked.
"No, I haven't but I trust who made them," I said.
I didn't have an ounce of doubt that Medea would mess up something like this. This is child play to her.
"You should have tested them. What if they hit harder than you expected? Or grievously injured someone?" Armsmaster frowned in disapproval. "You always have to strictly test tinker tech," He berated me.
Tinker tech? Sure, let's go with that. I'm certainly not going to correct him.
"All right, all right, I'm sorry. She always did quality work, so I didn't have any reason to doubt her now," I rubbed my neck.
What Armsmaster said did make me curious. Is it common for tinker tech to fail?
"Do you need us to stay or we could leave?" I asked.
"I still need to know what happened inside the warehouse," Armsmaster said.
"I kicked everyone asses," Cú Chulainn said flatly.
That's what happened but Armsmaster didn't seem pleased with the answer.
"Inside the warehouse, there're forty-seven restrained grunts and a lot of wooden crates with weapons inside," I informed him. "You can handle things from here. We got more things to do."
Cú Chulainn and I left before Armsmaster could say anything.
/////
We were atop a building resting.
"That could have gone better," I sighed.
Cú Chulainn and I were leaning against the rooftop balcony.
I sent Hassan to the next warehouse to scout the place. Don't need any surprises now.
"So, what the deal with 'Masters' around here?" Cú Chulainn asked.
"Masters have powers that allow them to control others. Some control animals, others inanimate objects, and so on. But the ones that everyone fears are the ones that can control people," I said grimly. "There're so many horror stories about Masters striping individuals of their free will and making them do horrible acts."
"And he thought you did that to me," Cú Chulainn said.
"Yeah," What a fucking mess.
"Should we lay low?" Cú Chulainn asked.
I shook my head no," That would only make me look guilty. By the way, I still can't believe you told the truth."
"Something needed to be said," Cú Chulainn said.
"Why did it have to be that?" I asked incredulously.
"So he wouldn't think you were controlling someone," Cú Chulainn said.
"We could have said something else," I said.
"Like what?" Cú Chulainn raises an eyebrow.
I opened my mouth to say anything but no sound came out. I couldn't think of any excuse that doesn't make me look weird or that raises a lot of questions.
I didn't have this problem with New Wave since Morgan calls me 'husband'.
Oh god, I don't even want to know how the PRT/Protectorate is going to interpret that bit of information.
I groaned, "I got nothing."
Cú Chulainn pats my shoulder.
"We're still attacking more safehouses today?" Cú Chulainn asked.
I nodded, "Gotta keep the pressure on the Empire."
I asked Hassan for direction and we went to the next target.
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