Brockton Bay's Marvelous Mage - Chapter 107

When the Empire finally made their move, it was clear they were doing their best to catch us off guard. They kept quiet for the entire day, while we continued to try and tempt them into coming out of their hidey-holes, pushing into their territory and stopping whatever crimes we spotted. We spent several hours, combined, watching out for New Wave and going on our own patrols, with New Wave sitting back in the background. Despite that, we saw no sign of them. By the end of the day, I was beginning to wonder if we would get to chip away at the gang until no one was left.

The rest of the day was relatively normal. I shipped Cricket and Hookwolf off to Baltimore, both of them shouting and screaming threats of violence and obscenities from inside a mass of containment foam. They must have woken up at some point in the night, and lacking a way to reliably and safely knock them out, the PRT just foamed them up for easy portability. I was honestly shocked that Hookwolf was aware and human enough to make any noise at all, considering the last I saw of him, he was in some sort of metalloorganic core that his power provided. 

I had hit him pretty hard, and I expected him to stay down for longer, but I suppose his brute rating was high for a reason. They kept him foamed up even after I finished dropping him off, because while Cricket had a date with the American justice system, Hookie was destined for the Birdcage. Part of me wished they would just lock him up somewhere else, even if it meant he was a bit more likely to break out, since I was pretty sure a bastard like him was going to thrive in a place like the Birdcage.

The day went on as usual, including a trip to the dock community. I spent more of the day improving the vine-grown food source for Kali's dogs, as they refused to eat the first attempt. After cracking one open, something I somehow didn't think to do the first time around, I didn't blame them, as it was holey unappetizing. After a few hours of work, I managed to re-work the plant into something that smelled almost like a grassy, slightly sweet meat, which Kali happily reported the dogs eagerly ate. 

The day passed, and the night settled. I spent most of the afternoon and night working on designs for mass-produced rituals. I wasn't quite ready to start making anything, since I wanted to unlock enchantment design and a few extra branches of magic before I started to really plan out what my "army" would look like, but doing some general idea crafting and planning was still on the table. I was likely a good bit of time away from enacting any large-stage creation process, but with my new knowledge, my plan actually seemed achievable. 

I was just about to start getting ready to sleep when Piper suddenly appeared in the camp. Her clothes were burning, falling off her metallic, mostly featureless body, and as she turned to face me, I could see why. Her arm, just below the shoulder, was completely missing, with the stump glowing red hot, dripping molten metal onto the floor. 

"The Empire is making its move," She explained. "Purity is chasing us down, trying to destroy Smokey and me. Other guardians are reporting attacks from the rank and file, hit and run tactics that are proving difficult to chase down."

I was up and getting dressed before she even finished, moving almost in a blur as I did. My boots went on first, quickly followed by my gloves.

"How are the rank and file holding down the other guardians?" I asked with a frown, quickly putting on my boots. "They shouldn't have an issue with something like that."

"There are a lot of gangers, and there might be some tinker gear involved, as people are moving faster than they should," Piper explained. "Their weapons are certainly tinker tech, some sort of energy rifle. Some of them are in full tactical gear. Other groups are just rioting in the streets, causing as much chaos as possible before running and starting somewhere else." 

"How were you two doing?" I asked as I put my spell storage belt around my waist, clipping it in place before grabbing my coat. 

"We were using the golems as shields and distractions," she explained. "I tried to put her to sleep with a song, and she caught on too quick. I teleported here to avoid…" 

She gestured to her arm, and I nodded. I could easily repair that, but that meant Smokey was alone, fighting one of the most powerful blasters on the eastern seaboard. 

"Any word on the rest of the Empire?"  I asked. "Any idea why Purity is suddenly back with them? Is she even back with them?" 

"She didn't say anything, and wouldn't respond to questions. She just opened fire out of nowhere, as soon as our patrol crossed into a small open park area," she explained, shaking her head. "Boss…"

"I'm on it, Piper," I assured her before grabbing a handful of teleport crystals and placing them in her hands. "Go to Crow, then New Wave. Explain the situation and get them close to the area, somewhere within Alya's range. She will direct them from there." 

Piper nodded, and I whistled, my golems quickly joining me on the ritual platform, grabbing onto my arms. I reached down and touched a spell stone and activated it, all of us vanishing from the forest, appearing in the park Piper described, which I thankfully recognized enough to use as a teleport location.  

The place was a mess, with chunks of concrete exploded from the ground, the shrubs and plants on fire, and the fountain nothing but a leaking pile of rubble. I could see Smokey nearby, taking cover behind some rubble and throwing chunks of stone at Purity, who was weaving through the air to avoid them. 

"Alya spread out, this is almost certainly-"

"It's a trap!" She finished for me. "Kaiser, Fenja, and Menja, they are in the buildings!"

I frowned, turning to where Alya was pulling me, spotting the villain immediately. Covered from head to toe in intricate metal armor that kinda reminded of Sauron's armor from Lord of the Rings, Kaiser exited the front doors of a large office building, flanked by Fenja and Menja. No doubt this was planned, the perfect entrance to the "perfect" ambush. Further proof of how this was staged was the second Kaiser entered the field, Purity stopped blasting, flying over to float above and behind Kaiser and his two bodyguards, making a joint presentation while simultaneously lighting the group up perfectly. 

"Arcanum!" Kaiser shouted, addressing me directly as Smokey walked to my side, regrouping during the lull. "So good of you to join us." 

Smokey was a bit scratched up, and his clothes were singed, but I was glad to see he was unharmed. He nodded as I looked at him, two of his golems and the four of mine forming up around us. 

"It seems that while spending so much time to pull us into a trap, we managed to catch you in one instead!" The gang leader claimed, raising his arms as if he had already won. "If you surrender now, while I will have to kill you, we will leave your teammates and allies alone. I will even make your death quick and painless."

Normally, I would have already struck out at the monologuing villain, but I was trying to run the clock as long as possible. The more time people had to show up, the more allies I would have against these idiots. That didn't mean I had to play to his beat, however. It was clear the man was a skilled orator, at least, which was dangerous enough without me lobbing softballs for him to smash. 

"Purity! What are you doing?" I asked, looking up at her and purposely ignoring Kaiser. "You claimed to be retired, to have left the E88. Why come back now? We've already stripped them down of more than half their capes. Why rejoin a failing group?" 

"I… didn't have a choice," She admitted, Kaiser tensing, the sound of grinding metal echoing a bit, cutting her a bit short.

"If you help me take down the rest of the E88, I will do my best to ensure you are treated fairly and to help with whatever Kaiser is using to force you here," I said, still ignoring the now clearly furious gang leader. "I can't promise you'll get off scot-free, but it would be a good step in the right direction." 

Despite Purity's glowing form dimming for a second as she considered my offer, I did not expect her to take it. Whatever Kaiser had on her, it was clearly not something small, and beyond that, my offer wasn't particularly worth much. She was already too deeply involved for me to convince the PRT to let her go without issues. As I predicted, her full brightness returned, and she remained floating behind Kaiser. 

"She doesn't need your help, Arcanum! Purity has returned to the fold, recognizing just what sort of threat you are! A traitor to your kind...." 

Kaiser continued to talk, happily diving into a monologue that was equal parts racist and self-indulgent. Thankfully, I managed to drown him out as Alya whispered in my ear. 

"Crow is already here, hiding in the shadows of the alleyway to your left," She explained. "Glory Girl, Manpower, and Lady Photon have also arrived. The other members of New Wave were not home, but Piper is still looking for them. I also found Victor and Othalo. They are on a roof at the edge of my range, with a really big gun. It might even be able to get through your enhancements."

Now that my teammates and allies were in place, the time to wait was over. No doubt the Empire goons were still around the city, still causing problems and hurting innocent people. The longer we spent taking down these assholes, the longer the city suffered. Still, blindly attacking would only breed confusion and unnecessary danger. 

"Glory Girl, Lady Photon and Manpower on Purity, Crow and Smokey on Victor, split the golems between them. I will handle the three stooges on the stairs," I subvocalized as subtly as I could. "Alya, keep us in the loop, but I might call for an assist. On go…"

"... Of our race!" Kaiser said, still monologueing, reciting a ridiculous speech, which was clearly designed to seem off the cuff, while being meticulously practiced. "That's why we…."

I continued to let him talk, giving Alya a chance to spread my orders, counting down the seconds. Finally, after a full thirty, I finally cut off the talkative villain. 

"Go!" 

Instantly, Smokey ran forward, armed cocked back as he prepared to throw another chunk of stone. Meanwhile, Glory Girl smashed out of a nearby building's window, Manpower hanging from her arm and Lady Photon following after them. As they flew through the fallen glass, Lady Photon used a shield to protect the group, while Glory Girl rose up and spun around, throwing Manpower with a shout. The large cape flew through the air, reaching almost across the whole open area before he started to lose momentum. Rather than just falling, using the boots I made him, he conjured a platform and leaped off of it with his considerable super strength, aiming right for Purity. Unfortunately, while a slower flyer would have been caught, Purity simply boosted up and out of his range, the hero smashing into the building behind her, plowing through a large window. 

I, of course, was not sitting around doing nothing while this was happening. The second I called out to move, I teleported away from the middle of the concrete park area. Within seconds, I reappeared, now directly behind Kaiser. Of course, my teleport was not silent or unnoticeable, so both Kaiser and the twins turned to attack me. Before they could, however, I touched another crystal. 

"Metal!" I shouted, activating one of the miscellaneous crystals I had created.

The spell, my advanced metal control spell, which I used to make golems and that I managed to modify in use to make the living trees, was normally pretty slow. Thankfully, with the instant cast crystal, it exploded out to its full form in a split second. Seven circles appeared, all connected by a larger singular circle. Each of the seven circles had two arcane symbols, and as they spun, tendrils of magic lashed out and attached themselves to the armored gang leader. 

Kaiser's ability to conjure metal was both flexible and potent, a powerful method of area control that made him a hard person to fight. But he did have one major weakness, beyond the obvious lack of a brute rating, and that was his inability to dismiss metal once he conjured it. His metal persisted, which was frequently a good thing, allowing him to leave metal creations behind, but he couldn't do anything to dissolve or get rid of the metal he created. Metal like what he made his armor out of. 

Before the megalomaniac Nazi could activate his power, I sealed his suit into one solid chunk of metal, blocking off every single hole save for two quarter-sized holes I formed over his mouth. I shrunk the armor around his hands, head, and legs, leaving him just enough room for his chest to rise and fall. In seconds, the man was a captive of his own armor, completely immobile. The only way for him to get free would be for me to let him out or for someone to cut him out, which, judging from the quality of the steel, would take some time. 

Despite his inability to move, the villain had no line of sight requirement for his powers, so upon being completely locked up, he immediately shouted and cursed roughly. Seconds later, a bouquet of steel blades exploded outward away from him, forming from the ground and blocking off any access I might have to him, knocking me back until I was shoved through the now shattered doors of the building. The deadly-looking blades of steel could not come close to cutting me, not even capable of damaging my clothes, but they did force me back, far enough that I had to run through the interior in order to jump out through another window to escape.

Now, with a little distance, I could see the full area where Kaiser had summoned his blades. It was impressive, a mass of sharp angles and metal spikes that was at least twenty meters wide. Either he was satisfied with his "attack," or Kaiser had pushed too hard, as the growing stopped only a moment after I jumped back out of the building, skidding to a stop a good distance away. Still, it was hard not to be impressed, as the forest of metal blades had almost completely covered the stairs, seeming to crawl up the side of the building as well.

On either side of the now still mess of metal, Fenja and Menja were now several stories tall, and while their ankles and legs had few scrapes and cuts, they were clearly mostly unharmed. 

"Right," I said, holding my staff with both hands, watching as both twins turned to look at me, scowling with their weapons ready. "Something, something, pick on someone your own size."

I shouted, before being forced to dive to the side, rolling up to my feet to avoid the almighty jab of Menja's spear, the blow tearing a furrow of damage into the concrete where I was just standing.