Cape.

  Not Cape as in parahumans, just the cape, that fluttering piece of clothing that makes an iconic look of the great superheroes that I’ve known from before like Golden and Silver age series Superman and Batman, MHA’s very own All-Might. The best of the best wears capes. You could say that, having a cape feels traditional, you know?

  Even if movies such as Pixar’s Invincible portray cape-wearing heroes as a liability, It does has some sort of aesthetics.

  So why am I mentioning the cape all of a sudden?

  Oh, you know. Just …I noticed that Skidmark didn't wear a cape, nor a stupid bandana on his face, it’s actually just one of those ordinary half masks from those Halloween shops made of plastic. Not a single blue on his outfit, just one of those big coats, baggy pants, no cape…or maybe not yet. I can't imagine the man wearing a cape with a coat and baggy pants, that would look far worse, at least he’s still wearing a wife-beater with some stains.

  I don't know where the stain comes from.

  I didn't think we would take them down easily. Adam here alone could be very troublesome to deal with as he could deflect almost any attack within a certain power strength and slide away as well if he knew more about the application of his powers.

  That was the problem.

  Everything happened fast after that sudden escalation. Parahumans do love their escalations. Monica’s psi dampeners humming into phase, the air thickening like pressure before a storm, and then the Merchants collapsing into chaos.

  Skidmark went down first, power sputtering out like a bad power interaction, his face stuck halfway between rage and confusion. Squealer tried to do something clever and threatening but her powers on her own isnt very dangerous unless she calls for backup from one of her creations, she instead got a taze to the face-Uhh I mean neck and instead tripped over her own feet and faceplanted first to the ground.

  . Whirlygig didn’t even get that far, she slammed into the floor with a meaty thud as soon as Monica’s psi dampers started to work, the bullet wound in her ass no longer magically compensating for her terrible life choices. Not like she’s in nay condition to do battle with a shot to the butt.The lobby exhaled all at once.

  Nurses ducked back behind counters, and these security finally remembered they were security, I mean I can’t blame them. I dont think there’s a manual for being a security about tangling with Capes..

  “Activating healing stream- I’ll have you in top condition in no time” as Mercy started channelling that golden light. Mercy lowered her staff, the golden light fading into a gentle standby glow as if it, too, knew the worst had passed, healing Whirlygig and the rest of the Merchants.

  Monica took out some locking bracelets to contain them, Neosteel cuffs with grav tech locks, a little over the top, but the bracelets is able to suppress parahuman power interaction and shut down any shard from communicating.

  Monica specifically designed many anti-parahuman tools ever since she started with reverse engineering the Psi dampers to suit anti-zerg technology into anti-parahuman technology. While there’s still some issue, it should dampen the parahuman powers enough to reduce the chatter between dimensional wavelength and obstruct the polentia signal from receiving orders.

  I turned, scanning the lobby out of habit more than urgency, and that’s when I saw her.

  Wearing a hoodie. Messenger bag clutched tight like a lifeline. Already halfway down the corridor, shoulders hunched, head low, moving fast in that very specific way of someone trying not to be seen while desperately wanting to disappear.

  Amy Dallon.

  She just ran.

  And wasn’t that something? The infamous panpan ran and bailed after watching us fight? This panpan? My universe, Panpan? Ehhhh? Whatever happened to the bitter cynical girl I know?

  Doctors and nurses started moving again, faster now, voices rising as adrenaline burned off and reality caught up. A pair of orderlies were already restraining what was left of the Merchants, while security hovered uselessly nearby, radios pressed to their mouths. I could hear snippets over the noise questions stacking on top of each other, none of them polite.

  “Who are you people?”

  “Was that tinker tech or parahuman powers?”

  “Someone call the PRT-no, now, not later.”

  Right on cue.

  I exhaled slowly, rolling my shoulders as if that could shake off the attention. Mercy was already in motion, doing what she did best. She stood near the nurses’ station, staff resting lightly against the floor, posture relaxed and open. Her voice carried just enough authority to settle the room without sounding like a command.

  “They’re stable,” she said calmly. “No permanent harm. The suppression effect will wear off shortly. Please continue standard intake and monitoring procedures.”

  .

  Monica’s voice slid into my ear, cool and unhurried. “Authorities have been notified. Estimated PRT arrival: eight to eleven minutes.”

  I grimaced. “That fast, huh? I guess so, since this is where Panecea operates. Take them half an hour to disperse gang activity from my past experience.”

  “Hospital panic accelerates response time,” she replied. “Also, Skidmark has an exceptionally loud criminal record from Overseas and here. Possession and intent to supply, trafficking drugs, production and manufacturing, conspiracy, money laundering, Assault, disputes with authorities on several occasions.”

  I snorted despite myself. “That’s a lot of offences when you think about it, The PRT often focused their limited resources on what it perceived as bigger, more immediate threats.”

  There was a brief pause, then her tone shifted rver so slightly and subtly, but I knew her well enough to catch it.

  “Jason,” Monica continued, “this is an optimal window.”

  I glanced away from the growing knot of staff and security. “For what?”

  “For expansion, we need more space,” she said simply. “The Merchants’ eastern dock presence is currently leaderless, disorganised, and temporarily depowered. Their territory includes salvage yards, abandoned piers, and illicit supply routes. Assets you have already expressed interest in neutralising.”

  I frowned since I had thought about it, but haven’t thought the details going forward, because while I am a professional Starcraft player, making plans for takeover and running a part of the city just isnt part of the skillset, especially when it comes to hostile takeover with a very large deficit of problems to solve. “You’re suggesting a hostile takeover. Right now.”

  “Strategic consolidation to secure the future” Monica corrected. “Minimal resistance. Maximum long-term stability, arrangements have been made for us to buy the land around”

  “You-what?” Buy land?! Where did she even get Money? Don’t tell me-Where did that idea come from? “Have you been doing something else Monica? What have you been doing exactly? I thought you were studying about psi emitters” i asked genuinely.

  I watched Mercy out of the corner of my eye as she reassured a shaken intern, her expression gentle, almost kind. The contrast hit me hard one foot in a humanitarian crisis, the other in urban conquest. “It’s quite alright sir, I am a doctor, certified MD with a PHD, you can check my credentials” she said but my mind was focused on Monica sudden unsettling surprised dropbomb.

  “And why the hell wasn’t I told about this?” Suddenly, a bombardment of data packets of what she has been doing. I’d assumed that was the extent of her extracurricular initiative.

  It wasn’t.

  Monica had been busy.

  Very busy.

  She’d built shells.

  Dozens of fake pseudo companies that seemed legit all over the world. Fake companies, layered through jurisdictions that barely connected to each other some even have corporate logs like they were employing parahuman on contract, various Logistics firms. Salvage contractors. Environmental cleanup startups. IT consultancies with boring names and immaculate paperwork. Every one of them is legally registered, tax-compliant, and staffed on paper by people who don’t exist.

  “What in the world…" I was shocked as my understanding of what an AI could do, slap me back to the reality of what an AI 300 years into the future could do.

  The money she skimmed off my card? Now multiply that by every company with said operation within fractions of cents. Rounded errors. Transactional noise. The kind that vanished into the cracks of global finance.

  The sources were worse: gangs, cartels, shell accounts tied to human trafficking, drug pipelines, arms smuggling. Illicit money was so dirty that no one wanted to look at it too closely. To be honest, the list itself is what scares me, to think there were this many illegal organisations doing all sorts of things all over the world as they operated without any impunity just….astounds me. Before…I never thought the skimming was bad, 1 million dollars isnt too big in the scheme of things, but…this list?

  I dont think I’m quite equipped to deal with this. I pulled up the map overlays and felt my stomach tighten again, this AI is mad…The docks. Entire stretches of them.

  Burned-out neighbourhoods with unworked lands. ABB-adjacent zones where property values had cratered after gang violence, Areas the city had quietly written off as economically unviable due to various reasons, mostly bankruptcy and unsolvable liabilities, assets or risky assets.

  Monica had been buying them through intermediaries for pennies on the dollar. Not consolidating too fast. Not enough to trigger alarms, some of the deals she made is still ongoing as I check the data, still under negotiation. Digital purchase through proxy and agents.

  “Monica,” I said finally, keeping my voice level, “how long have you been planning this?”

  She didn’t hesitate.

  “Since you expressed dissatisfaction with Brockton Bay’s systemic failures,” she replied. “Approximately twenty-three hours after initial deployment, after you mentioned your plans to revitalise Brocton Bay’s community, the idea was put forward initially so I had a contingency plan for that measure moving forward.”

  I let out a slow breath. “You didn’t tell me. I should have known about all of this…”

  “You did not ask and..” she said. Then, softer, almost carefu,l as if what she said next might offend me, “And I assessed that premature disclosure would increase your cognitive load during a critical adaptation phase.”

  What does that even mean? Is she saying that dumping all of this might stress me out? It already is.

  I pulled the data back up, scrolling through some projection data on various probabilities, branching contingencies. She’d modelled gang collapse probabilities for the ABB, even the Empire and of course the Merchants. The PRT here was even labelled a gang and even measures to deploy against Coil in multiple branching scenarios regarding his power,

  There are also some short-term fixes, like employment absorption curves. Crime displacement vectors. She wasn’t just thinking about taking territory; she was thinking about what came after as well. How to fix buildings and repair it, turn some area and design several zones for housing and a separate area for residential district, to commercial and even industrial with the Brockton Bay Docks listen within…Wait, she’s trying to buy the docks as well?!

  “Fuck me…You’re building a shadow state” I muttered

  “A parallel support structure,” Monica corrected. “One capable of stabilising regions abandoned by existing governance.”

  I rubbed my face with both hands. Part of me was impressed. Another part was… unsettled. “Slight problem. We aren't the government.” I asked. She paused this time. Just a fraction of a second.

  “I would have complied,” she said. “But Brockton Bay’s trajectory would worsen. crime would reassert itself within statistically predictable parameters. You know this as well.”

  “The PRT will notice,” I said quietly.

  “Yes,” Monica replied without hesitation. “However, if you move first, they will be forced to respond to a fait accompli rather than a developing threat. Cleanup, employment restructuring, and infrastructure restoration can all be framed as civic aid.”

  I huffed a breath. “You really don’t miss a beat, do you?”

  “That is my function.” Having such a capable AI is a problem itself, like how to deal with all the consequences of a very capable subordinate. Damn it, I dont think I have the knowledge or experience to handle this.

  A nurse finally worked up the nerve to approach me, eyes flicking between my gear and Mercy’s staff. “Sir-uh-are you with the Protectorate?”

  Before I could answer, Mercy turned slightly, offering a reassuring smile. “They’ll be here shortly. You’ve done well under pressure.” The nurse nodded, clearly comforted, and hurried off.

  I leaned closer to Monica in a whisper. “If we do this, it has to be clean. No civilians caught in the middle. Can we employ the Cyclone and Goliath using zapping method? ”

  “Understood,” she said. “Non-lethal pacification protocols only.”

  I glanced toward the corridor where Amy had disappeared earlier. Wondering where she went but this takes priority first.

  “Fine, swap the ammo for non-lethal and the micro missiles from the cyclones to stun and emp” I said at last. “Prep the SCVs. Dock-focused loadouts and build a canteen hall. Salvage and suppression, not siege.”

  “Already underway,” Monica replied. There was the faintest hint of satisfaction in her voice. “Deployment can begin within four minutes and...we have company. Incoming in 3 seconds.”

  Darn it,

  Velocity arrived first.

  I felt him before I saw him, air pressure shifting wrong, dust twitching along the concrete like something nervous had just sprinted through it. A heartbeat later, he was there, red-and-white blur resolving into a man standing on the edge of the dockyard ruins, hands on his knees for half a second before straightening like nothing happened.

  Fast. Controlled. Professional.

  I stayed where I was, half-shadowed by stacked containers and the skeletal outline of a crane Monica had already tagged for salvage. No armor, no mech this time. Just me, jacket zipped up, hands in pockets, watching.

  Velocity touched the side of his helmet, subvocalizing. I couldn’t hear the words, but I didn’t need to. His eyes kept flicking, typical scout behaviour. One of the fastest parahumans on earth. I almost wanted to make a Flash joke but didn’t. Not like anyone here would get the reference…Or maybe they would if they consume Aleph stuff.

  He vanished again, reappearing fifty meters from me, checking out the subdued Merchants and then near the perimeter fence as he shuffled off again. Each stop was brief. He was mapping the place in real time and streaming it straight back to his team. He kept checking out Mercy and Monica while ignoring me.

  I imagined the comms chatter.

  Dauntless arrived with the weight of inevitability. Not flashy, not fast. He came in from the road, armoured boots crunching the lobby ground, his, spear resting easily in one hand. His gear hummed with that low, charged resonance that made shards pay attention. Every step felt deliberate, like he was anchoring himself to the ground.

  To be fair, he is. Compared to Armmaster, Dauntless here is quite popular, currying favours with the PRT in Boston and New York, with an eternally scaling powerset that allows him to empower items and equipment, making them stronger.

  Triumph followed close behind-

  He didn’t announce himself yet, but I felt it anyway that pressure in the chest, like the air was bracing for a shout that hadn’t come. He was holding it back, the sound manipulator of Brockton Bay, with none of the application that fully utilises his powers to reach Shatterbird's level. I do not dig the Lion armour design, too gladiatorish- so is Dauntless with those Spartan-type Greek Armour.

  Velocity zipped back to them, stopping long enough to deliver a rapid-fire update before pacing again, never fully still.

  Three heroes. Different roles.Three of them and three of us,

  I kept watching while Monica was standing guard near me like a pseudo medic assassin.. Alright, I thought. Let’s see how the PRT wants to play this. They didn’t rush me. That alone told me a lot.

  Dauntless took point, stopping a few steps away, spear grounded but not lowered. Velocity hovered off to the side, never quite still, while Triumph stood back half a pace, arms folded, presence heavy even without using his power.

  “Alright,” Dauntless said, calm and even. “Start from the beginning. Hospital incident. What happened exactly?”

  I exhaled slowly and nodded. “Merchants happened.” I said “They showed up at Brockton Bay General,” I continued. “Skidmark, Squealer, Whirlygig. One of them had a gunshot wound in a… very unfortunate place. They decided intimidation was faster than triage.”

  I kept my tone neutral, no need for any embellishment although Monica did tighten her body up with Mercy still chatting up the Doctors about something.

  “They threatened the nurses. Things were escalating if someone didn’t fix Whirlygig immediately. The whole lobby was panicking..”

  Dauntless listened without interrupting, eyes never leaving mine. “And you just happened to be here?”

  “I intervened because one of my team wanted to see the local hospital,” I said simply. “De-escalate the issue, no one is injured.. Temporarily neutralized their powers using non-lethal suppression tech. No permanent harm. No casualties.”

  Triumph raised an eyebrow. “That’s…awfully convenient.”

  I shrugged. “I brought a medical Cape.. Merchants started posturing. Letting it continue wasn’t an option.”

  Dauntless tapped the butt of his spear once against the pavement. “Witnesses report a staff emitting golden light. Advanced medical tech. That yours?”

  “No, that’s Mercy. My teammate” I corrected. “I handle infrastructure. She handles healing.” Mercy hearing her name being called perked up from the crowd of Nurse and doctors and gave a wave towards us from the side hallway chattering up with the locals.

  “So you disarmed them?” Velocity asked after shifitng his gaze towards Mercy, still looking.

  “ Power-suppressed by my other team mate here Monica, we left conscious and restrained long enough for hospital security to breathe again. After that, we were on standby.You know how it goes linger too long and things get complicated.”

  Silence stretched for a moment.

  I could practically hear them weighing it: unregistered tinker-level assets, direct interference with villains, zero body count, a hospital full of witnesses who were probably grateful instead of traumatized.

  Finally, Dauntless nodded once. “You understand why we had to respond.”

  “Of course,” I said. “If someone waved a golden healing stick in public and shut down three known criminals, I’d be asking questions too.”

  Triumph uncrossed his arms. “You realize you’re toeing the line.”

  I met his gaze evenly. “I’m trying to keep people from getting hurt. Same line you walk.The difference is only that we operated independently and you work for the PRT”

  Velocity glanced between us, then muttered, “He’s annoyingly reasonable. Well, we appreciate it Dreamhack” He said, I wanted to correct them about the name, but at this point its kinda useless to keep correcting them, eh whatever. Guess the name Dreamhack stuck.

  That actually got a small smile out of Dauntless. “Alright,” Dauntless said. “For now, We’ll need statements from hospital staff. And we’ll be talking again. Prt officers are on their way to secure the villains for containment.”

  “I figured,” I replied.

  Victoria Dallon came in hard through the automatic doors, blonde hair a mess, costume half-on, eyes wild and searching. She didn’t look heroic like those pictures I saw on Pho,she looked terrified. Angry too, but that was the kind of anger that came from not knowing if your sister is Okay or not.

  “Amy?” she called out, voice sharp, cracking at the edges. “Amy!?”

  The lobby went quiet in that way only hospitals can manage everyone pretending not to stare while absolutely started to be aware of their resident star doctor and Parahuman taking a brief shift here on Emergency, with everything going on, they forget..

  She grabbed the first nurse she saw. “Where is she? My sister was on shift-where’s Amy Dallon?”

  The nurse swallowed. “We-um-we thought she stepped out during the incident. We can’t locate her. Her pager’s not responding.”

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Victoria’s head snapped toward the doctors clustered near Mercy. “You let her leave? After that?”

  “No one saw her go,” a doctor said quickly. “She was here one moment, then-”

  I closed my eyes for half a second.

  Damn it.

  Victoria turned, scanning the room like she might physically tear the answer out of the walls. Her gaze landed on me, sharp and accusatory, instincts screaming.

  “You,” she said, pointing. “You were here. You know something.”

  Dauntless shifted slightly, but didn’t intervene. Smart man. This wasn’t a situation you escalated with authority. I exhaled and stepped forward. “I saw her.”

  Victoria froze. “What?”

  “She was watching,” I continued carefully. “When things were happening. When the healing started. She looked… overwhelmed. Then she ran. Deeper into the hospital.”

  Her face drained of color. “Ran where?”

  “I don’t know exactly,” I said honestly. “But not outside. She didn’t leave the building.” Victoria swore under her breath, hands balling into fists, aura flaring just enough that I felt it brush against my skin like static. Fuck that..her stupid beam was leaving me a little nauseous when Monica amped up again but I stopped her, shaking my head dont. And she understood.

  “She does this,” she said, half to herself. “She shuts down. She-wasnt feeling very well this morning but-” Her voice broke, just a little.

  Mercy stepped closer to Victoria, her tone gentle but firm. “Amy is a healer, yes? Under extreme pressure?” she said and paused.“I saw the look on her face,” Mercy went on. “It was something I’m familiar with, I think. It was… exhaustion. The kind that sinks into your bones.”

  Monica leaned in close to me and murmured, “Thermal cameras picked up a lone figure moving toward the lower floors. Likely stairwell C. She’s avoiding main corridors.”

  Victoria snapped her head toward me again. “You can track her?”

  Monica found her before anyone else could start guessing.”This way” she said.

  She didn’t say it out loud at first, just sent the location straight to my HUD. Junior doctors’ break room. Third floor. Out of the way. Quiet. Exactly where someone would go if they wanted to disappear without actually leaving.

  Victoria was already moving the moment Monica confirmed it, boots hitting the stairs too hard, too fast. I followed a step behind, Mercy keeping pace with an ease that still felt unreal in a Brockton Bay hospital that smelled just like any other hospital even if they are parallel worlds away.

  The break room door was half-closed.

  Inside, Amy was curled into herself on one of the plastic chairs, knees pulled up, arms wrapped tight around her torso like she was trying to hold herself together by force. Her costume was half-off, hoodie pulled over it like a shield. Her face was red, eyes glassy, jaw clenched so hard I could see the tension from the doorway.

  She looked small.

  . Compressed by the weight of everything she was supposed to be. Did Panpan saw what Mercy did and got flustered? Sigh…I wonder what’s going on in her little head, hopefully, it’s all a misunderstanding on her part.

  Victoria stopped dead the second she saw her. All the anger drained out of her like someone had pulled a plug. “Amy…”

  Amy flinched at the sound of her name. Her head snapped up, panic flashing across her face, followed by shame so sharp it hurt to see.

  “Oh..Vicky..I- I didn’t Its..” she started, then stopped, words tangling up and dying in her throat. Mercy stepped forward before anyone else could say the wrong thing.

  She moved slowly. Deliberately. No sudden motions. No authority in her posture, just calm controlled, practiced compassion. The kind that didn’t demand anything in return, Just as the doctor intended, If anyone has any qualification to talk about a doctors struggles, its her.

  “My name is Angela Ziegler,” she said gently. “I’m a doctor.”

  Amy’s eyes locked onto her immediately.

  Not on the staff or the golden white cybernetic staff hummed softly at Mercy’s side, its light dimmed, non-threatening. Amy stared at it like it was a mirror showing her something she wasn’t allowed to want.

  “I saw you downstairs healing…” Amy said quietly. Her voice was hoarse. “You were… talking to them. Smiling. Like it was easy being a doctor. I-just…”

  Mercy nodded once. “It wasn’t always that way for me, I had far more experience and time being a doctor under proper tutelage of a Professor.”

  That made Amy laughonly but once, It was sharp and humourless. “Guess you don’t know what it’s like then to have this ability and just…expected to perform perfectly at healing.”

  Victoria took a step forward. “Amy, you don’t have to explain-”

  “I do,” Amy snapped, then immediately recoiled, guilt flooding her expression. “I do. I always do. That’s the problem. Or else…”

  The room felt too small to have a heart to heart talk, I leaned against the doorframe and stayed quiet. This wasn’t my moment to fill the silence.This isnt my stage to intervene as even Monica was far away from the door and decided to not enter the room.

  Mercy knelt down so she was eye-level with Amy, completely unbothered by the sterile floor or the awkwardness of it. “You carry a responsibility like it’s a debt,” she said softly. “As if your worth depends on how much pain you can absorb.”

  Amy’s breath hitched. “I can fix anything,” Amy whispered. “That’s what they say. So when I don’t do brains..or just can’t!-when I can’t..I” Her hands trembled. “It feels like I’m choosing to let people suffer.”

  Mercy didn’t interrupt. “That staff,” Amy continued, eyes flicking back to it, envy bleeding through her exhaustion. “You heal, and you don’t look like it’s killing you inside. When I heal, I see their scars, see everything that is that makes them sick, see the suffering they felt, their pain, their worries. Must be nice to just let a tool heal for you. And you’re a real doctor, aren’t you? I'm just a fake…I’ll never be good enough for the real thing, this isn’t me…I hate this!”

  Mercy’s expression didn’t change, but her voice softened even more. “My dear, healing someone should never be a punishment. What have they done to you, poor child? It should never be this way. That’s against the oath I take, that’s against everything I stand for”

  “Do you know why I became a doctor?” Mercy asked gently. Amy didn’t look up. “Because… you wanted to help people?”

  Mercy smiled, but there was something tired behind it. “That’s the answer people expect. It’s not wrong, but it’s incomplete. My parents died during..the Om- I mean, during an Endbringer attack. They were wonderful doctors, both of them, I decided to take the same path, of course. They had been volunteering at a local hospital as we tried to cope with the aftermath of the devastating attacks in Switzerland, I was 14 back then.”

  Amy finally glanced at her, hesitant.

  “I became a doctor,” Mercy continued, “because I learned very early that good intentions mean nothing without discipline. Without knowledge. Without ethics.” She rested her staff lightly against the floor. “I saw healers who could close wounds but didn’t understand what they were doing. They saved lives and ruined others.”

  Amy swallowed. “That’s when you got your powers? Back then? When your parents deid?”

  Mercy’s voice stayed soft. “I suppose it did, I found out that I’m quite good at creating Nanomachines and decided to specialize in healing, took up my MD and PHD at a young age”

  Amy flinched. “I heal because they need me..I don’t have a medical degree just yet I..I thought I could help.” Amy said, words rushing out now. “Because if I don’t, people die. And if I hesitate, they look at me like I’m a monster. So I just do it. Over and over.”

  “That isn’t medicine and is very much against the principle of Medicine, Non-Maleficence as ethics is frowned on and is very much so against the ethics of Justice” Mercy said calmly. “That is coercion Amy, you need to understand that there is a line, and sometimes matter how hard it is, you must have the courage to say no.”

  Amy’s hands clenched in her sleeves. “I don’t get a choice.”

  “You do,” Mercy said, firmly now. “You were never taught how to see it.”

  Amy shook her head. “They don’t want me to be a doctor. They want me to be a solution. Something they can point at and say, ‘She’ll fix it.’”

  Mercy’s expression hardened not at Amy, but at the medical profession around her. “Then they have failed you.”The words hit like a punch to the gut.

  Amy whispered, “Everyone says I’m lucky. That I should be grateful.”

  “I was told the same thing,” Mercy replied. “That having power meant I owed the world my body, my time, my conscience.” She leaned in slightly. “They were wrong, of course”

  Amy looked up fully now, eyes shining. “Then why does it hurt so much?”

  “Because you’re being asked to violate yourself every day for the sake of others,” Mercy said without hesitation. “And no one can survive that, not even heroes, unless they wish to martyr themselves to a cause. That is not the right way…such a way does not inspire others to be a hero.”

  Silence stretched between them.

  Finally, Mercy extended a hand, an offer.

  “I would like to teach you,” she said. “Not how to heal faster. Not how to do more.” Her voice softened. “I want to teach you how to be a doctor. How to say no. How to treat patients without losing yourself. How to practice medicine with dignity.”

  Amy stared at her hand as it might disappear. “You’d… teach me?” she scoffed

  . “Power without guidance is a curse. With discipline, it becomes a responsibility you can carry without breaking.”

  Amy’s voice trembled. “No one’s ever offered that, not the doctors here..too busy saving life..aren’t you too?”

  “I am offering now,” Mercy replied. “And you may refuse. That choice is yours.”

  Amy hesitated, then slowly reached out and took her hand. Mercy smiles softly and hugs her slowly. Amy didn’t expect it, even her sister Victoria was taken aback for a bit, ”It’s okay..you dont have to do this alone now, I’m here with you. We shall get through this one step at a time, just what the Doctor ordered, yes? All in due time Amy”

  That did it.

  Amy broke. Just tears spilling over as her shoulders shook, hands coming up to cover her face like she was ashamed of even that.

  Victoria was at her side instantly, wrapping her arms around her sister, aura pulled tight, controlled, focused inward instead of exploding outward.

  “I’m here too Ames.” Victoria said, voice rough. “I’ve got you. You don’t have to do this alone.”

  From where I stood, watching Mercy and Amy in the same room felt like watching two different answers to the same impossible question.

  Mercy turned towards me and said” I will need time here with these girls, they need me. Someone here need to know that they have step a line that should not be cross. I will have words with the girls parents too. As their legal guardian and caretaker, I feel as if they have fail to ensure their children wellbeing. It shouldn’t be like this Jason.”

  I could feel Mercy’s displeasure like static in the air. It wasn’t loud or explosive; it was worse than It’s the kind of anger that had already decided what needed to be cut away. How would I know how a doctor feels?

  Even if I do pity the girl, but I also understand that this is the Wormverse, out there away from Brocton Bay, countless atrocities were being committed, even nearby, like Lung and human trafficking. Just because I know doesn’t mean I can simply intervene.

  It’s what I already suspected after landing here, deep down I'm just not hero material, and therefore having real heroes here, will teach me the things that I should emulate, even when the odd is against you. How you should carry yourself, I see that in spades with someone like Mercy.

  So I just nodded, I trust the me that trust in the person that carry the goals and ideals of Overwatch. And in time I would learn what it to do the right thing even against the odds, even if it is uncomfortable for me, I’d learn how to do it or …die by and Endbringer eventually.

  We brought Amy away from the room and into the Medical Hall, Angela..

  She didn’t leave Amy’s side. Not when the nurses tried to resume their routines. Not when a doctor peeked in clearly uncomfortable with the quiet intensity she brought into the room. Mercy stayed planted between Amy and the rest of the hospital like a living line in the sand, her staff grounded, her posture immaculate.

  “This doesn’t end here,” Mercy said, her voice calm and razor-sharp. “What has been done to her is a violation of every ethical standard medicine stands for.”

  Amy shrank slightly at the words, but Victoria straightened, jaw tightening showing off her displeasure with that Aura thing she got going on, blasting it on full blast, and its not that “love me” beam. More like - Im angwy beam rawr! Nobody mess with my sister energy-

  Mercy turned her attention outward then, gaze sweeping the corridor beyond the break room. “This hospital allowed a minor to shoulder impossible responsibility without supervision, consent safeguards, or psychological support. That is negligence.”

  No one argued.

  “And her parents,” Mercy continued, the disappointment there unmistakable now, “allowed it to continue. Why has this been allowed? Has none of you updated her parents about things here? This is highly irregular!.”

  That one landed harder. I cleared my throat, stepping closer. “Calm down, Mercy” I said carefully. “ I should warn you-this won’t be simple.”

  Mercy looked at me, eyebrow lifting slightly. “Explain.”

  “Amy’s parents are New Wave,” I said. “Independent hero team. Public identities. The clean image type. They’re… popular. In Brockton Bay, they’re kind of untouchable.”

  Victoria stiffened immediately. “T-thats not true! But..maybe Mom should know about things..I dont know. Mom’s a lawyer I..I probably should have noticed something was wrong with the hospital. Amy never told me anything about all of this.

  Mercy didn’t soften. “It is fine, child, it’s not your fault. They should have known. Responsibility does not vanish because ignorance is convenient.”

  I nodded slowly. “I’m not defending them. Just setting expectations. Holding the hospital accountable is already going to ruffle feathers. Going after New Wave?” I exhaled. “That’s an uphill battle..”

  Mercy’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Oh, but we must do something… at least let me meet her parents. I will not allow this to be buried,” Mercy said. “Not by bureaucracy. Not by hero worship. And not by people who should have protected her.”

  Amy looked up at her then, eyes wide. “You… don’t have to do that.”

  “Yes,” Mercy replied immediately, softer now, but no less firm. “I do. As your future mentor, it is my responsibility to take care of my student”

  Victoria swallowed, voice tight. “If you go after the hospital, you’ll make enemies. I dont think the hospital will want to employ you ugh! This is so messed up! “

  Mercy inclined her head slightly. “I am familiar with the concept. This is not the first time they have barred me from practice.”

  I couldn’t help it but sigh..all this political bullshit nonsesne and drama..ugh.I let out a short, humourless breath. “Fuck it..if it comes to that, I’ll build us a hospital and let you run it” I muttered.

  “If they make this difficult for you,” I said, glancing between Mercy and Amy, “then we don’t play their game.”

  Everyone looked at me.

  I continued, because at that point there was no graceful way to stop. “If the hospital board, the PRT, or New Wave decide to bury this or turn Mercy into a problem instead of a solution… I’ll build you a new hospital.”

  Silence fell like a dropped tray.

  “A real one,” I added. “Fully staffed. Fully equipped. No coercion. You two run it.”

  Amy froze, like I’d just spoken out of my butt or something. Victoria stared at me as if trying to decide whether I was joking or insane. Even the nurses in the hallway had stopped pretending not to listen.

  Mercy turned slowly toward me. She didn’t look shocked so much as… assessing me like a senior surgeon looks at a proposal that might actually work, but would terrify every administrator in the room because she knew what I was capable off and I’m not lying. Building a functional hospital like the Remedius Medical Facilities isn’t hard..

  “You would do that,” she said carefully.

  “I can,” I replied. “Which usually answers the question.”

  That was when Monica chimed in, utterly unhelpful and perfectly on-brand. “I can identify three viable locations.” she said mildly.

  “Two near the docks, where land prices are suppressed due to gang activity, and one inland with suitable infrastructure access. Construction timelines would range according to SCV speed and how many resources we work on.” s,o under a week then. Capital.

  Every head snapped toward her. Victoria finally found her voice. “You can’t just build a hospital. That’s- that’s not how this works.”

  “Sure it is,” I said. “Land. Materials. Staff. Power. Licenses. I could probably get all those things worked out,” I shrugged. “Paperwork’s annoying, but nothing insurmountable.”

  Mercy’s gaze sharpened. “And oversight?”

  “Medical ethics board, according to you and the people you hire,” I said immediately. “Independent. Transparent. You help design it. No exploitation clauses. No compulsory cape service. We can even offer free medical too if that’s your fancy, while we sell for alternative payment. There are ways for that, I believe?” I looked towards Monica, and she confirmed it. That’s my adjutant. Siphoning money to bankroll our own Empire here. It’s good to have an AI Adjutant who just does things for you.

  Velocity came back in a blur of displaced air, skidding to a stop just inside the corridor like physics had personally given up on him. .”Uhh Hey, Just wanna mentioned that uhh..”

  His expression told me everything before he even opened his mouth. He talked fast, words clipped and professional, but the content was absurd enough that my brain needed a second to catch up.

  Squeler had managed to summon her ride. Not a car. Not a truck. A giant invisible bus, jury-rigged into a rolling weapons platform, full of Merchants with guns. It had rolled in like a ghost, opened fire, caused chaos, cracked open the transport, and extracted Skidmark and Whirlygig before anyone could properly react. “-When trying to foam them, suddenly they were attacked and..that’s how they escaped, we were pinned down by suppressive firepower”

  I closed my eyes and exhaled slowly through my nose.

  Why…oh why.

  Of all the possible outcomes, this was the most Brockton Bay one imaginable.

  Around us, PRT personnel were already moving, voices overlapping, orders being shouted, radios chirping. Someone cursed. Someone else demanded a perimeter. It all felt painfully familiar, like watching the same mistake replayed with slightly different lighting.

  I glanced at Monica. She didn’t look surprised in the slightest.

  “The cuffs are still active,” she said calmly, as if we were discussing a delayed shipment instead of a jailbreak. “Power dampeners remain functional. Skidmark and Whirlygig should be operating at reduced capacity.”

  “So this wasn’t a failure,” I muttered. “Just… expected stupidity.” Only in Brocton guys..I dont even wanna know how it happened. I just…is it bad that somehow I expected this to a certain degree? Fuck me.

  “More accurately,” Monica replied, “a contingency executed by an external asset.”

  I snorted. “Backup plan.It’s like you already knew…Sasuga! Monica!~san! I dont even wanna ask if you expected this, but we have an operation at the Boat Graveyard? How many units do we have engaging the area right now?”

  Monica eyes glowed for a second and she confirmed “ roughly 20 units including scvs and cyclones”

  Somewhere out there, an invisible murder bus was disappearing into the city, full of people who should never have been allowed to walk free again.

  I shook my head.

  “They keep underestimating him,” I said quietly.

  Mercy looked at me, brow furrowed. “Skidmark?”

  “Adam fucking Mustain I corrected. “Yeah, he’s a mess. High half the time. Looks like a joke.” I paused. “But he’s not stupid. He’s charismatic. Knows how to keep people loyal, especially people with nothing to lose. That kind of leader doesn’t rely on luck. He built an empire on drugs while feeding off the downtrodden and needy and they let em.”

  Monica nodded once. “Observed behavior aligns with strategic foresight masked by erratic presentation.”

  “Could be? How else would someone like Squeler stick to a guy like that all the time, it’s just not drugs, its his brain as well, probably,” I said. “Everyone sees the drugs and the chaos and assumes there’s no plan underneath, man is smart. Probably deduce that there will be problems here and arrange the murder bus.”

  I looked back at the PRT scrambling to respond, already a step behind something that had been set in motion long before today.

  “How the hell does this keep happening?” I muttered, more tired than angry. Velocity lingered for a moment, clearly unsure whether to say more, then was gone again, pulled back into the machinery of damage control.

  ” I’m just..gonna go” said Velocity before he vanished and blurred away, leaving me, Monica and here while Mercy is with Amy, trying to keep the hospital staff in control.

  I sighed, long and deep.

  “Brockton Bay,” I said under my breath. “City of second chances… exclusively for the worst people.”

  Monica’s voice softened just a fraction. “This does not negate today’s outcomes. Merchants were disrupted. Public exposure occurred. Amy Dallon was removed from immediate harm.”

  “Yeah,” I said. “But it means this isn’t over.”

  Mercy just sighed “Go, I’ll stay here with the girls. You have a way to stop them yes?” I nodded

  “Yeah, leave it me, If there’s any problem contact me. You have the coms on 24/7”

  Mercy stayed behind without hesitation. She barely looked at me when I turned to go, already focused on Amy and Victoria, her posture shifting into something immovable and clinical. That was fine. This was her battlefield now.

  Mine was outside towards the Merchants territory. I was halfway to the exit when the air in front of me hardened.

  Dauntless stood squarely in my path, lance grounded, shield angled just enough to be polite about it. Triumph flanked him, arms crossed, expression tight with that practised mix of authority and irritation.

  “Mr. Dreamhack,” Dauntless said, calm and steady. “You need to remain on site.”

  I laughed once, short and humourless. “You’re joking.”

  “This is an active PRT incident,” Triumph added. “You’re a witness. Possibly more than that.”

  Behind them, through the glass, I could see the street. Smoke is still curling. Sirens converging. Somewhere out there, Skidmark was laughing his ass off on an invisible murder bus.

  “I’m leaving,” I said, keeping my voice level through sheer force of will. “The Merchants just pulled a coordinated extraction with heavy weapons. ”

  Dauntless didn’t budge. “And the PRT will handle it.”

  I stared at him. Really stared are you for real? I didn't imagine that I would get blocked by Dauntless? I thought for sure maybe Armmaster. But Dauntless? Come on, Shawn. What the fuck? Dont be a hardass like Beardmaster.

  My patience has run dry.“You mean the same PRT that just lost two high-profile detainees from a hospital parking lot?” I asked. “That PRT?”

  Triumph bristled. “Watch it.”

  “Or what?” I shot back. “You’ll detain me harder while Skidmark reorganises half the eastern docks? Need I remind you that I am a registered independent with the Protectorate? This is not how you do things”

  Dauntless finally sighed. “This isn’t personal. Look…we need you to stay here. please.”

  “That’s the problem,” I said. “It never is, isn’t it? ”

  I glanced back down the corridor, toward the break room Mercy had claimed like a fortress. Amy was safe for now. That mattered. But it didn’t cancel out everything else.

  “Every second you keep me here,” I continued, “is another second they’re regrouping. They already planned for an arrest. You think they didn’t plan for pursuit?”

  Triumph shook his head. “Look, Director Pigot want this handled without your involvement..we-”

  I almost smiled at that.

  “No,” I agreed. “I have the initiative.”

  Dauntless’s grip tightened on his lance. “You walk out that door, and this becomes a problem.”

  I leaned in just enough that he could hear me over the noise. “It already is.”

  For a heartbeat, I thought he might let me pass. Some flicker of common sense. Some acknowledgement that the city didn’t have the luxury of paperwork-first heroics anymore.

  Instead, he stepped closer.

  PRT nonsense. Pure, distilled, bureaucratic inertia with a cape. I exhaled slowly, straightened, and stepped back. not in surrender, but in recalculation. I stopped arguing.

  That was probably what scared them most.

  “Fine,” I said. “You want me here? You’ve got me. Monica, send in the Viking”

  There was a half-second pause just long enough for Dauntless to notice my attention shift. The sound of freedom coming from the air like a jet streaking through the sky in mach speed.

  “Dreamhack,” he warned, taking a step forward, “don’t-”

  The sound cut him off.

  A deep, descending roar rolled over the hospital like thunder dragged low across concrete. Windows rattled. Loose debris skittered across the pavement. People screamed as shadows swept over the entrance. A transformative jet just zoomed past the hospital and made a circle around Velocity, spun, eyes wide. “What the hell is that?”

  The air above the front plaza folded in on itself as the Viking dropped out of low-altitude cloak, wings flaring wide. For a heartbeat it looked like a fighter jet frozen mid-crash, then the wings folded inward, panels sliding, turbines rotating, metal reconfiguring with brutal elegance. It hit the ground on two massive legs, shock absorbers screaming, concrete cracking beneath its weight. . transformed into a giant mech with two giant gatling guns for arms aimed at everyone in its targeted sight, controlled by Monica.

  A mech. Tall, angular, unapologetic. Triumph swore. “A fucking mech?!.”

  “No,” I agreed, already walking. “It’s a Viking, the pinnacle of Terran combat air-to-ground system.”

  Containment foam cannons whined to life. “PRT, stand down!” Dauntless shouted. “You are escalating! It doesn’t have to be this way-”

  “Too late,” I said.

  The foam fired away but was blocked by my Shield Matrix and simply bounced the shot off away. Monica didn’t even wait for it to land, walking beside me calmly, she deployed the psi dampers to maximum capacity, and the flaring equipment rods within the sidearm burst into electricity, creating an EMP blast, but the rod broke, rendering the equipment null and busted. Monica scoffs at the equipment she made "Still needs calibration. A revamped version will need to be far more durable in the next iteration"

  I just whistle "Damn... I wouldn't wanna be a Parahuman right now, that felt like ass in the ear to me, I'd imagine it might hurt them, hope Amy is okay inside the hospital"

  It felt like pressure suddenly leaving my ears, like the moment before passing out, but sharper. Every cape around us staggered at once. Dauntless’s lance flickered and died. Triumph gasped, dropping to one knee as his aura evaporated. Velocity tripped mid-step, skidding hard across the tiles.

  Someone yelled, panicked, I think it was Triumph, can't hear right with the Emp still lingering in the ears.“W-What have you done!”

  “PSI dampeners,” Monica said calmly towards everyone with disdain “Full perimeter pulse. Temporary. Broad-spectrum. Let’s go, Commander. We have a city to save.”

  An EMP for shards. Gotta love what she cooked up. Too bad it’s only temporary. Still need time to cook more. I vaulted up the Viking’s ramp as it sealed behind me, the cockpit snapping closed with a hydraulic hiss, together with Monica. I keyed the external speakers anyway.

  “I warned you,” I said, not unkindly. “You chose this.”

  The Vikings’ engines screamed as we lifted off, heat blasting the hospital entrance, scattering foam canisters like toys.

  Velocity’s voice crackled faintly over open comms, desperate. “You can’t just-!”

  “Yes,” I replied, pulling us into a hard banking climb. “I really can. Watch me fly.”

  and were’ off into the sky, the ascent was smooth compared to the SCV I modded on the 01. The Viking is a much better mech to be flying since the A2 Viking Armoured Mechanical Hybrid is a Terran unit with the ability to transform between a ground unit ("Assault mode") and an air unit ("Fighter mode").

  The city spread out beneath us, Brockton Bay ugly and familiar, veins of rust and rot cutting through neighbourhoods that had been given up on years ago. Monica overlaid targeting data across my HUD, a glowing path carving straight toward Merchant territory.

  “There,” she said. “Visual confirmed. Warbus's trajectory matches Skidmark’s behavioural patterns. He’s heading for the docks.”

  I grinned despite myself. “Back to his territory, and our Units are already on the case. Huh, look at that…” from the visual, we could see that some cyclones were weaving around the streets, taking potshots at the warbus cycling ammo around to stun some of the gunners onboard into incapacitated status.

  The Viking’s wings locked into flight mode, acceleration slamming me back into the seat as we tore through the air. Behind us, the hospital shrank into irrelevance.

  “Let’s intercept,” I said.

  The Viking howled in answer, and we dove straight toward the mess.

  **********************

  A/N

  So, okay. more pew pew and sim building, yes? Let's do that. Let's wipe out the merchants!