They weren’t strong or trained, and I couldn’t call them brave.  That said, they were bolstered by a kind of desperation.  I’d seen it before, when I set my bugs on some of my enemies, how some panicked or saw the futility in fighting the swarm and others just fought on heedless of the damage they were taking and the pain they were feeling.

Only the fearless may proceed. Brave ones, foolish ones. Both walk not the middle road.

The Undertale wall sign I’m quoting kinda missed out on the desperate ones.

That same desperation posed an issue as far as our plan.  If we gave them a chance, they wouldn’t hesitate to hurt or kill us.

Ah, I see. So does that mean you have something to do in this building and the looters are unfortunately in the way, or are you just rooting the looters out before they come to you?

They’d raided countless homes and businesses, taken everything of value they could uncover.  Phone lines were down everywhere, police response times far slower with the roads in the condition they were.  The looters had amassed a small fortune in stolen possessions, and intel said they were storing it here.  As reasonable a target as any.

Yeah, I suppose. There’s loot in there and they’re from a team that’s currently in power and thus standing in Coil’s way. Makes sense.

My bugs drove the bulk of the looters out into the street.  Between Grue’s darkness and Bitch’s dogs, those same looters were driven back and cornered, hemmed in by the snarling beasts.

Nice work! This seems to be going rather smoothly.

The second we had the situation under control, Shadow Stalker dropped out of the sky, a crossbow in each hand.

…

Okay is this before or after the last chapter? If it’s after, then does that mean this is actually Imp or Regent controlling Shadow Stalker?

Tattletale and Grue were darted a second later.

Hmm.

She reloaded in a second using the cartridges that had been set on her gloves, then darted Imp and me.  By the time the dart embedded in the armor of my costume, Tattletale and Grue were slumping to the ground.

But are they acting? Are these darts actually effective at all? Is this a plot to have “Shadow Stalker” get them into the PRT or Wards HQ? I’m confused.

The fabric of my costume blocked the dart, so I didn’t go down.  I drew my baton, snapped it out to its full length, and charged her.

There’s definitely something off here and it feels like Taylor is acting by the way the narration is written. She’s not at all indicating any surprise to see Shadow Stalker, worry about Tattletale or Grue, anything.

She backed away, loading and firing another series of bolts at Regent and the dog closest to her.  By the time I reached her, she’d fired a second dart into the dog, then shot Bitch.

And everyone seems less effective against her than they should be.

My baton passed through her, of course.  She walked through my arm, stepping right behind me, and then drove her knee into my side.  I grunted and fell over, and she retrieved and slammed a dart into my shoulder before I could recover.

It passed through her, of course. Of course, as planned.

Right?

Empire Eighty-Eight was here, at the back corner of the room.  I saw Hookwolf there, half covered in a layer of his metal hooks and barbs.  I didn’t see Cricket or Stormtiger.  He glared at Tattletale and I.

Hi there. Nice to see you, for once – I genuinely wasn’t sure you’d show. Though it sounds like we might’ve gone for the divided E88 option, unless Cricket and Stormtiger are just out of view or hospitalized.

The Travelers were all present, I noted, the only other local team of villains to show.  Faultline’s crew was absent, and I couldn’t help but note that Coil wasn’t around.

Huh. I was right about the Travelers, at least, but it is surprising that Coil himself didn’t show up. I mean, I guess he personally can’t do much on the scene that he couldn’t do from home, but it seems like he might want to be here for the meeting.

I suppose the Travelers might be keeping in touch with him.

He wasn’t a front lines kind of guy, but he’d at least supplied his soldiers for the ABB situation. 

Yeah. I guess maybe he didn’t think even his best-trained soldiers would do much against the Endbringer?

Or rather, knew they most likely wouldn’t, with Dinah’s help.

The local heroes were present in force.  I wasn’t surprised – skipping this fight, as a hero, let alone a team of heroes, would be unforgivable to the public.

In that sense, being a hero is much more difficult than being a villain, really. With villains, selfish decisions are par for the course.

Aegis was talking with the metal skinned boy who’d arrived at the same time as Tattletale and I.

I guess they’d have a lot to talk about, as fellow Ward leaders who are about to switch places.

A large group of fifteen or so other teenagers were gathered and talking amongst themselves.  There was some joking, the occasional laughter, but it felt forced, strained.  False bravado.  I was assuming they were all Wards, from at least three different cities.

So, three cities. Brockton Bay, Boston, and… New York, maybe?