Earning Her Stripes (Worm AU fanfic)

[Barbaric_Bob]

And butcher fifteen? Sixteen? Managed to get the entire gang arrested in less than a single night, the others will NEVER let her live it down

 

[Avernus]

Heh, screwed over by arrogance; if March!Butcher hadn't been so high on "I'm invincible!" nailing her like that would have been far harder. It's awful hard to grab somebody with a teleport power if they actually try to stay away from you after all.

Kind of ironic given that her original success in wounding Monochrome was because the latter thought she was invincible.

 

[Ack]

Earning Her Stripes

Part Forty-One: Long Term Solutions

[A/N: This chapter commissioned by @Fizzfaldt and beta-read by Lady Columbine of Mystal.]



Monochrome

"Okay," said Madison. "That's done. But …"

She looked down at Butcher, who was leaning hard to see around the suit, then sighed and wrapped her other gauntlet right around the villain's head. Butcher struggled, raking at the metal with her nails and screaming muffled obscenities, but to no avail. I was mildly impressed by her command of invective, but given that I'd grown up around Dockworkers, not overly so.

"But she's only prevented from teleporting, yeah," I agreed. "How are we going to deal with the rest of her powers without her running off and grabbing a bunch of hostages to force us to take that collar off her?"

"I'd be concerned about your sudden insight into the villainous mindset, but I was thinking exactly the same thing." Madison's tone took on a faux-thoughtful aspect. "Do you think Director Piggot would object a lot if I just pulled this one's arms and legs off and stuffed her in a crate until we're done?"

"Tempting," I allowed. I wasn't totally joking; I had actually felt like doing something similar, once I found out what March had been up to. "But she'd probably be forced to take notice."

"What if we just broke a few bones? They heal, right?" Her grasp on Butcher's arm shifted, and a large metallic thumb pressed on the elbow joint. I heard a grunt from Butcher, cut short, that may have been pain.

I rolled my eyes. "Not even that. It would be classified as 'mistreatment of a prisoner,' and they'd probably make us let her go or something." I couldn't help noticing that since Madison had gotten her Tinker abilities, her mindset had definitely shifted toward brute-force solutions, even when she was joking. I figured it was a power thing. When all you've got is a hammer, et cetera.

"Fine." I got the distinct impression that she'd just rolled her eyes. "Be a spoilsport then. See if I care. So, how are we gonna keep Miss Edgy McEdgelord from wrecking people, and things, until we can lock her down? Keep in mind before everything goes to shit, I did offer a perfectly workable solution."

That was when the idea occurred to me. I held up a finger while it was sorting itself out, then I nodded to myself once I'd roughed out the main aspects. "I think I know how." Clicking my radio button, I added, "Firebird, I'm gonna need the loan of a disc for a bit."

"Copy that. Be with you in a minute."

"Awesome." But I still needed something else. As I looked around, I saw a parking sign that looked like just the thing. It took no effort at all to pull the metal pipe up out of the concrete it was set into (the trick was to reinforce it and twist it free of its seating first), then I started to bend and shape it, using my own head as a model.

In reality, it only took about thirty seconds before Armsmaster's overbuilt cycle (and after associating with Madison, I knew what the term really meant) swept around the corner, with Emma riding on the back. They pulled up alongside us and Emma jumped off. Armsmaster climbed off the bike next, and I got the impression he was eyeing Butcher dubiously.

"First, why is she not using her powers? Second, why have you destroyed that sign?"

I took note of the fact that he'd asked the questions in a tone that was more curious than censorious. "Good steel stops dimensional shenanigans, and I'm pretty sure that includes being able to see someone's vital organs through solid matter." I'd figured that one out when Butcher called Madison a 'son of a bitch,' evidently taking her for a guy inside the suit. "And this here's for the disc I'm borrowing from Firebird."

Such was the teamwork and trust between us that Emma didn't even question me. She just unclipped the left-hand disc from her wrist and handed it over. "Okay," she said. "I'll admit that I'm definitely curious about what you need it for."

"Thanks. You'll see in a sec." I took the disc and slid it into the framework I'd made, crimping the metal to keep the good steel in place. Then I took it over to where Madison still held Butcher by the head and arm.

Butcher hadn't stopped struggling or swearing and was doing her best to pry Madison's hand off her head, one finger at a time. Unfortunately for her, even when she managed to move one finger (which was pretty damn impressive by itself) she couldn't keep it off while she worked on the next finger.

Taking hold of her free hand, I pulled it down next to her; as strong as she was, her resistance meant nothing to me. I wanted her hand to move, and it moved. Then I motioned for Emma and Armsmaster to stand behind Madison and nodded toward where Madison had Butcher's head in her hand. "Okay, you can take your hand away now."

Once her head was clear, Butcher glared at me, her hair disarranged and her eyes full of fury. "And you! As soon as I get out of this—"

The rest was cut off as my field deployed automatically, locking me away from the world. That didn't matter; I knew what I needed to do. Lifting up the frame, I slid it down over Butcher's head; my vision and hearing returned as soon as the disc cut off her view of me.

Once it was in place, I used a judicious crimping of metal to make sure it wouldn't come off any time soon, then looked at her thoughtfully. "Does that look close enough to her face to you?"

The whole idea of the frame was to pin the disc to her face so that she wouldn't be able to see anyone, and therefore be unable to harm them with her powers. It wasn't supposed to be a perfect solution, just one that would hold her long enough. I didn't want her being able to hurt innocents—or my fellow heroes—simply by swivelling her eyes sideways.

"Let me check." Armsmaster stepped to the side and waved his gauntleted hand through the space next to Butcher's head. A moment later, he jerked it back with a full-body wince. "Yes, yes, she can still use her powers."

"I will kill you all," growled Butcher from behind the disc. "Or you can kill me. I win, either way."

I spared a glance to where Armsmaster was taking his gauntlet off. The skin of the hand underneath was reddened, but not bleeding. Okay, good. Not an emergency, then.

"There's a lot we can do to you that won't kill you." Madison's tone was implacable. "I was joking before, but if you keep that shit up, you're going to take away the softer options, just saying."

I looked the disc over. It was curved back slightly on all sides, but it needed to be flat to her face for this to really block her peripheral vision. "Hold her arms."

"You got it."

"Wait," Armsmaster said as he pulled his gauntlet back on. "What are you going to do?"

"This." I grabbed the back of Butcher's head with my left hand, and put my right palm in the middle of the disc. Then I pushed, very carefully. I didn't want to crush her skull like a pomegranate, after all, no matter how much she'd earned it.

Her nose, however, was another matter altogether.

I felt the cartilage crunch just before she let out another grunt of pain, and I twisted the metal holding the disc onto her face so it was nice and tight. It was also pressing hard on her freshly broken nose, but I found that I honestly didn't give a damn.

Butcher had a different opinion on the matter. "Moth'r'fuck'r!" she managed from behind the disc. "You d'd th't 'n p'rp'se!"

"Yeah, I did." It wasn't like I cared enough to hide it. "You'd do worse to me if you could. This is me making sure you can't do it to anyone until we can work out a better counter."

"Monochrome …" Armsmaster didn't quite sound like he was warning me, but nor did he sound happy about what I was doing.

Madison stepped in before I could speak. "What the hell do you want out of us? Butcher's the equivalent of an armed IED, and she will kill as many people as she can if she gets the chance. We're your only chance to shut her down before things get worse. If you tie our hands now and she gets free, any damage she does is on you."

"I do understand." His tone was strained. "But if she can get in front of a public defender and level a charge of being tortured once in custody, that's going to make things very problematic for the Director." And, he didn't have to say, the Director would make her displeasure known to all involved; specifically, Armsmaster and us.

Emma sighed. "We both know the only reason she doesn't have a kill order is because of that bullshit power she has. I've spoken to people in the legal system who are very firmly of the opinion that if she even tries to bring a case like this, it'll get tossed with prejudice. So, with all due respect, we'll take the chance."

"So, what are you going to do?" He gestured at Butcher. "You can't exactly keep her like that forever. She'll need to have her nose set at some point, not to mention eating. And the moment her hands are free, she will be pulling that contraption off her head."

Butcher interjected with something that sounded like, "Fucking right," but I couldn't be sure. The disc interfered with her speech quite a bit; I wondered if I'd damaged her sinuses at the same time. Not that I really cared, but it was something to consider.

"Oh, we're aware," Madison agreed. "So, I'm gonna build something to fix the problem before she can do that. It won't deal with all of her powers, but it will definitely remove the worst threats."

"How are you going to do that?" Armsmaster tilted his head. "Negating several powers at once usually requires an extremely versatile device. Your creations, overall, do one thing extremely well, but are less effective on the versatility side of things."

The battlesuit tilted its head to one side. "I'd be offended if you weren't correct," Madison allowed. "But as the one thing this is going to do is 'fuck up Butcher's day', it's all good."

I could hear the frown in Armsmaster's voice. "You didn't answer my question as to how you're going to do that."

Madison chuckled, the vocal modulator transmitting the amusement across quite well. "You'll see."

She tapped her foot on the ground twice, the signal that she was about to take off. I jumped up onto one shoulder, while Emma leaped up and used Armsmaster's bike as a springboard to make it onto the other. Before Armsmaster could voice any further protest, her thrusters had cut in and we were powering skyward.

<><>​

Grue

Brian was beginning to wonder if running to the PRT to get away from Butcher had been the smartest play after all. Since entering the building, they hadn't quite been placed under arrest, but they were in a room with a guard at the door, and nobody important had dropped by to talk to them. Paranoia spiking, he looked around for gas vents or other ways the PRT could surreptitiously knock them out but couldn't find any.

Of course, that could be because the PRT were better at hiding things than he was at finding them.

Rachel had been allowed to keep her dogs with her, which was good. Someone in the PRT had probably figured that this was a non-negotiable point, so they'd just set the requirements that the canines needed to remain dog-sized and dog-shaped for the duration of their stay. It didn't stop her from being antsy about the rest of her dogs, but she hadn't gotten too aggressive about it quite yet.

Alec was also twitchy, mainly because he didn't have a gaming console to work out his excess energy on. Lisa had spent most of the time talking in muted tones to Aisha. Brian tried to focus on being happy that they were getting along instead of trying to kill each other, as opposed to being worried about what plots they were inevitably hatching, though he wasn't entirely successful.

When the huge screen at the far end of the room flared to life, it came as a relief to break the tension. Alec had already investigated it and speculated on how awesome it would make the gaming experience, but as there had been no way to make this actually happen, he'd gone back to idly spinning around and around on his chair.

The picture on the screen was just as sharp and clear as Alec had predicted, though as it showed Director Piggot's image, it still left a lot to be desired. "Good afternoon," the Director said, quite clearly looking at them via hidden cameras. The surround-sound was damn good too; she could easily have been in the room with them. "I have good news and bad news for you."

Brian was about to ask for the bad news first, on the principle of getting it out of the way, but Alec got in ahead of him. "What's the good news?"

Piggot's expression creased slightly, suggesting a potential smile. "You will be pleased to hear that your plan worked. Butcher is in custody, and the Teeth have been captured as well. I'm coordinating with the BBPD to corral the non-powered members of the gang as we speak."

"Whoa, okay." Brian had been expecting something a lot more ambiguous than that. "How did you capture Butcher? Especially with March's powers involved?"

The suggestion of amusement left Director Piggot's expression. "I didn't say she was in our custody, just that she was in custody. The Real Thing have her, and they say they're going to neutralise most of her offensive capability. Do you have any idea how that could be done?"

"Well, maybe … no. But what if … no. Crap." Lisa's shoulders slumped. From the expression on her face, she desperately wanted to be the one to answer that question, but she just didn't have enough data to come up with a workable solution. Along with Alec and Aisha, Brian was clueless and he knew it, while Rachel just didn't seem to care.

Piggot's eyes seemed to flick from point to point, as though looking at each of them in turn, before she nodded. "I see. Well, now for the bad news."

"What, that wasn't it?" blurted Aisha.

"No, it wasn't." Piggot gave another grim smile. "The bad news is that your four associates are specifically responsible for Butcher receiving a problematic power-up, and they've since willingly delivered themselves into our hands. We were indeed prepared to protect you against her if it came to that, but if the Real Thing continue to be as ridiculously effective as they have been in the past, such protection would no longer be necessary. Which, you may have already figured out, flips the entire paradigm on its head."

"Wait, what?" protested Brian. "No. We were leaving town. If Butcher hadn't come after us, we would've been gone! It's because of us that she's been captured!"

"And it's because of you that she's exponentially more dangerous than ever before." Piggot's tone was relentless. "Swings and roundabouts. One fortuitous turn of events does not excuse a whole array of criminal activity, and I'm not even counting the robbery spree on the gang stash houses over the last day or so."

Aisha chose to jump into the conversation again. "Hey, it wasn't their money anyway. Is it still robbery if you're stealing from a thief?"

The Director didn't hesitate. "Yes. It really is."

Lisa sat up straighter. "If you were going to arrest us, you would've done it already. So, you want something else from us. You just wanted us to squirm a little before you pulled the big reveal."

Piggot's expression twitched, souring slightly. "Ever the Thinker, Tattletale. Yes, I have a proposition for you."

Brian glanced at the others, then back at the screen. No troopers brandishing guns had burst into the room … yet. "We're listening."

The Director took a deep breath. "If history is any guide, Brockton Bay is facing a villain incursion to fill the gap left by the Empire Eighty-Eight and the ABB. I've been applying the screws one turn at a time to make it less and less attractive for criminal gang activity, but there's still wiggle room for people to come in and try to establish themselves. Between gang clashes, going up against my troopers and Protectorate capes, and violent crime in general, people are going to get hurt. I'd really rather cut it off at the knees before any of them get properly established."

"And that's where we come in." Lisa didn't sound thrilled at having made this deduction.

"What do you mean, that's where we come in?" Rachel, unlike Lisa, was definitely not on the same page as the Director. "The fuck is she talking about?"

Brian thought he knew. "Director, it sounds to me like you want us to work for you behind the scenes, causing enough problems for these villains that they choose to leave town of their own accord."

"That's precisely what I would be asking of you." Piggot folded her hands in front of her on the desk. "It's a task to which you would be exceptionally well suited."

Now that it was out in the open, Brian wasn't quite sure which way to go on it. He glanced at Lisa, and his heart sank. The expression on her face told him that she was seriously thinking about it, which almost certainly meant they'd be going along with the idea.

"You've got to be shitting me." Rachel looked around at everyone else. "None of you is thinking about doing it … right?"

Lisa stirred, raising her head. "If we agreed to do it, there would be conditions. Guaranteed immunity to prosecution for all past crimes, for starters. A signed contract. And we'd all have to agree on it."

Brian was already thinking about security for himself and Aisha. Working directly for the PRT would have to look good on his record for CPS, right?

"I know what my condition is." Alec raised a finger (fortunately not the middle one). "And it's totally non-negotiable."

Oh, shit. Shoving his dreams aside, Brian tensed. What idiocy is he going to come out with? From the look on Lisa's face, she was similarly worried.

"I'm listening." Director Piggot may as well have been presiding over a board meeting of high-flying executives, for all the concern she showed. She hadn't even flinched at the 'guaranteed immunity to prosecution' requirement.

"I get to go head-to-head against Armsmaster in Battlemaster: In Extremis, and I get to keep a recording of the game for bragging rights." Alec sat back in his chair, looking pleased with himself.

Brian blinked. Lisa blinked. Even the Director blinked.

"I … that can be arranged." Piggot collected herself, and Brian got the impression that the game would take place if the Director had to hold Armsmaster at gunpoint to do it. "Is that your only condition?"

That broke the spell. "If we're doing this, then I totally got a condition," Rachel grunted.

"Yes, Hellhound?" The Director even managed to sound polite about it.

Rachel glared at the image on the screen. "I'm Bitch, not fuckin' Hellhound. And I want all the stray dogs in the city. And someplace to keep 'em. And money to feed 'em and keep 'em vaccinated and clean up their shit. Can you do that?"

The Director paused for a moment. "So … you want to run the dog pound, is that it?"

Lisa cleared her throat. "Not quite. Bitch would be in total control of the operation. No second-guessing or overriding her on any part of it. You'd have to get rid of anyone who might think they know more about dogs than she does, because if you don't, she definitely will. Also, no more putting dogs down just to free up room." She looked over at Rachel. "That sound about right?"

Grudgingly, Rachel nodded. "Yeah, what she said. All the dogs, and I run the show."

Now Piggot was making notes. "I believe there are a few markers I can pull in with the mayor's office. This can be achieved. Next condition?"

Brian lifted his chin. "Well, my sister and I …"

<><>​

Blockade's Workshop

Taylor

The building was large and airy, which was good, because molten metal generated a metric ton of heat. From what I could tell, it had previously been some kind of warehouse, but bore the distinctive signs of having been reinforced and secured by Madison's tech. Emma had told me about the early days when the Merchants had literally been able to force their way in through the wall; this was, in every way, a totally different proposition.

Madison, now out of the armour, finished what she was doing with the forge and turned to face Emma and me, where we held Butcher between us. "I'm going to need to take a mould of her upper face."

This was potentially the most dangerous part of the situation. Butcher's eyes weren't inherently dangerous—no laser vision or blaster beams, here—but if she got a clear line of sight on Emma or Madison, she could do them severe damage in the time it took for me to shut her down again without killing her. And if I were dealing with her eyes, someone else would have to watch her hands, which were even more deadly again.

Madison's description of her as an armed IED was nothing less than the truth. There were numerous ways she could hurt the unwary, and a single slip could allow her to cause untold damage. Worse, she wanted to kill us all, and we couldn't do the same to her.

"Okay," I said after a little thought. "I got this." I glanced at Emma. "Or rather, Blockade suits up, you got this, and I got you."

Emma's head came up as she figured out the plan. It was weird that we were more in tune than we'd ever been before we got powers. "That should work, yeah."

Madison nodded and gestured at a bowl of off-grey gunk sitting on a nearby table. "The stuff's right there. It'll set in five minutes, but it needs to be undisturbed until then." She headed for the Mark 2 suit. "Give me thirty seconds to suit up, and we'll be ready to roll."

"Gloves?" asked Emma, looking at her hands then glancing at me.

"Probably a good idea to take them off, yeah," I agreed.

Once her hands were bare—it was usually easier to wash stuff like that off skin than out of cloth—Emma took up the bowl. In the meantime, Madison had ensconced herself within the suit, and I'd carefully unbent some of the framework that held the disc in place. Emma came over to stand in front of Butcher, and I reached past the murderous teenager to take her by the arm, while maintaining a careful grasp of both Butcher's wrists in my other hand.

"Okay," Emma said. "Ready?"

"Wait." I looked at the gunk. "If she's standing upright, it'll just slide off her face, yeah?"

"Shit, yeah. It's not that sticky."

"Okay, then." I moved Butcher over next to the table, then tapped her gently behind the knees so that she fell backward with a muffled yelp. Carefully, I guided her down so her shoulders were supported by the table, and I still had a good grip on her wrists. "Blockade, can you hold her head still?"

"Sure thing." Madison tromped over and waited until I had hold of Emma's arm, using my power to reinforce her, then carefully slid the frame holding the disc off Butcher's head. Reaching down, she took hold of Butcher's head between one massive finger and thumb, effectively immobilising it.

I had made a mess of Butcher's nose, and the front of her face seemed bruised in general, but this was nothing to what she'd done to many innocents, so I figured a little turnabout was fair play. She glowered up at me—my eyesight and hearing blinked out a few times—then turned her attention to Emma when I didn't react. "I'm going to kill you," she promised. "You're gonna die screaming."

"Anything?" I asked after a moment.

"Kind of an irritating itch," Emma reported. "No … wait … now I'm really pissed off. But I can handle it." She sounded mildly annoyed, like Dad after a frustrating day at the Association.

"Why the fuck aren't you screaming and dying?" shrieked Butcher. "I know I'm using the powers right this time!"

Emma reached out and grabbed Butcher's nose; with a wrenching crack, she reset it. "Because we're just that good. Now, hold still." Holding the bowl in one arm, she scooped up a large handful of the gunk and prepared to apply it. "Oh, and you might want to close your eyes."

No matter how Butcher struggled and protested, it was to no avail; Madison's suit was in the ton-weight range as far as strength was concerned, and she had leverage on her side. Me, I was just 'strength: yes,' whether there was leverage involved or not. The gunk went onto Butcher's face, covering her from mid-forehead down to the bridge of her nose, filling her eye sockets from top to bottom and side to side.

Five minutes later, following Madison's instructions, we lifted away the now-solid cast and carefully placed it to one side. Butcher unfortunately lost her eyebrows and eyelashes in the process (for an unflinching mass murderer, she certainly put up a fuss about it), but that was a minor price to pay.

With the disc back over her face (we didn't need to re-break her nose, so long as she didn't pull anything) it was just a matter of waiting for Madison to use the cast to create a mould, which she did with expert ease. One short pour of good steel later, followed by the attachment of a much more elegant framework (so sue me, I'd been pressed for time and materials), and we had a form-fitting blindfold for Butcher to wear. Once Madison also put together a pair of good steel cuffs with hand covers, we were in business.

"Nice," Emma observed as she replaced the borrowed disc on her bracer. "Can't teleport, can't see to use her ranged powers, can't power things up to explode."

Madison nodded. "That's the general idea, yes."

The downside of refining Butcher's restraints was, of course, that she could now speak unimpeded. "You realise, you can't keep me like this forever. Once I get out of wherever you assholes put me, I'm gonna come looking for you. If you die, I win. If I die, I still win." As she spoke, she wrenched uselessly at the cuffs that secured her arms firmly behind her back. They clanked gently, but nothing else happened.

I glanced over at Madison. "Still time to make a gag for her before we take her back to Director Piggot, just saying."

She snorted. "Didn't say I wasn't thinking about it."



End of Part Forty-One

 

[Therandomestpersons]

"I … that can be arranged." Piggot collected herself, and Brian got the impression that the game would take place if the Director had to hold Armsmaster at gunpoint to do it. "Is that your only condition?"

Click to shrink...

Armsmaster: So run it by me again, why do I need to do this?
Piggot: it was literally his only condition that you play the game against him, and that he can record it. "For bragging rights" according to him.
Armsmaster: …was it included that he has to win the game?
Piggot: He didn't specifically say that, no.
AM: …Was a date specified?

 

[twilightwanderer]

Me, I was just 'strength: yes'

Click to shrink...

More like 'physics: optional'

 

[Avernus]

More of March's arrogance making her act stupid (it fits her personality yes, but still...) She's ignoring that if she dies and someone else becomes Butcher she won't be in the driver's seat even as much as she is now; she'll just be one "voice" among many. But even more so she's ignoring that with a little imagination and ruthlessness she's not all that hard to neutralize once captured in the first place - as both canon and Blockade's comments demonstrate. But even with Blockade's heavy-handed comments she's still throwing out pronouncements about how she'll kill them all as soon as she gets the chance and that death won't stop her instead of not announcing how dangerous she is to the people who've' captured her.

Her ego and narcissism won't let her consider that she's basically arguing hard for her captors to inflict something on her that exemplifies the phrase "you'd be surprised what you can live through". Not surprising of course, even before getting Butchered we saw that she'd never consider that her actions might have consequences or that other people have agency. So she'd never consider that she's basically arguing for them to do something like permanently blind her and stick her in a Good Steel box somewhere. Now, I don't expect anything like that to actually happen, it wouldn't really fit the tone of the story; but in a darker story she'd get to find out that law enforcement and "heroes" are quite capable of being every bit as ruthless as her when they feel the need.

 

[Ack]

More of March's arrogance making her act stupid (it fits her personality yes, but still...) She's ignoring that if she dies and someone else becomes Butcher she won't be in the driver's seat even as much as she is now; she'll just be one "voice" among many. But even more so she's ignoring that with a little imagination and ruthlessness she's not all that hard to neutralize once captured in the first place - as both canon and Blockade's comments demonstrate. But even with Blockade's heavy-handed comments she's still throwing out pronouncements about how she'll kill them all as soon as she gets the chance and that death won't stop her instead of not announcing how dangerous she is to the people who've' captured her.

Her ego and narcissism won't let her consider that she's basically arguing hard for her captors to inflict something on her that exemplifies the phrase "you'd be surprised what you can live through". Not surprising of course, even before getting Butchered we saw that she'd never consider that her actions might have consequences or that other people have agency. So she'd never consider that she's basically arguing for them to do something like permanently blind her and stick her in a Good Steel box somewhere. Now, I don't expect anything like that to actually happen, it wouldn't really fit the tone of the story; but in a darker story she'd get to find out that law enforcement and "heroes" are quite capable of being every bit as ruthless as her when they feel the need.

Click to shrink...

She's arrogant enough to believe that even if she dies, she'll still be capable of taking over the driver's seat again.

As far as she's concerned, the others haven't because they aren't her.

 

[Barbaric_Bob]

if only there was a biotinker somewhere that could turn her into an undying vegetable blob and then drop her into a real steal orb into the mariana trench

 

[TheCuriousGuest]

So... All Armsmaster needs to do is 'agree' to play a game at some point in the future, once he's got an efficient plan and minimized his required actions?

Shame they don't remove her tongue to prevent her assaulting their ears.
Hopefully they just permanently sedate her and/or perform some brain surgery to de-power her.

 

[Avernus]

Hopefully they just permanently sedate her and/or perform some brain surgery to de-power her.

Click to shrink...

The latter likely wouldn't work, her Shard would just count that as death and transfer to some other Parahuman. The former on the other hand might work.

She's arrogant enough to believe that even if she dies, she'll still be capable of taking over the driver's seat again.

As far as she's concerned, the others haven't because they aren't her.

Click to shrink...

That fits given that she was arrogant enough to court getting Butchered in the first place. If ego had gravity she'd be a black hole of self absorption.