I forked up another delicious piece of honey chicken and lifted my helmet up enough to pop it into my mouth.

Fuck the Empire I thought, rifling through the already dog eared dossier containing all the relevant information we would need in the upcoming confrontations. Including their roster.

Page 1 of 12

Kaiser

Fenja

Menja

Purity

Hookwolf

Heisenburg: tinker

Krieg

Cricket

Geist: grab bag: intangibility, glue himself/things into something no harm done, vibrosense, spacial awareness

Viel: clones and illusory clones

Messer: fierce aura, protection, strength and pressure.

Crusader

Viktor

Othala

Alabaster

Komet: pyrokinetic combat, martial arts awareness

Rumpelstiltskin: rubber organs, unbreakable bones, nemesis form

We'd just spent the last couple of hours discussing tactics as more heroes trickled in, how we could defeat and arrest or otherwise repel the Empire long enough for the situation to die down. I didn't understand why Armsmaster had used those words, 'until it dies down,' when we should be out there as much as we were able; taking down those bastards. But he was the one with over a decade of parahuman law enforcement experience, not me, so there was probably something I was missing.

"Fucking draconian mods," Cassie muttered from beside me staring intently at her phone, fork absently moving from her empty food container to her mouth and back.

I glanced down at her screen. Banned from PHO again for shitposting it seemed. At least she used her old account for that and not her Team Satisfaction one.

I murmured in obligatory assent, forking my last piece of chicken into my mouth and strapping my helmet back on. I stood up and made my way back over to the main table, plonking myself down next to Nightwire who seemed to be suffering from his decision to eat an entire Extra Large pizza topped with four kinds of cheeses, six different meats and 'as many prawns as were legally allowed'.

"Suck it up," Velocity heckled from across the table. "Brute rating, c'mon!"

"C'mon," Nightwire echoed, lightly headbutting the table where he was leaning. "Big boys table."

"Biggest boys only," snorted Dauntless. "Sure you're big enough?"

Nightwire groaned as he sat up. "Eat big to get big," he thumped himself vigorously in the guts, each hit clanking loudly.

I smiled, he'd worn his new armour in and it was immediately showered with praise and compliments. Then I was showered with praise and compliments when they found out I made it.

So that was out of the bag now, Psychonaut was a known Tinker. But I didn't mind, it hadn't been my idea to hide it in the first place. And it had prompted Armsmaster to set a date for me to come to the rig, which just so happened to be tomorrow.

Nazi's aside, this would be a good week.

Now if only I could join the big boys on patrol, but apparently Armsmaster couldn't send capes he knew were underage out into danger in good conscience, so Cassie and I were to go with the Wards tonight. Of course, we didn't have to follow his orders, but we were going to anyway. We could probably swing it so we got to get into the thick of it when things really started going down anyway.

"Sure you want that?" I jibed. "You're only getting one of those."

"My gains though," Nightwire said plaintively.

"Shit," my internal speakers crackled to life. "Make a joke about cardio and Auschwitz for me."

I glanced over at Cassie who was throwing her lunch container into the bin; I didn't get it.

"Fuck," she continued. "He can bloody hear me anyway. Upgrade our god damn soundproofing already."

The punchline must have been funny because Nightwire exhaled sharply through his nose.

"What?" Dauntless flicked a crumb of something at Nightwire.

"Ah, just super hearing picked up something good."

"I don't get it." I said, looking between him and Cassie.

Nightwire ran a hand through his hair, "cardio kills gains."

It clicked. "That's not funny."

"That's because you're not funny," Cassie leant in between me and Nightwire, hands braced on the backs of our chairs.

"No idea what you're talkin' about," Velocity sighed.

"Topical Nazi jokes," replied Cassie even though he couldn't hear her. "Anne Frankly I-"

I elbowed her hard in the ribs, cutting off her stupidity. I liked to think she privately thanked me later on whenever I stopped her from making a fool of herself by running her mouth. I shuddered to think of what she used to be like before she, in her words, 'grew up.'

The door swung open and Armsmaster clomped in, moving like a powerful panther in his exquisite power armour. "Time to get back on track-"

"Shut it down!" Cassie stage whispered, still unheard by everyone but Nightwire and myself.

"Dust just confirmed he'll be here soon," Armsmaster said. "So we will have to go over some of what we've been talking about over the past hours so we're all on the same page and work him into the stratagem."

It was still a little annoying that none of his stratagems would put me on the front lines where I knew I could do some real good, but whatever. But at least I got to be here at this meeting, the poor wards weren't even invited, something about regulations preventing them from being involved in all out gang warfare unless there was absolutely no other choice. Thank fuck I hadn't joined up, what kind of hell they must have been enduring in not getting to step up to the plate if they wanted.

Yep, that one was a good decision.

As Miss Militia came back with her coffee everyone settled back down into their chairs again, ready to face the coming challenge of Kicking the shit out of Nazi's 2: Brockton Bay boogaloo.