#9.1p1

[krixwell-liveblogs]

Actually, maybe the Trump class covers those with powers to fail spectacularly at business and still somehow be seen as successful by the public.

[krixwell-liveblogs]

End of Sentinel 9.1

And thus ends the first non-Interlude chapter without Taylor in it. (Although Director Piggot may have been alluding to her at one point.)

We finally got to know Weld, which was fun! I had been looking forward to that, and what I found did not disappoint - he’s a very nice guy, with refreshing optimism, even if he did make a pretty big faux pas in not reading the room or researching the people he was replacing. I hope we get to see more of his experience as the new leader of the Brockton Bay Wards.

And it’s entirely possible that this Arc will stick to that topic. Nothing against her, but I’m okay with taking a break from Taylor for a while to follow a different POV.

Taylor may have been the primary POV character for eight Arcs, but it’s become increasingly clear that it’s hard to call her a main character, especially over the course of these last two Arcs. This story, so far, doesn’t have a main character. It’s a story not about a character, but about society at large, which we’ve so far happened to be seeing through the eyes of one Taylor “Skitter” Hebert.

(Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely do want to see what she’s up to later.)

So, next chapter... we might be going back to Taylor and presumably seeing the things I predicted for this chapter (whether her plan involves the Undersiders, what her plan actually is), or we might be sticking with Weld to see how he tries to rectify this awkwardness he’s created.

Or, hell, what if this Arc involves checking in on multiple groups of Sentinels, one per chapter? That’d be a neat gimmick, though I think I’d prefer sticking with Weld.

Either way, see you next time!

[krixwell-liveblogs]

“And it looks like he’s a Shaper 4, Brute 7, with the longest list of homicides or suspected homicides I’ve seen on someone who wasn’t already in prison.  Thick file, I take it he has lots of followers?”

That would be because they’ve tried to put him in prison, repeatedly, but he’s apparently good at escaping.

“The largest group in terms of parahuman numbers, at present.”

“And this second group, The Pure, is the second offshoot of that Aryan group, I take it?”

Sounds about right.

“Small but powerful.  Their leader, Purity, is a Blaster 8 and Mover 4.”

I... think I predicted her being one of the leaders? Did I write that anywhere? If I didn’t, shame on me.

“Yeah, there’s a Breaker 9, a Shifter 8 with Stranger 3 and a Master 6 in that group?  I buy that they’re powerful.”

Let’s see, we’ve got Fog, Night and... uh...

Also, Shifter wasn’t in that rhyme earlier. I guess we didn’t get to see all of it.

[krixwell-liveblogs]

“I certainly hope this ‘rivalry’ isn’t going to hamper your ability to lead this team and work with her.”  There was no humor in her tone.  Just the opposite.

No, it sounded like they get along fine. Flechette might respect Weld a bit less than the rest as a leader, but I think it’ll be fine.

Well, until Sophia indoctrinates her like she seems to have done with Emma.

“Um, no, ma’am,” he replied, chastened.  The helicopter lifted into the air.  A glance out the window showed the sprawl of the city.  It was dark out, but much of the city was unlit, nothing shining through the windows, no street lights illuminating the roads, nor the headlights and taillights of traffic.

I knew this was a dark story, but...

Alright, jokes aside, I take it the electric network’s not quite fixed yet.

Noting where he was looking, Director Piggot spoke, “Because the current situation is serious, and it isn’t improving as fast as we’d like.  You’re going to have to be on the top of your game.”

Oh, absolutely.

“Yes ma’am.”

“Clockblocker and Vista are your best assets.  Clockblocker is a Striker 7 with touch-based time-stopping.  Vista is a Shaker 9.  Large scale spatial distortion.”

Hm. I may have to reevaluate some more of my classification thoughts. I guess Strikers are generally those with touch-based powers, such as Clocky, Rune, Panacea and Ballistic?

And Shakers, uh, shake things up a bit on the battlefield.

[krixwell-liveblogs]

“Okay.  The team sounds well rounded, I can work with that.”

Yeah, it does, doesn’t it. We’ve got Kid Win for attacks, Shadow Stalker for stealth, Clockblocker for buying time by putting enemies out of commission for a while, and Vista to make the battlefield fit their needs.

She handed him a stack of files, “Here’s the files on local factions, including your new team, and a file on the solo heroes and villains.

Wouldn’t it have been good to give him some of this before he arrived? I mean, it’s been over two weeks since they decided to put him here. Might as well give him some time to do his homework before he came to town.

You’ll have limited access to the databases as well, which you should be familiar with, but this should get you the essential details to get underway.  I’ve ordered those files loosely by priority, so you’ll find the most need-to-know information at the top of the pile.”

Sounds good.

Weld took the folders and opened the one for the Wards, glanced through it to memorize the faces of his new team.  Then he went to the next file, “Then the top priority as far as opposition goes is… the Archer’s Bridge Merchants?  Superpowered drug dealers.  A Shaker 2, Tinker 2/Mover 3 and a Shifter 4.  These aren’t big numbers.  Am I missing something?”

...yes, why are those high-priority all of a sudden? Were they the ones who attacked the airport? Doesn’t sound like them, though.

Also, “big numbers” kind of sounds like the numbers in the classification do indicate something about the strength of the power rather than some sort of subclassification.

[krixwell-liveblogs]

Then she turned away and walked back to the cubicles.  She was halfway there when he saw her rub at one cheek with the back of her hand.

:’(

“I… I just got here,” Weld said, helplessly.

I just got told by a pre-teen, he thought.

“Shit,” he swore under his breath.

Sounds about right.

He found a chair in front of the computer and dropped the stack of file folders on the nearest flat surface.  He plucked the file folder off the top of the stack, opened it and began studying.

Time to do your research.

[krixwell-liveblogs]

“Thank you,” Vista’s voice piped up, with a definite note of relief.

Helplessly, Weld watched as the team split up to go their separate ways, Kid Win sitting down at the far end of the computer station, Shadow Stalker and Clockblocker heading for the elevator.

Welp, Weld. You’re gonna have a hard time.

So I guess this leaves Weld to either try to talk to Kid Win, or explore his surroundings some more. I’m leaning towards the former.

“I fucked up.  I already lost them,” Weld spoke, mostly to himself.

“No.  They’re just tired,” Vista spoke from beside him.  “And not just lack of sleep.  You’ll see what I mean.

Oh hey, or that.

And I mean, yeah, they’re under a lot of stress these days. Mourning Aegis and Gallant, the public going nuts, Director Piggot probably breathing down their necks... Anything else?

You could’ve mentioned Aegis and Gallant, but you can’t be blamed if Clockblocker didn’t give you time to get around to it.  Nobody’s really in the mood for speeches.”

That’s fair.

Also there’s some irony in Clockblocker not giving someone time to do something.

“Right,” Weld replied, feeling lost, “Aegis and Gallant.  They’re the ones who died?”

Vista gave him a look that could only be described as pity.  “You didn’t even learn their names?  Nevermind what I just said.  Yeah, you fucked up.”

Yeeah, should’ve done some research on this front. If nothing else, asked Piggot when she explained it.

[krixwell-liveblogs]

“Good to hear that.  All that said, I have asked your teachers to make special arrangements, reducing expectations toward your homework, provided you are not struggling in any subjects.  The Wards program will also provide tutors should you need them.”

Sounds good.

“Okay, cool.”

“You’ll have time to get into the swing of things without worrying about school, as the high schools are all currently shut down for repairs and to allow time for thorough investigation of the premises.  When the schools are open, we’ll have you take three courses and attend first year classes on parahumans at the University, if that suits you?”

It’s clear they’ve got this all planned out.

“Perfect.”

“You’ll be living in a private room in the Wards headquarters, and you’ll have a monthly allowance of four hundred dollars in addition to the money put into your trust account by the program.

Not bad!

We expect you’ll spend this allowance on necessities, such as food and clothing.  You do still eat, yes?”

“Yes,” he answered her, bending the truth.  While he did eat, it was a negligible amount.  

I can’t help but think of the Iron Giant, which naturally makes me imagine Weld eating scrap metal.

As he saw it, there was no real harm done if he pocketed some of that extra money and said he spent it on food.  Given that his tongue was made of an alloy and the pleasures of food were a shadow of what they should be, it was only fair that he enjoy himself in some other way.

Yeah, that’s fair.

Man, imagine if Wildbow had decided to make Weld a skilled liar. He could’ve said his tongue was made of silver.

He knew that some staff back in Boston had caught on, but they hadn’t said anything.  Director Piggot here gave him the vibe that maybe she wouldn’t be so cool with it.  He’d be more careful until he knew for sure.

Yeeah, Piggot doesn’t stand for unregulatory bullshit.

“Your quarters have been checked and double checked, so there is no exposed metal, no screws, nails, frames or pegs.”

It really does sound like his power involves absorbing metal on touch.