Published at 25th of August 2026 9:40 am

Chapter 46 Negotiations.

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I ignore the realization that I apparently have two separate stalkers. One mystery is resolved, but another remains. Letting out a laugh, I shake my head, waving away the topic of the note.

What's stopping me from killing you after this? I asked.

I'm not being too serious, mostly probing them for information.

Besides your desire for more abilities? Ezekiel asked, letting out a short chuckle that becomes a choking cough.

Francesca puts the mask back on him, and his good hand releases the pistol to hold the mask steady. The faint sound of the air rushing into his mask is the only noise in the Quickrail car. Im content to wait until hes finished. Small talk is for people afraid of the silence.

I have been doing this for a long time, Ezekiel said slowly. And I have known how sick I am for even longer. My illness makes me desperate, not stupid. If you kill me, a file containing all the information Ive uncovered about you will be sent to every Heroes Union branch across the East Coast. But why talk of betrayal and contingencies when theyre unimportant? Its a simple transaction, and then we all go our separate ways. Seven powers for two lives.

Theres nothing simple about this transaction. Seven new powers in exchange for two is a ridiculous profit in my favor, which is beyond suspicious. So is the way he phrased it. He didnt say hed give me seven powers; he said hed arrange for me to take them. Ill still have to do all the work to remove them from their current owners. Hes not doing me any favors. Not just that, but hell still have the leverage on me. No, this deal is untenable, and I would be putting him in a position of power over myself. Absolutely not.

I will have to decline, I said.

What? Why? Francesca asked angrily.

Because of two things. One, the plans I have set in motion will eventually render my secret identity moot. You could say that it, like you and your granddaughters lives, is rapidly approaching the end, I stated. The second is that your attempt to disguise the imbalance of our transaction did not work. Your carefully chosen words and the disproportionate reward in my favor hide the fact you are getting far more out of this than I am.

Francesca is pissed. From the moment I refused, her scowl only grew worse by the second. Good. Anger leads to instability, which leads to mistakes. Ezekiel lets out another wheezing laugh in his gravely voice.

Youre quite a brazen young man. Are you not afraid? We could kill you, you know, he said.

You could, but youre both frail and weak. If you dont manage a killshot, youll both die by my hands. But lets shelve talk of violence and threat of death. Id like to make a counteroffer to you both, but before that, I need you to clarify something, I said. Ezekiel nods and Francesca motions for me to continue. The seven powers, do they belong to the current members of the Villains Syndicate? Because the last time I checked, they were down two members.

Yes, and no. Since you and your man murdered Echochamber and Null, I had the others lie low and regroup while I recruited three new members. Chessies power is her own, and I will not offer that up to you, Ezekiel answered calmly.

That means Rotshot, Revenant, Snare, Reverso, and three Cowls I do not know are on the table? Tell me about the three new additions; I want to make sure you arent dumping trash in my lap.

Correct. The three recruits include a Tinkerer called Hijack whose specialty is taking over existing technology, including Tinkertech. The next is a Traveler known as Street Shark who can swim through solid surfaces, and the final is Animal King who is a Ruler that can transform animals into supersized monsters by exchanging the animals lifespan for growth. A truly nasty ability; it always kills whatever she uses it on. Leaves behind a terrible mess, Ezekiel smiled.

Those arent bad at all. Another Tinkerer power would be beneficial.

Hmmm. Alright. I have one more question for you before I present the offer: why did you start the Villains Syndicate?

This answer will determine whether I can work with him or not. He takes a second to steady his breathing after another coughing fit.

I grew up in a very tech-forward household, and I taught myself how to code and program. In my twenties, I worked for a broadcast company, and Ive always loved editing and producing videos. My daughter and son-in-law, Chessies parents, were killed in a fight between the Heroes Union and a group of Cowls. Before you ask, that is where she triggered. My only child and her husband were the only casualties. A complete fluke that they were the ones to die. Knowing that I had a limited amount of time in order to secure my granddaughters future, I figured out a way to inflict as much harm as possible while amassing a frankly ridiculous sum of money. Youd be disgusted at the number of paid subscribers the Villains Syndicate has, he answered. Actually, you probably wouldnt be.

What an interesting man. His story is one that I could learn a lot from about what it means to be a person. His selfish and spiteful reasoning is exactly what I wanted to hear. I already have a completely insane person; I dont need another. This man could be very helpful in my endeavors with the vigilante. I must bring him on board. The issue is not letting him know that I need him.

Thank you for indulging my curiosity, I said. Moving on to my offer. Ill make sure that you and Francesca are completely cured of whatever ails you and make sure you both have a clean bill of health. In exchange, you will help me isolate all of the current Villains Syndicate members and take all their powers. That includes Looking Glass. You will disband the Syndicate, come work for me, as well as destroy all of your contingencies and any proof you have of my secret identity. I will pay you handsomely for the work you do for me.

I cannot promise away Chessies power; it isnt mine to give, he responded.

Ill do it, Francesca said immediately.

Chessie, he said pointedly.

No. Its my decision to make, and my power means nothing when compared to your life, she said passionately.

How touching, I remarked. You can think over my offer for the remainder of the ride. Once we arrive in Quinstin, it expires.

What kind of work would it be? As you can see, Im not exactly in tip-top shape, Ezekiel joked.

It wouldnt be field work. It would be similar to what youve done with the Syndicate, but on a much larger scale. You would not be in any danger, I answered.

What about me? Francesca asked.

What about you?

What would I be doing? She asked me.

Nothing; I dont have anything for you to do. Your grandfather is the one with value, I replied dismissively. My eyes never leave Ezekiel; his granddaughter isnt worth my attention or time. Ill pay you well enough that she wont have to work.

Her eyes go wide in disbelief at the disrespect Im showing her. But what does she expect? Shes painfully thin, weak, and in no shape to be of use to me. I dont need a spy; I have Rorschach.

Ill agree to your terms, but with a few additions for our side. You will find work for Chessie; a man of your means could always use an assassin, right? Youll guarantee my safety for ten years, and hers for thirty-five. You wont send her on suicide missions, willingly endanger or risk her life, or treat her life as disposable. You will finance a base of operation for me to use, and I want 2.5 million up front in cash, Ezekiel rebuttaled.

This is someone who drives a hard bargain. Who knows how to make a deal. The cash isnt a problem; money means basically nothing to me. Momentus Inc has plenty of money that I can use. What could I use her for? I can figure it out some other time. If some dead weight is he cost of acquiring him, then bring on the extra twenty pounds.

Acceptable. Lets meet back up in five days; that will give me time to arrange the money as well as treatment, I said.

Treatment?

The two of you may have uncovered things about me that fewer than five people know about, but theres still so much more that youre in the dark about. Im sure youll be keeping an eye on me, so Ill give you the details about our meeting soon. Now, if you dont mind, Id prefer the rest of my ride in silence, I said, turning my back to the two of them.

I look up at the tall ceiling inside the SSB meeting room. Vivienne sits at my right, Isaiah on my left, and everyone else is here sans Tuesday. Speak of the devil, she cartwheels in and then does a front flip into her chair. Miles summons a flaming ten in the air in front of him as he claps enthusiastically. The two of them continue to be the oddest pairing amongst the seven of us. They say that opposites attract. Kais not even pretending to pay attention, and Rorschach is actively glaring at Tuesday.

Alright. Lets begin this board meeting. Who would like to go first? I asked.

Ill go first, Vivienne said confidently.

Despite how assured shes presenting, I can tell something is bothering her. What could have her stressed out so much?

The floor is yours, V. Kai, pay attention, I ordered.

As likely everyone knows, I was in an altercation with both The Triad and the Heroes Union. I know that we want to take The Triad off the board eventually, but things came to a head between them and my Skulls. They sent three Cowls to attack my normal human members, and it was a slaughter. I lost ninety percent of my personnel and would have lost more if I hadnt arrived when I did. While I was fighting them, the Union sent a squad to see what was going on, which included Phoenix, Technovore, Ferrol, Chase, and Virtue. In a fit of rage, I called Virtue Vye and set her off, Vivienne explained.

You beat the fucking brakes off them, Isaiah said, chiming in. I heard that you left Virtue burned, bloody, and naked in the street. I wish I could have been there to see her face. I know that bitch mustve been mad as hell.

Any blow to the Union benefits the entire city. The sooner we dethrone the false idols, the sooner we can fix the rot infecting Quinstin, Miles added.

I love when you go all Old Testament; it puts me in heat, Tuesday purred.

Wow; thats fucking disgusting, Rorschach replied.

Like I said, I lost my temper, and I maimed TigerHawk and BurnBlast. While I was fighting the Union, those two and Lycan escaped, Vivienne continued. I apologize if Ive screwed up any plans, Nobody.

You were defending your people. You did nothing wrong. Is that all? I asked.

Vivienne looks at Kai, who smiles back at her. Whats going on there? What are they hiding?

No, she sighed deeply. Goblin and Casper both triggered as a result of the attack, and Goblin was wounded so badly that I had to ask Kai for assistance.

What?

Dont worry. I went to them, not vice versa, so the base is still a secret. None of her people remain in critical condition, and they arent in any danger. From what Ive observed, theyre both extremely loyal to Vivienne. Even more so after the display with The Triad, Kai remarked.

Damn it. No one can be allowed to put together the pieces of our group yet.

Vivienne. Id like to sidebar after this and talk about both of their powers and what well be doing with them going forward. We keep running into problems with The Triad. It might be time for us to wipe them off the map, I said.

Were good to do that whenever youd like, Kai said. I know where their base is, and I have the whole thing mapped out. I tagged them during my debut.

Excellent. Ive heard that your debut went quite well, I said, prompting him to continue.

Indeed. As expected, it went exactly according to plan. Further proving that I am by far the most competent person here. Shock&Awe and FrostWyrm are both downstairs waiting for you, he replied.

Easy there, doc. Both of our debuts resulted in two Cowls being removed from play. If anything, all you did was tie me, Isaiah boasted.

Cat fight. Meeeeeeowwwwww, Tuesday called out.

I recorded my debut and Miles is prepping it to be released online. That combined with Viviennes battle should be another blow to the Union, Kai continued.

Both you and her should be proud of how well you did, and how well your people did, I said. Moving on, I need 2.5 million in cash for a deal.

Jesus Christ, what the fuck do you need that for? Rorschach shouted.

Thats the price tag to deliver the Villains Syndicate to me. By the end of this week, there will be one less Cowl group in this city, I answered.

Everyone looks shocked except Tuesday, whose belly laughing on the floor.

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